Osteoarthritis

If you have been diagnosed with OA, then you may experience the following symptoms:

• Joint Aches & Pains: OA causes a deep, but dull, ache in the affected bones and joints. Common areas to experience pain often include the hands, hips, knees, and spine.
• Stiffness: Individuals with OA often complain of stiffness first thing in the AM or following a lengthy bout of sitting. As inflammation builds and the joints swell, stiffness can become even more pronounced.
• Crepitus: Crepitus occurs when you can hear a grating or crackling sensation in your joints. This can result from a loss of cartilage and the ensuing bone-on-bone friction.
• Inflexibility: Over time, individuals with OA lose normal range of motion in the affected joint. For instance, you may not be able to bend your knees or rotate your arm as fully as you once were able. This can affect both gross motor skills (using your arms and legs) or fine motor control (activating your fingers and toes for delicate tasks, like buttoning a shirt).
• Bone Spurs: Bone spurs are tiny knobs that form on areas of bone that are exposed to constant friction. (Think of how a callous can form from overuse on the fingers.) Unfortunately, bone spurs can press on nerves, causing further complications, or grow into the joint, causing deformity. For example, Bouchard’s Nodes (another form of bony overgrowth) in the hands causes the characteristic enlarged finger joints that we associate with arthritis.

More rarely, OA can cause fragments of bone or cartilage to chip off of the joint surface. In addition, stress fractures, joint infections, and torn ligaments or tendons can occur. To avoid the complications of OA, seek prompt treatment from a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. Contact our osteoarthritis specialists at NJSO today!

If you suspect that you might have osteoarthritis, then your doctor will use a combination of imaging and lab tests to confirm your suspicions. Your doctor will likely begin by prescribing x-rays. Remember that x-rays cannot reveal the presence (or in this case, the absence) of soft tissues, like cartilage. However, x-rays can confirm the presence of bone spurs—a very common complication of OA. For more complex or severe cases, your doctor may also order an MRI, which will fully reveal the structure of the joint (soft tissues included). But, this isn’t usually necessary.

Additionally, your doctor may order further tests to rule out the existence other disorders. For example, you may need a blood test to rule out the presence of Rheumatoid Arthritis (which presents with similar symptoms). Or, your doctor may order a joint fluid analysis to ensure that you don’t have a joint infection instead of OA.

Conservative Therapies & Treatments for Osteoarthritis

After diagnosing your osteoarthritis, your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs (like Ibuprofen) or other medications that can treat osteoarthritis pain (like Cymbalta). In particular, these drugs can reduce pain and tenderness without adding the risk for addiction into the mix.

To supplement the effects of pain medications, your doctor will likely order a course of physical or occupational therapy. PT will enable you to work on joint and muscle strength while also preserving your joint flexibility. Similarly, OT will allow you to practice maintaining your functional skills. Keep in mind that OA often causes individuals to lose their ability to effectively execute fine motor movements, like writing with a pencil or buttoning a shirt. OTs are masters at regaining these everyday skills and helping you devise useful hacks to maintain your independence.

Lastly, your doctor may suggest alternative therapies, like yoga or swimming. Both of these forms of exercise are “joint gentle.” This means that you can build strength and cardiac endurance without overwhelming your joints.

Minimally Invasive Surgeries for Osteoarthritis

If you don’t find sufficient pain relief from conservative methods, then you may need surgery to address your OA. Because OA can affect so many different parts of your body, many different surgical procedures are possible. However, some of the most common approaches include:

• Osteotomy: During an osteotomy, your doctor removes a small, wedge-shaped sliver of bone. This creates a hinge that your doctor can add or subtract from using surgical hardware, like rods, screws, or implants. The goal of an osteotomy is twofold. First, your doctor will attempt to adjust any bones that are misaligned. Secondly, your surgeon will alter the way that weight is applied to the joint, shifting pressure away from the inflamed area.
• Joint Replacement Surgery (JRS): During JRS, your doctor will replace the parts of your joint that are worn out or damaged. This may involve rebuilding the joint with metal parts or removing injured sections of bone.
• Spinal Fusion: If movement of the joint is causing you significant pain, then your doctor may recommend a spinal fusion. During a spinal fusion, your surgeon fuses two adjacent vertebrae together. This effectively stops movement at the pain-producing joint.
• Laminectomy: If bone spurs are pressing on your spinal nerves, then relieving your pain may be as simple as decompressing your nerves. During a laminectomy, your surgeon removes the backside of your vertebra, known as the lamina. Lifting up the lamina gives your nerves the extra space that they need to operate pain-free.

Looking for OA treatments near you? New Jersey Spine & Ortho has numerous surgical center locations throughout New Jersey, New York, Florida, and soon-to-be Pennsylvania. For award-winning spine care that you can trust, contact our board-certified spine and joint experts today!