Humans have dealt with the pain, stiffness and swelling of osteoarthritis, or OA, for ages. Yet researchers still study the disease vigorously with the goals of finding more about what causes OA, what steps may help people prevent OA and what new treatments may alleviate its symptoms and halt joint damage. In recent months, news on OA treatment developments and insight into the disease’s possible causes, and what may prevent it, have emerged.
Most important, researchers now have a deeper understanding of OA, a concept called patho-mechanics, and this knowledge affects OA treatment development. At the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) State-of-the-Art Symposium held in April 2010 in Chicago, lecturers noted OA must be viewed as a combination of how your body’s mechanics work, how your genes may have set you up to develop OA, and outside factors that can affect your bone, cartilage and various tissues and lead to the disease.
The November 2010 Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in Atlanta featured reports from a number of researchers who are digging deeper in OA’s mysteries and its possible treatment.
Revealing Research About the Causes of Osteoarthritis
- Speakers at the ACR Basic Science Symposium session on new OA findings suggested that OA should be viewed as an inflammatory disease, almost like rheumatoid arthritis, not just a “wear-and-tear” disease of structural breakdown from overuse. Inflammation-causing chemicals and their effects on joints must be the focus of research, they said.
- One study suggested a link between the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR), typically the basic way cells resolve stress due to aging, and OA development. The study found UPR is impaired in older adults, and that impairment provides a foundation for the development of osteoarthritis affecting the connective tissues.
-
Other studies focused on OA’s potential genetic triggers. One finding springing from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, a University of North Carolina study focusing on a group of around 5,000 adults age 45 or older, revealed that six genes in particular showed significant signs of rendering a person susceptible to developing knee OA: ABCG2, GDF5, IL1RN, IL6 and VDR.
- Some types of hand OA – particularly erosive interphalangeal disease affecting the fingers – may predict faster progression of OA in the knees, another study suggested.
- Researchers showed that a gene called FAAH, previously linked to increased pain sensitivity, was shown to be higher in people with knee OA than in other patients in the control group.
- A protein in the body called Complement C5 might also play a key role in OA, one study suggested.
Also have had surgery on C-3 through C-7 of my cervical spine (October, 2010). The neck seems to still be healing pretty well.
Three "Trigger-finger" surgeries are under my belt -- if you need them, they've really helped me.
Have severe OA in most of the joints in my body -- heat, ice, the meds I mentioned above, a little caffeine daily -- these all help a little.
I HAVE found that taking pain meds in the middle of the night helps with the AM pain so I can get moving better without suffering too much.
Also, stretching my fingers, wrists, toes, ankles, wrists, knees, etc., and rocking back and forth on my hips BEFORE getting out of the bed in the AM helps quite a bit. Then soaking my hands in very hot water in a pan in the kitchen is very helpful.
Thank you to all who write about your experiences! And good luck!
I have complained for 15 years about my hip pain but my family doctor says nothing shows up on x-rays. Neurologists and surgeons decided that it was stenosis that was causing the pain but it still persists and progressively worsens. I was on celebrex but it was worthless at relieving pain. I now take flexeril and vicodin regularly but I don't think it helps much. I have a family history with my mother, her mother, and her brother both having single hip replacements. Any thoughts?
Can you tell me what I can take to get some relief, that doesn't counteract with my heart meds and condition?
Thank you very much. God Bless You.
Barbara Jean
has severe OA. Her Dr. will not give her
any pain meds other than hydrocodone/codiene and these make her sick. We both took Darvocet when it was on the market with much success and relief; but gov't removed it from market. Tramadol affords no help either so we just hurt all day. I believe if you read all the above comments, you will be able to work out your relief yourself; possibly acupuncture; water exercise and if you still have a good stomach, take the antiinflamatories as long as you can; or maybe try the sam-e. I am in full agreement with all those who have said you have to work out a plan for yourself; try all options and with prayer, maybe your days will become more tolerable.
L3 thru s1, I am now able to do many things I could not do before with no pain, I take a tylenol or a tramadol occasionally but that is all, arthritis is still a problem but am going to see a rheumatologist in nov so hopefully that will help my hurting in my hands. My surgery was the best decision I ever made and I am so thankful that I did it.
Reb
Please take me off your mailing list.mI am no longer interesed in anything you email out.
far at a time, have plenty of pain, but this is helping more than anything else i have tried. I still wouldn't be able to go back to work for someone, but am able to get my housework done by myself. I work about 15 mins at a time, then rest. synvisc one shots in my bad knee help. i just go day by day, can't ever plan things, but the summer heat is much better for my bones than the winter and rain!! thank goodness i live in texas where we are over 100+ degrees for 15 days!
Hope this helped someone hurting.
If your physician just "shrugs" off about your pain....... "GO FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR!"
Go find a doctor who will help you....not just "shrug" at you! Life is too short to be in so much pain, for too long! Give yourself a break!!!! Alleluia!
Please continue the research and change the treatments from replacements to regrowth of cartilage!
It encourages you to fast and try different foods that you think you might be allergic to and then avoid eating them. She claims that is has helped many people to relieve the pain of arthritis. Caffein, alcohol, cheese, chocolate all seem to be triggers for arthritic pain. She recommends doing this with a practioner's supervision. I haven't tried it yet, but maybe someone else has and would comment. She gave many testimonials to its success.
Currently I am taking SAM-e, 400 mg a day. It has really helped. I started with 400 mg three times a day for a month - and then went to 2 a day for another month - and now am at 1 a day. I never knew that SAM-e would help with OA, but I came across some research that said it did so I tried it and it does!!! Also, I take a supplement of Turmeric. I buy SAM-e and all my supplements at Swanson Health Products on line. Their web address is: www.swansonvitamins.com
I also have used a product called Zyflamend for OA which worked great. I also bought it at Swanson's
I loved taking Rx medications and they worked great - but then they literally blew out my stomach and I now have UC: Ulcerative Colitis - a lifetime condition. You do not want to get this! So now I can never take any NSAID medication - which is all of them!
I read the comments that "doctors shrugged" at the mention of pain. Trust me, they don't know so much. OA is baffling. If it weren't so, there would be a cure for it.
Hope my experience here helps someone!
Water aerobics is the best exercise. Use water shoes that have good support so that your joints aren't banged on the concrete.
Deep water is best; but any is better than none.
What PTs taught me is that I have to build all the muscles surrounding damaged joints and vertebrae to keep mobile.
Even at 64, I've lost 4 inches in height, am in some level of pain all the time despite 3 meds.
Also see if doc will Rx TENS unit, an electrode based treatment which interrupts pain signals to brain. And do what you enjoy to build endorphins so that brain feels good more than pain. It's like a trick you plan on nerve pathways; good stuff interrupts pain.
Pay no attention to doctors who don't take you seriously. Get a new one who does.
knees have undergone arthroscopic surgeries for a torn
meniscus. My doctor has shown me the x-rays noting where
bone is on bone in several places.
He prescribed Nabumetone. It has been used for many years.
It is a generic. You do need to take it with food. Both my Sister and I take two 500 mg tablets daily. Within the first 24 hours the pain was reduced to 90% of what it had been.
I can now walk, mow the yard, plant shrubs, etc; Hopefully, it will work for many of you out there.
In my case, heat treatments help. I use the WarmMeUps products, including the hand mitts. Very useful for me.
My doctor also just shrugs his shoulders about the pain. He put me on two Aleve twice a day, which is equivalent to the Rx naproxen, but it has helped very little. My next step is a chiropractor. I called around, and every chiro I talked to says he/she helps patients with the pain of OA every day. I specifically asked if they could do anything for OA in the fingers and feet, since they are known for pretty much working only on the spine, and they all assured me they could, so I figure it's worth a shot.
Leave a Comment