Arthritis, joint pain, wear and tear

Pain in one or more joints could be arthritis. In fact, it is. The word ‘arthritis’ derives from the Greek word -artho, meaning ‘joint’, and ‘itis’ meaning inflammation.

Joint pain, stiffness, tenderness, joint inflammation, reduced movement, redness and warmth around the joint, muscular weakness and wasting, can all be symptoms of the disease.

To be honest, arthritis is pretty rubbish. It can restrict a person’s ability to lead an ordinary life. In the clinic, we hear stories of arthritic hips causing pain and an inability to walk for even short distances. Arthritis of the hands making it impossible to open a can of pickled onions and similarly, arthritis in the knees making climbing stairs painful or kneeling on the floor to play with the grandchildren very difficult indeed.

There are four types of arthritis:

• Degenerative arthritis – Of this group, osteoarthritis is the most common. The cartilage that cushions the joint wears done and the joint begins to rub bone against bone, causing discomfort, stiffness and sometimes swelling. The pain persists and the muscles lose strength. Increased weight, previous trauma (ie meniscus tear), age and family history can all be risk factors.
• Inflammatory arthritis – Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout and ankylosing arthritis, are all examples of this disease. Our body is great at keeping us healthy with an immune system. It creates inflammation to rid us of infection and disease, but in some people, this immune system does not work properly. It can be destructive with too much inflammation, causing joint erosion. Scientists believe a person’s environment and genetics may trigger this autoimmune reaction.
• Infectious arthritis – Organisms can sometimes infect our joints causing infectious arthritis. A virus, bacteria or fungus may cause inflammation when entering a joint. Blood infections such as Hepatitis C can cause arthritis. Some sexually transmitted diseases and food poisoning may also cause joint inflammation and pain.
• Metabolic arthritis – Purine, a substance found in many foods and also in human cells is broken down by the body, forming uric acid. In some people, the body produces too much naturally or is unable to rid itself of it quickly enough. When this happens, the build-up of uric acid begins to form sharp, needle-like crystals in joints, which can cause incredible pain for those affected (Gout). If the levels of uric acid are not reduced then the ongoing issue can become chronic, causing temporary pain or ongoing disability.

What you can do
Getting an accurate diagnosis of your condition is the first step. Pain relief medications may help or other medicines may be prescribed depending on the arthritis type. Maintaining movement is essential to keep muscles strong and the joints flexible. Maintaining a healthy weight and improving diet can also help with some types of arthritis. Seeking help and assistance from a qualified osteopath for specific arthritis rehabilitation is also advised, to help reduce the pain felt from this debilitating group of conditions.

Rotator Cuff tears, impingements and bursitis

Do you have shoulder pain and not know why? It could be your cuff! Rotator cuff injuries a real pain to have to live with. Being unable to freely put on a jumper, carry a shopping bag, lie on your side, or even brush your teeth, can really take the shine out of the day. In fact, most people in the clinic tell us that it’s the simple activities that they usually take for granted that bother them the most. Playing with the children is no longer fun and throwing a ball for the dog is now just not possible.

We are often told, in the clinic, that the attitude of “it will get better by itself soon” leads to months down the line, somehow making things worse. Neck and upper back pain soon follows as the body tries to adapt to a new pattern of movements to help patients avoid the pain of moving the arm. Shoulder pain becomes a real nuisance and the people around you appear to start to suffer because of the patient’s pain too.

After reading the above, if this is you, then a little bit of knowledge of the shoulder and rotator cuff can go a long way here. Understanding some basic biomechanics and the actions of the rotator cuff muscles can help you to understand what may be going on and how to help yourself…So here it is.

The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles: Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor and Subscapularis. Now, these names may sound complicated but the jobs these muscles perform are far from it. Their roles may be simple but they are also very VERY important. The rotator cuffs primary role is to hold onto your arm (humerus) and suck it into your shoulder (glenoid fossa). The shoulder is a very mobile joint and due to this, lacks stability. These muscles, therefore, have to work really very hard, especially if you use your arms all day, every day and in repeated motions. These motions after a period of time can start to cause friction between two structures, where the muscle starts to rub against another tissue, for example, a bursa (causing bursitis) or causing micro-trauma to tendons causing micro-tears (tendinitis). These common shoulder issues, bursitis and tendinitis, increase the inflammation around the injured site, which therefore irritates the nerve endings causing you the pain and discomfort you feel.

Shoulder pain, exercises, stretches and rehab

Thankfully there are things that can be done to alleviate some of the discomforts of shoulder impingement, bursitis or tendinitis. Exercise and strengthening the muscles under the guidance of a qualified therapist Will most likely improve your symptoms over time but you can also improve your own symptoms by performing some simple exercises. Personally, I like to advise a simple traction exercise to start. I have attached a link here to a YouTube video that may be of benefit if you are suffering from shoulder pain. Click the link below to take a look: