Degenerative joint disease is a painful condition that is caused by the breakdown of cartilage in the joints. Also known as osteoarthritis, this condition is the most common of all types of arthritis and usually occurs in weight-bearing joints such as the knees, hips, and spine, as well as in the hands and feet.
This disease is also called degenerative arthritis due to the fact that it gets worse over time. Cartilage provides a buffer between the joints where two bones meet and this buffer is under constant strain due to daily movements of the body. In ideal conditions, cartilage would consistently replenish itself to meet the demands of physical exercise and other activities.
However, inflammation and various environmental conditions can make it so that cartilage does not heal itself which leads to gradual deterioration of this buffer between the joints. When this occurs, the bones in a joint start to move against each other directly, causing pain that can range anywhere from mild to absolutely debilitating.
1. Joint pain
One of the most common signs of osteoarthritis is, of course, joint pain. This symptom is not always indicative of degenerative joint disease, but if pain in the joints persists and seems to worsen over time, it’s highly likely that the cartilage in your joints is thinning and breaking down.
Contemporary science has confirmed the wisdom of the ancient medical traditions of China and India: inflammation is the root cause of almost all disease. While many mainstream medical scientists and practitioners still advise that cartilage can never be regenerated, remember that the same thing was said about brain cells until recent decades. Many sufferers of degenerative joint disease have found lasting relief by reducing the inflammation in their bodies through diet and other factors.
2. Lower back pain
Degenerative joint disease often shows itself in the spine before it appears anywhere else in the body. Chronic lower back pain is one of the signs that clearly indicate the onset of osteoarthritis, though this symptom can also be attributed to a number of other conditions. Before self-diagnosing osteoarthritis due to your lower back pain, thoroughly explore all of the other options. For instance, this type of pain can often be due to an issue in the musculature and has nothing to do with the cartilage in the spine. While reducing inflammation can often help with lower back pain, if the pain persists it’s time to consult a doctor.
3. Joint stiffness
Joint stiffness is a symptom of degenerative joint disease most commonly felt immediately after getting out of bed. Depending on the degree that your cartilage has degenerated, however, this stiffness might be felt all throughout the day and on into the night. Joint stiffness isn’t necessarily a sign of osteoarthritis, however, so don’t jump to conclusions. If your joint stiffness persists for multiple weeks or months, however, and starts to get worse, it might be time to schedule an appointment with your general practitioner. Remember that naturally anti-inflammatory foods and beverages often help mitigate osteoarthritis and may be just as good of a treatment as anything your doctor prescribes.
4. Joint swelling
As your bones move against each other without the benefit of cartilage in between, inflammation occurs that can lead to swelling. While joint swelling can also be the result of an injury, this symptom is often a clear sign that you’re dealing with a chronic condition that needs to be addressed immediately. Like all other symptoms of degenerative joint disease, joint swelling is caused by inflammation and can be mitigated with the help of anti-inflammatory treatments. Foods like green, leafy vegetables, blueberries, salmon, walnuts, and flaxseed have been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory properties. If joint swelling persists, however, it’s time to see a physician.
5. Bony outgrowths
When bones meeting at a joint experience repetitive friction over a long period of time, one or both bones may start to develop outgrowths called bone spurs. Also known as osteophytes, these small bumps form on the edges of joints and may pinch nerves or collide with other bones. Bone spurs can be extremely uncomfortable and are a sure sign that you’re dealing with osteoarthritis. While mainstream medical science emphatically states that bone spurs can only be removed with surgery, various alternative health practices have been shown to dissolve bone spurs naturally with no need for invasive procedures. When dealing with bone spurs, it might make sense to consult multiple physicians including an alternative medical practitioner such as a naturopath.
6. Joint deformity
If degenerative joint disease is left untreated for a long period of time, your joints can actually start to deform. In the case of joint deformity, the bones meeting at the joint take on new shapes as a result of the consistent friction and pressure that occurs every time that the joint is moved. It’s best to begin treatment of your osteoarthritis before your joints start to deform as it’s very hard to reverse this symptom by either conventional or alternative means. While improving your overall health may cause your cartilage to regenerate and your joints to heal, surgery is often required to address joint deformity.
7. Limping
Once osteoarthritis reaches an advanced stage, you may start to develop a limp. This is the body’s natural way of trying to take weight off of the affected joint. Degenerative joint disease is almost never limited to one area of the body, however, and putting more weight on one side will simply cause that leg to develop osteoarthritis as well. The best way to combat a limp resulting from osteoarthritis is to maintain an optimum weight, eat healthy and anti-inflammatory foods, and refrain from smoking, though a doctor may also prescribe crutches or even recommend that you use a wheelchair to get around.
8. Knee pain
Since the knee is a weight-bearing joint, degenerative joint disease often shows itself in the knee before it appears anywhere else. In many cases, knee pain is caused by another factor like overextension or injury. Yet if the pain in your knee persists over a matter of weeks, this could be a sign that the cartilage in the knee joint is wearing thin. While there are many steps that you can take from home to combat osteoarthritis in the knee, if your pain persists and becomes debilitating, it’s time to consult with a qualified physician to see what options are available for treatment.
9. Neck pain
Though the neck isn’t commonly thought of as a weight-bearing joint, the brain weighs about three pounds and the skull itself weighs even more. In general, the spine is a prime candidate for degenerative joint disease due to the sheer amount of vertebrae that each share a cartiliginous joint with the vertebrae above and below them. Neck pain could simply be a result of overwork or fatigue, but if the pain doesn’t seem to get better with rest and relaxation, it’s possible that you have osteoarthritis and you should start taking steps immediately to combat the onset of this debilitating disease.
10. Hand pain
The hand contains a huge amount of interlinking bones, each of them connected to the other with a joint. Due to the complexity of the structure of the hand, many sufferers of degenerative joint disease start to notice this condition in their hands before it becomes apparent in any other part of the body. Various exercises have been found to be beneficial for osteoarthritis in the hands, and the use of anti-inflammatory treatments from home is sure to help to some degree. But if you’re having trouble opening and closing your fingers or experiencing debilitating pain, it’s time to bite the bullet and call a doctor.
