Our last post about our new program Glad, mentioned what we can do to help those suffering with Osteoarthritis. But what is osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis occurs when there is deterioration of cartilage in the joints. This causes cartilage to wear down even further, crack or disappear altogether causing the bones to rub together triggering pain and stiffness in joints.
Symptoms in the knee may include:
- Pain with weight-bearing
- Stiff and unstable leg
- Knee giving out
- Crunching or clicking noises; in early cartilage changes, clicking may be heard and felt when the knee is bent and straightened. The symptoms may cause difficulty in climbing stairs and hills, sitting on your knees and squatting and getting up from sitting
- When there has been significant degeneration of the joint OA of the knee results in deformities such as ‘knock-knees’ or ‘bowed-legs’.
In the hip pain can be located:
- Often outside the hip or deep into the groin (where the hip joint actually sits), or on the inside or outside of the thigh or down the leg. Sometimes there is no hip pain, but instead the pain feels like it is in the thigh or knee area
- Hip osteoarthritis often leads to reduced movement in the joint. This can lead to trouble with daily activities such as getting in the car, putting on socks, etc
- Often, your step length will get shorter when walking. It may be hard for you to straighten your hips, so you may tend to bend forward when walking (Glad Canada, 2018)
Luckily there is help, people who have taken the Glad Program have reported a reduction in pain intensity, reduction in pain medication and only 20% of Glad participants are on sick leave compared with 30% of those who haven’t taken the program! Not to mention an overall increase in ease and frequency of physical activity.