Arthritis
There are many types of arthritis that can affect your body. They all affect the body through different mechanisms, and therefore can affect the body differently. The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis or Degenerative Joint Disease. This type of arthritis affects over half of the population and causes varying degrees of pain and stiffness, and it can become very debilitating. Osteoarthritis can result in an individual becoming seriously handicapped, or having to get a joint replacement later on in life. This disease typically affects people over 45, but can affect someone earlier on in life, if they’ve had an injury to a joint, or have an underlying condition.
If a joint is not aligned properly, the joint will not move and distribute weight properly. This causes the joint to wear unevenly, and to slowly degenerate. As this happens, the joint will lose its normal motion, and the space between the joint will slowly wear away. As it degenerates, it will start to cause pain, stiffness, and loss of motion. Typical symptoms will include pain and stiffness that is worse in the morning, and gets progressively better with movement or throughout the day. By the time you get any pain or stiffness, the problem has likely been there for years. As the problem starts to get more serious, the pain may last longer and eventually become constant, and worse with movement.
Chiropractors get very good results treating osteoarthritis. The issue is that if you have arthritis that means you’ve done irreversible damage to the joint. You can get great results treating pain and stiffness, and help restore the range of motion. However, you can’t get rid of the damage that’s been done to the joint. Its there to stay, and if its not treated, it will continue to get worse. The key is to treat it early, and help stop it from progressing further forward. Typical treatments would include chiropractic manipulation, physiotherapy, stretching, exercise therapy, and nutritional therapy.
If you think you have a problem similar to this, or would like to schedule a free consultation with one of our doctors, please call 1-312-265-3355.
