Osteoarthritis
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common, slowly progressive disorder affecting primarily the weight-bearing diarthrodial joints of the peripheral and axial skeleton. It is characterized by progressive deterioration and loss of articular cartilage resulting in osteophyte formation, pain, limitation of motion, deformity, and progressive disability. Inflammation may or may not be present in the affected joints.
The diagnosis of osteoarthritis is dependent on patient history, clinical examination of the affected joints, and radiologic findings. Radiologic evaluation is necessary for the accurate diagnosis of OA. Radiographic changes are often absent in early, mild OA. With disease progression and loss of cartilage, there may be joint space narrowing.
The major goals for the management of osteoarthritis are to:
(1) Educate the patients, caregivers, and relatives
- Let the patients, caregivers, and relatives understand the clinical presentation, pathophysiology and treatment for the condition.
(2) Relieve pain and stiffness
- This is the essential stage where the patients should discuss with the doctors or pharmacists what are the appropriate medication to be used for the pain ad stiffness as the improper medication usage might results in other complications.
(3) Maintain or improve joint mobility
- Definitely, the joint mobility level of the patients are important.
(4) Limit functional impairment
- Definitely, tis is to limit or lower the risk for the impairement of the affected areas.
(5) Maintain or improve quality of life
- The quality of life of patients have to be maintain as the condition might be prolonged for the whole life.