Osteoarthritis or Degenerative Joint Disease is a very common type of arthritis in the UK. It is degeneration or wear and tear of your joints. Most people associate it with getting older however younger people can also get osteoarthritis, often as a result of an injury or another joint condition.

Pain from osteoarthritis can affect any joint in your body but it mostly occurs in your knees, hips, and spine where chiropractic may help. It can also affect your fingers and the base of your big toe.

Osteoarthritis in the knees
Your knees may be most painful when you walk, particularly when walking uphill or going up stairs. Sometimes, your knees may ‘give way’ or it could be difficult to straighten your legs. Kneeling can be very difficult. You may also hear a creaking or grating sound when you move your knees.

Osteoarthritis in the hips
You may find it difficult to put your shoes and socks on or to get in and out of a car. In most cases, pain will be worse when you walk or move your hip, although it can also affect you when you are resting as well. The pain maybe in your groin or on the outside of your hip. In some cases you may actually feel the pain in your knee and not in your hip.

Osteoarthritis in the hands
Your fingers may be stiff, swollen and painful. You may have bumps on your finger joints (knuckles) and at the base of your thumb where it joins your wrist. You may find it difficult to do activities such as writing, opening jars, turning on a tap or door handles and turning keys.

Osteoarthritis in the foot
Osteoarthritis in your feet most commonly affects the base of your big toe. It can cause pain when you walk and lead to a bunion (a bony outgrowth) or Hallux Rigidus (stiff big toe).

* The above is for information purposes only and is not a replacement for professional diagnosis.

As part of normal life, your joints are exposed to constant stress and low level damage. In most cases, your body will repair the damage itself. Osteoarthritis occurs when there is damage in and around the joint which the body cannot repair.

Damage to the cartilage that protects your bone surface and allows your joints to move smoothly, ligaments or tendon problems, inflammation in the joint itself or within the bone can all result in or contribute to degeneration.

As your joints deteriorate, they thicken and broaden making them stiff, painful and difficult to move. Your joints may become knobbly where your bones begin to protrude, forming bony lumps called osteophytes. There may also be a build-up of fluid in your joints because of the inflammation, which can cause them to swell up.

Chiropractic treatment for osteoarthritis aims to relieve your pain, ease your symptoms, reduce disability and provide support to help you live as active a life as possible. We do this by helping your joints move better and keeping them moving better.

We also give you advice about improving your general health, how to manage your symptoms and making appropriate changes to your lifestyle.

* Chiropractic treatment does not involve the use of medication.