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How to prevent osteoarthritis of the spine

How To Prevent Osteoarthritis Of The Spine?

Osteoarthritis is a common disease of joints that can impair you physically, if not taken care of. About 27 million Americans are suffering from this disease. Lack of awareness about its treatment and prevention and not paying attention to its symptoms make osteoarthritis worse over time.

That’s why here you will know all about the symptoms and how to prevent osteoarthritis of the spine. You will also get to know treatment options that can stop the disease from progressing. So let’s get started.

What’s osteoarthritis of the spine?

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of joints that is caused due to wear and tear of the cartilage. The joints of the hands, feet, knees, hips and the spine are some of the joints most affected by osteoarthritis.

Cartilage is a soft structure that surrounds your joint’s facets in the spine. This cartilage wears and tears with age. Also as you age, the water in your intervertebral discs dehydrates. This shrinks the discs, adding more pressure on the joint facets. This increased pressure makes the joints weak and ache.

How to prevent osteoarthritis of the spine?

It’s certainly possible to prevent osteoarthritis from occurring and progressing through slight changes in your lifestyle. You should especially take care of your joints and bones as you age. Follow these preventive measures and your joints will remain healthy.

Watch your weight 

Weight and obesity is a risk factor for osteoarthritis. Always try to keep your weight within your ideal BMI. Extra weight adds unnecessary pressure on the joints, causing the bones to rub together and wear down.

You should take serious steps to avoid obesity as it’s good for your overall health as well.

Control your blood sugar

Increased blood sugar can cause osteoarthritis. So if you have diabetes, always watch your blood sugar and try to keep it within the normal range. So you should ask your healthcare provider for proper steps you should take to control the blood sugar levels.

Prevent injuries

Spinal injuries always put your backbone at a risk. If you get an injury that hurts your spine then it can wear and tear your cartilage overtime. This can put pressure on joints and bones rub together, causing osteoarthritis.

So, prevent injuries by warming up before any sports. Walk and run slowly before starting a game. Always follow game rules to minimize the risk of injuries.

Don’t ignore the pain 

If you experience pain for a couple of hours or more after exercising or doing any sports, then don’t ignore that pain. Take proper rest and do cold treatment of your joints if the pain doesn’t subside.

If you aren’t feeling better with home remedies, don’t shy away from getting medical attention.

Lifestyle changes 

Be active and bid farewell to a sedentary lifestyle. Always try to move your joints in different ways to keep them healthy. Stay hydrated, have a healthy diet, and exercise. These lifestyle changes make your joints and bones healthy and retain the intervertebral fluid as you age.

Be physical 

Always exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Ask your fitness trainer to guide you about a proper exercise routine to prevent osteoarthritis. You can also opt for a walking program offered by the Arthritis Foundation to prevent osteoarthritis.

Treatment options for osteoarthritis

If you’re diagnosed with osteoarthritis then don’t be disappointed. You can still beat this illness and prevent it from worsening. Following a proper course of treatment will stop the joints from deteriorating.

Lifestyle changes 

Be active and follow exercises of osteoarthritis of the spine. You should follow the preventive measures mentioned above as well.

Just be sure to avoid exercises that make your backache for hours. These exercises can make symptoms worse.

Therapies 

Physical therapy is a great way to minimize the symptoms of osteoarthritis. You should follow exercises and movement instructions by your therapist religiously.

Another modern pain therapy is through laser beams. An expert doctor directs a low-level laser beam on the spine. Research has shown that this laser pain therapy treatment not only reduces pain but also reduces inflammation, promotes tissue regeneration, and stops osteoarthritis from worsening. There is no side effect of laser therapy and anyone can opt for it. 

To know more about this therapy, click here.

Medicines

If your condition isn’t getting better with home treatments and therapies, your doctor will prescribe certain medicines to subdued pain and symptoms. The doctor might give you ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and corticosteroids.

Don’t forget that these medicines pose side effects if you use them for a long time. But don’t skip your prescription without the consent of your doctor.

Spinal osteoarthritis surgery 

Surgery for spinal osteoarthritis is not very common. But in extreme cases, when your movement is impaired with severe pain, your doctor might suggest surgery.

The surgery is performed to fuse the problematic vertebrae. This fusion is often done by grafting and it stabilizes the spine and eases the movements.

The Takeaway 

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative illness of joints that can affect the hands, feet, knees, hips, and spine of a person. Osteoarthritis of the spine makes your backache badly as the joints degenerate. That’s why it is very important to know the symptoms and causes of osteoarthritis of the spine (mentioned above) and prevent it from getting worse. You should seek proper medical care and treatment if you have symptoms of osteoarthritis. The good news is that you can surely stop this disease from worsening and even improve the symptoms by prevention, changes in lifestyle, therapies, and medications.

Wondering how to prevent osteoarthritis of the spine? Click here if you want to prevent osteoarthritis from progressing through the non-invasive, safe, and completely safe laser therapy treatment. It’s a promising treatment that eases the symptoms and makes you feel better with time.

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