Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that is caused by the degeneration and eventual loss of the cartilage of one or more joints. Cartilage is a protein substance that serves as a “cushion” between the bones of the joints. Majority of the patients who suffers from this kind of painful diseases are the old ones.
Osteoarthritis is the most ordinary joint disease that distresses people over the age of 65. Osteoarthritis in geriatric patients can impinge on the joins of the fingers, spine, hip, knees and the joints of the toes. Often osteoarthritis does not affect the joints of the wrists, elbows, shoulders and ankles.
Natural aging don’t cause osteoarthritis in elderly patients. But it is caused by age-related adjustments that occur in the body. According to some experts, it can be caused due to obesity, trauma, other joint disorders or abnormalities of the joints.
The current advances in osteoarthritis treatment ensure that many elderly people can still live a full and healthy life without allowing the disease to impede their lives. Treating osteoarthritis in geriatric patients involves a whole range of measures.
There has to behavioural therapy, physical therapy, pharmaceutical therapy and at times surgery. Nowadays, caregivers and other health professionals are offering wide services to help geriatric patients suffering from osteoarthritis. A recent advance in treating osteoarthritis in elderly patients involves not just easing the pain but also ensure that the patients can move around to the best of their abilities.
Management involves give therapy so that the patient can learn skills to handle with the ailment and well as be positive when performing an activity. This has proved to be extremely supportive in improving the functioning of the patient. In addition, the patient is given exercises that help to ease the pain and restore function to the affected joint. Some patients may be advised to use adaptive aids to help them move around independently.
That is why professional health care is needed in the elderly who are already suffering from this painful illness.
