Do your joints ache or become swollen, stiff, and painful to move? As we age, normal wear and tear on our bones can lead to arthritis, a condition that causes the cartilage to deteriorate inside a joint.
Two of the most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis of the knee and rheumatoid arthritis of the hand. If you are very active or have experienced substantial joint damage due to sports, you may experience osteoarthritis earlier in life, which can affect any joint in your body. Autoimmune and inflammatory disease can cause rheumatoid arthritis, which typically affects the hand and foot joints.
Arthritis can be treated with medication, physical therapy, certain lifestyle adjustments, and in severe cases, surgery (such as joint replacement).
What Causes Arthritis?
Inside your joints, cartilage covers the ends of bones and forms a smooth surface so that you can easily move your knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist, or ankle. A thick liquid called synovial fluid acts as a lubricant inside the joint, reducing friction and helping to prevent joint damage.
People with osteoarthritis have lost some or all of their protective cartilage, resulting in bone-on-bone friction, which can create bone spurs that cause even more pain and disability. People with rheumatoid arthritis have an autoimmune disease that affects the synovium, which produces the synovial fluid. Joints become painful, swollen, and stiff during movement and at rest.
How Is Arthritis Diagnosed?
Advanced Bone & Joint is a highly regarded orthopedic practice in St. Peters and O'Fallon, Missouri. Our orthopedic specialists have vast experience diagnosing different types of arthritis using lab tests and diagnostic imaging technology to look inside your joint.
For example, an X-ray will help us see the bones, while an MRI will help us see the cartilage and other soft structures. You may also need a bone scan to check for abnormal growths inside the bone, like spurs and cysts.
Arthritis Treatment Options
Treatment options for arthritis depend on your age, overall health, lifestyle, and other factors. Surgery is usually a last-resort option.
Advanced Bone & Joint offers viscosupplementation for knee arthritis, which can lubricate the joint and provide substantial pain relief, thereby postponing the need for surgery. Cortisone or other ultrasound-guided injections can temporarily reduce inflammation and pain.
Our sports medicine physician, Dr. Brandon Larkin, is especially well-versed in the use of various techniques to treat patients suffering from a large variety of orthopedic conditions, including arthritis.
Our Orthopedic Doctors Treat Arthritis in Hands, Knee, Hip & More! Contact Us Today
To learn more about your arthritis treatment options in the St. Louis area of Missouri, call Advanced Bone & Joint at (636) 229-4222 to schedule an appointment with one of our orthopedic doctors, or request an appointment now.