Osteoarthritis & Joint Pain in Glasgow

OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) - "Wear & Tear"

Osteoarthritis is a condition that affects your joints, also known as Degenerative Joint Disease or "wear and tear". When a joint develops osteoarthritis, some of the smooth cartilage covering the ends of the bones gradually roughens and becomes thin, and the underlying bone thickens. All the tissues within the joint become more active than normal as your body tries to repair the damage. The bone at the edge of your joint can grow outwards, forming bony spurs called osteophytes. The synovium (the inner layer of the joint capsule which produces the joint's lubricant) may thicken and make extra fluid. This causes your joint to swell. The capsule and ligaments (tough bands that hold the joint together) slowly thicken and contract as if they were trying to make your joint more stable. Sometimes your body's repairs are quite good and the changes inside your joint won't cause pain or problems. However, in severe osteoarthritis, the cartilage can become so thin that it doesn't cover the ends of your bones. Your bones rub against each other and start to wear away. The loss of cartilage, the wearing of bone and the bony spurs can change the shape of your joint, forcing your bones out of their normal position.

Factors that can increase your risk of OA:

Age	More common incidence from the late 40s onwards. Probably due to the muscles weakening and the body having less ability to heal itself, or even the joint slowly wearing out over time.
Gender	For most joints, especially the knees and hands, OA is more common and more severe in women.
Obesity	Being overweight is an important factor in causing OA, especially in your knee. It also increases the chances of joint damage slowly becoming worse.
Joint Injury & Stresses	A major injury or operation on a joint may lead to OA in that joint later in life. Normal activity and exercise don't generally cause OA, but doing high impact sport or physically demanding jobs can increase your risk.
Joint Abnormalities	If you were born with abnormalities or developed them in childhood, it can lead to earlier and more severe OA than usual. e.g. Perthes' disease of the hips.
Genetic Gactors	Nodal OA, which particularly affects the hands of middle-aged women, runs strongly in families, although it's not yet clear which genes are involved. And some rare forms of OA which start at an earlier age are linked with genes that affect collagen (an essential part of cartilage). Genetic factors play a smaller, but still important, part in OA of the hip and knee.

So what can Newlands Physiotherapy offer?

Many OA sufferers are often told by their GP that nothing can be done, and they just have to cope with their symptoms until perhaps joint replacement is necessary. We beg to differ!

Tailored Exercise Programmes	It is vital to exercise your joints to maintain (or sometimes improve) your movement, and to maintain / improve the strength of the muscles around the joint for maximum protection of the joint. However, it is important to get the level / type of exercise just right for the individual. So whether you are a sedentary soul, or keen to keep up your normal sport & activities, we will make sure we give you the right advice and exercises for you! If you are overweight, we will advise you on the right kind of exercise to help with weight-loss, to help offload your joints. Even if you are on a waiting list for joint replacement, it is vital to get your joint as mobile and strong as possible - this will lead to much better results with surgery! We can help!
Relief of Symptoms	Many OA sufferers get significant relief from "hands on" treatment, including soft-tissue massage, acupuncture, joint mobilisation techniques, ultrasound therapy, strapping tape application etc. We offer these treatments to help relieve pain, stiffness & swelling in order to facilitate your exercises.
Self Management Advice & Strategies	Your GP will help you manage your symptoms with medication, however there are many other things you can do to help yourself. We can advise when it's most appropriate to use heat treatments or cold packs, advise on posture & general movement (abnormal patterns often occur when subconsciously offloading a sore joint), and can advise on best use of splints / braces / supports etc.

Contact Us

Submit

Opening Hours

Monday	8.00am - 9.00pm
Tuesday	8.00am - 9.00pm
Wednesday	8.00am - 8.30pm
Thursday	8.00am - 9.00pm
Friday	8.00am - 5.00pm
Saturday	by arrangement
Sunday	by arrangement