OSTEOARTHRITIS

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder affecting mostly weight bearing joints such as hips, knees, ankle and foot.  The problem starts with the deterioration of the cartillage which is a firm, rubbery tissue that cushions our bones at the joints and allowing bones to glide over one another.  When the cartilage  deteriorates, the bones rub together causing pain, swelling and stiffness.  Eventually, this will cause bony spurs to be formed around the joints and subsequently, the ligaments and muscles around the joints become weaker and stiffer.

One of the reasons that caused OA is that it runs in the family.  Well, this is certainly true in my family as my parents and a majority of my siblings have OA.  Obesity is another factor that leads to OA due to the burden of the weight on the joints.  So I guess I have a combination of both.  Other factors include injuries from sports, jobs that require a lot of standing, squatting and lifting, direct impact on the joints such as football, basketball or any other sports that have jerky movements.

Pain, swelling and stiffness are the most common symptoms in OA.  Most people will experience morning stiffness and stiffness after a period of sitting, standing, walking or exercise.  During the early days of OA, after a good night's rest, my knees would feel better the next day.  As the condition got worse, I have to rest and take pain meds as well for relief.  I also experienced tenderness when pressure is applied to areas around my knees and legs.  Towards the advanced stage of the joint damage, I suffered the pain and stiffness even when I wasn't moving.  Pain medication doesn't work anymore and it affected my movements and sleep tremendously. 

In the past, I have tried arthritis cream, medicated plasters, massage and injection of artificial joint fluids which gave me a temporary relief of the pain.  I have heard about acupunture and some non-invasive treatments but I have not tried any of them.  However, I have tried treatments by one qi qong master and it was quite good particularly for blood circulation. I have also taken supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.  From time to time, I had to take pain medication as well.  These were all helpful to me for pain relief until my OA progressed to a severe stage, then I found that nothing works anymore.

X-ray is the best way to know the extent of joint damage.  My Orthopaedic Surgeon (OS) said that there are 5 stages for joint damage, 5 being the end stage.  My joints were at stage 4 when I had my TKR and the pain was already unbearable for me.  So I can't imagine how one can reach stage 5.  Knowing the extent of our joint damage is a good thing because we can be more prepared and take necessary action such as changing our lifestyle.  This is an area I feel that some of us would hesitate to do.  Its like we are in a state of denial and not knowing the truth is better as it would not require any change.  I have been a culprit of this until I realized that I have to face the reality and do something about it. 

During the initial period of my recovery from sleeping pill addiction, I changed my lifestyle.  I started to exercise and eat healthily.  Some people think that with OA, we should not aggravate it by doing exercise.  In fact, some will try to avoid walking too much just to preserve their knee condition.  But the reality is that if we dont exercise or be active, we lose our range of motion and our joints will deteriorate even faster.  I find that whether I exercise or not, the pain and stiffness are still there.  So it would be more beneficial if I exercise as it improves joint movements and at the same time, I feel healthier, happier and have a positive mindset which really helped me to manage the pain better.  I was surprised that besides my regular exercise, I would gate crash running competitions which my children and sister participated in, just by walking after everyone has taken off.  I have walked from 5 to 7 km in such competitions which is something that I have never done before.  Even though my knees would end up so sore, stiff and painful but the sense of achievement I get when I reached the finish line makes it all worth it.  All these physical exercises kept me motivated and actually helped me to last about 10 years before I had my bilateral TKR.

The key is that when pain meds and all of those non-invasive treatments doesn't work anymore and we continue to be in a great deal of pain and stiffness, then it is time to consider TKR.  TKR requires a lot of courage and I realized that it is hard to overcome the fear for a lot of people.  After my experience with TKR, I have great admiration for elderly people who have gone through TKR.  They would have faced more challenges and difficulty than younger people but inspite of that, they overcame all of it.  They might have taken longer in rehab too but in the end, they still get to enjoy the benefits of a successful TKR.  So in order to make a change for ourselves, we need to let go of the fear.  Because ultimately, the change will give us pain free knees and a better quality of life.

Here are pictures of a normal joint and a joint affected by OA obtained from the internet.



Normal Joint

Arthritic Joint