Causes of Osteoarthritis

There are many lifestyle factors leading to the onset of osteoarthritis. Bad habits such as smoking, lack of exercise or poor dietary consumption may lead to many arthritic problems – osteoarthritis is only one.

Other Lifestyle Factors You May Want To Beware Of Are

• Athletic use of joints throughout your life. If you’ve suffered from injuries, ligament tears, multiple surgeries, tendon and ligament damage and repeated damage of your joints, you may have more of a chance to develop osteoarthritis.
• Obesity. Pressure increases on your joints when you’re overweight. The hips and knees take much of the burden of the extra pounds and may cause the cartilage cushioning the joints to wear down more rapidly. Fat tissue may also increase inflammatory chemicals to damage the joints.
• Metabolic disorders. Disorders such as hemochromatosis may cause the body to absorb extra amounts of iron or acromegaly, increasing growth hormones. Bone and joint problems such as rheumatoid arthritis may also be linked to osteoarthritic disorders.
• Texting. The fast and easy method of texting messages to friends, family and coworkers may cause a future disorder of osteoarthritis. Researchers show that kids – especially girls – who are constantly texting are much more likely to develop issues with finger and hand joints. Hands of tweens (girls about 9-14…too old for toys, but too young for boys) and teens are still growing and the bones and tendons are more susceptible to injuries from overuse.

Diet’s Role in Osteoarthritis

Diet plays a role in relieving pain for those who already have the disorder. Managing osteoarthritis effectively means you must choose a healthy lifestyle, including choosing the best diet plan. A good diet plan for this disorder is one full of fiber and low calorie to prevent weight gain.

Research has proven that maintaining a good weight can help relieve pressure on your joints (especially the knees) and reduce the pain of osteoarthritis. Obesity also increases the cytokines circulating throughout the body. Cytokines are proteins which promote inflammation and swelling and fat cells produce cytokines.

Maintaining a healthy diet plan and combining it with effective exercise therapy can help to reduce the pain and symptoms of osteoarthritis without the use of medications.

Exercises like swimming or other non-impact exercises are better tolerated than jogging or lifting weights.

Choose a diet high in fiber and drink plenty of water to flush harmful toxins from the body. It’s important that you keep your bowels functioning properly to further aid in keeping your health intact.

Some dietary supplements good for osteoarthritis include Vitamins D, C and E, zinc, selenium and copper. Omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish oils are also helpful in reducing inflammation and swelling of joints.