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Osteoarthritis, currently defined as degenerative joint disease, is essentially the long-term deterioration of the integrity of a joint, including the articular cartilage and bone surfaces. Although the suffix "-itis" refers to an inflammatory state, this is considered a misnomer. Degenerative joint disease radiographically is not an inflammatory condition. This is the reason "degenerative joint disease" (DJD) is currently being used to describe this condition. The tell-tale signs of osteoarthritis include 'crepitus' - a literally a grinding noise and feeling on moving the joint - pain, stiffness, and deformity. Typically the stiffness is worse after a night's sleep, but then as the person moves around and exercised the joint, the stiffness will subside. There are two main types of degenerative joint disease: primary and secondary. Primary means, basically, that it happened all by itself, whereas secondary means there was some obvious cause for it such as trauma or another disease process. Some experts believe that the main cause of primary osteoarthritis is a problem with the movement of the joint - either too much or too little. Having too much motion, such as can occur if the ligaments become overstretched, can result form poor posture or even chronic over-stretching of the joint, such as when people "pop" their knuckles repetitively. This results in deterioration of the integrity of the joint as the joint cartilage receives too much wear, quite similar to having a loose wheel on a vehicle. The cartilage slowly begins to roughen causing a grinding sound (crepitus), and decreases the shock absorption of the joint. This, in turn, then leads to greater wear on the joint and increased deterioration. On the other hand, too little joint movement can be just as bad. The joint has no direct blood supply, so all nutrition has to be transported across the joint capsule, a process that relies on joint movement. So too little movement may result in poor nutrition actually inside the joint. Since lack of movement can prevent adequate nutrition at the joint face, most health care professionals recommend that you DON'T rest immobilize your joints (eg in traction) for extended periods of time unless absolutely necessary. This essentially leads us to the conclusion that the best practice to help decrease the risk of degenerative joint disease is to maintain proper joint motion to the best of our abilities. This entails having proper treatment of injuries with a health-care professional and following an adequate stretching routine. Proper exercise strengthens the muscles that support the joint, and so prevent aberrant motion. Stretching those muscles and, if necessary, getting the joint adjusted by a chiropractor, helps to maintain the motion that allows for proper transfer of nutrients and waste products inside the joint. Even though all this may not eliminate the risk of osteoarthritis - especially if you have had some significant trauma to the joint - it will certainly help to delay or slow down the degenerative process.
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Tired of suffering caused by osteoarthritis? Check out our other articles by Dr. Steven Trembecki, D.C. on chiropractor treatments. Get a unique version of this article from our osteoarthritis article directory
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