Your Top OA Treatment Questions, Answered

OA is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 32 million American adults. It happens when cartilage—the flexible connective tissue that cushions the ends of bones in a joint—wears away. Without cushion, the bones begin to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and sometimes bony growths. In addition to the normal wear and tear joints endure throughout a lifetime of use, an injury or overuse also increases risk of developing OA.

不幸的是，短暂的答案是没有。OA是一个关节的细分，“一旦进程开始，我们只能放慢它，”在马里兰州哥伦比亚哥伦比亚约翰霍普金斯医学的骨科手术助理教授，马里兰州的骨科手术助理教授。“没有办法扭转改变并再次使其成为原始联合，因为我们的身体不能再试生动软骨。”但是，您可以通过切换到低冲击活动（思考：游泳或慢慢跑步），在关节炎关节的建筑力度和灵活性，如果您超重，则会减慢次数。

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, naproxen, and ibuprofen are typically the first thing your doctor will recommend to manage mild to moderate OA. “This medicine is not repairing the cartilage, but it’s treating the inflammation,” says E. Grant Sutter, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Naperville, Illinois. “It’s changing your body’s response to the arthritis, and that can be really effective.” These meds may cause side effects like heartburn, stomach ulcers, or kidney damage if taken regularly, especially if you have a medical condition that predisposes you to these conditions, so talk with your doctor before taking NSAIDs regularly.

这取决于。坎贝尔博士说，如果运行是您的正常活动之一，您的医生可能会建议将其交易（或任何高冲击练习）交易（或任何高冲击练习）导致您的关节较少，如骑自行车或游泳，如骑自行车或游泳。OA疼痛不应该严重限制您的活动，因此如果发生这种情况，请与您的医生交谈。OA管理的目标是能够以极少的症状保持生活，因此可能需要一些治疗试验和错误。

Keep it cold. Icing a swollen joint can help temporarily relieve inflammation and ease discomfort by reducing blood flow to the joint, Dr. Thakkar says. It’s the same thing that’s recommended with a sports injury to reduce the cascade of inflammation. Heat, on the other hand, might make OA inflammation worse because it increases blood flow. “People with OA may prefer warm weather, but when it comes to putting something directly on the joint, a cold pack is the way to go,” Dr. Thakkar says.

携带额外的重量可以对膝盖和臀部的负重接头进行大量压力，并有助于开发OA。Suttern博士说，如果你超重或肥胖，就会有强大的数据显示减肥可以帮助放缓OA进展，特别是在膝盖上。“巨大的超重患者轻度到温和的OA看到他们的症状大大改善，有时如果减肥，有时会完全离开一段时间。”需要帮助健康的减肥计划吗？与您的医生交谈，如果需要，可以将您推荐给适当的专家。

这不仅是安全的，而且正确的运动形式可以帮助缓解OA症状。力量训练是你最好的选择。“当变性发生在关节中时，周围的肌肉也变得较弱，”哈卡卡博士解释道。“当肌肉变得较弱时，他们就不能再支持联合了。”力量培训teaches the muscles to work harder so that they can take some of the load off the joint, making its job easier, he says. A trainer who specializes in orthopedic conditions or a physical therapist can help you determine what exercises might help—and how to do them safely.

Injections are typically considered a backup option, meaning your doctor might suggest it if NSAIDs, activity modification, and physical therapy aren’t sufficient. There are two main types: corticosteroids and viscosupplementation. Corticosteroids are powerful, localized anti-inflammatories that offer quick relief (onset within a few days of the injection) and wear off after about three months in most patients, Dr. Campbell says. Viscosupplementation is a gel-like substance that cushions the joint and reduces inflammation. Viscosupplementation takes a few weeks to work, but it typically lasts longer than corticosteroids—up to six months in some cases, he says.

“联合替代是一种选修外科，”Campbell博士说，“所以我告诉我的病人这是一种生活质量决定。”他的X射线可能表现出显着的关节损伤，但如果你感觉还可以，并且能够运作并做你喜欢的东西，他说，没有必要赶紧进入手术。“当疼痛和功能障碍限制活动并对生活质量产生负面影响而且你已经失败了，那就是你考虑的东西。”与您的医生进行对话是第一步。

首先，一些好消息：联合替代手术通常非常成功，降低疼痛和恢复关节功能，博士说。但像所有的手术一样，它不是没有风险的。他说，最大的是持续僵硬和植入物相关的风险，就像植入物变得松动或感染。“有大约五到七倍的并发症率，所以人们似乎整体井。”其他需要考虑的事情包括手术成本，恢复时间和后op物理治疗 - 所有这些都可以与您的医生讨论。

The best answer doctors can give right now: longer than joint replacements have ever lasted before. “Materials that we’re using now are better than ever, but we haven’t put them in for that long yet so we can’t tell people exactly how long it will last,” Dr. Sutter says, adding that the majority of knee replacements will last for 20 to 25 years. With the way technology has advanced so far, it’s not unrealistic that we’ll see joint replacements lasting for 30 years or more in the neat future, he says.

不，没有具体的年龄要求联合更换，博士说，但患者年轻的年轻人，必须考虑越来越多地对联合的未来。大多数人都不希望在他们的一生中拥有多个联合替代品，因此它归结为在生活中早期进行手术的潜在缺陷。“过去，联合手术是为老年人保留的，但由于目标是保持生活质量，而不是恢复它，更年轻的人​​正在进行这些程序，”Thakkar博士补充道。