Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease usually developing in people over 50 years of age. It is more common in women than in men and 1 million people see their GP about it each year. Osteoarthritis presents as persistent joint pain, morning stiffness that lasts no longer than half an hour and pain that gets worse the more you use your joints. Osteoarthritis mostly occurs in the knees, hips and small joints of the hands and base of the big toe. However, almost any joint can be affected and it accounts for up to140,000 hip and knee replacements each year.
The development of the disease is typically attributed to:
- Age
- Wear and tear
- Joint damage
- Family history
- Obesity
The symptoms of osteoarthritis are as follows
- Pain, inflammation and decreased range of movement in a joint
- Morning stiffness
- Restricted functional movement like pain when walking
- Worse when cold or wet
Osteoarthritis has clearly defined characteristics that lead to pain and inflammation:
- Thinned joint cartilage
- Thickened underlying bone
- Narrowed joint space
- Osteophyte development
- Thickened joint capsule
- Swelling in the joint
However there is new thinking about the disease which points toward it being an inflammatory disease – not just age related wear and tear. Cells in the joint cartilage called chondrocytes are responsible for maintaining the health of the cartilage. Chondrocytes secrete enzymes called metaloproteinases (MMPs) that help to dissolve and breakdown the old worn out bits of cartilage and the chondrocytes then replace this with new collagen and water. However in oosteoarthritis it seems that there is an increase in cartilage destruction by MMP’s that is not balanced by new cartilage production and that systemic inflammation is the cause.
Cartilage breakdown results in release of by-products into the joint which then initiates the inflammatory response. These breakdown products act as antigens stimulating the immune system to further accelerate the arthritis process. Thus it is now being thought that osteoarthritis is an inflammatory disease.
Conventional treatment for osteoarthritis is set out in the Standards of good Osteoarthritis Care and NICE guidelines and includes:
- Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs
- Physiotherapy
- Weight loss
- Joint replacement surgery
Considering the risk factors and development of osteoarthritis the nutritional management should be aimed at weight management to reduce the wear and tear on the joints and with an anti-inflammatory diet. This would include eating lots of vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, meat and fish and other foods such as ginger, garlic, turmeric, fish and fish oils and sulferous foods – such as eggs, broccoli, onions and leeks that all have anti-inflammatory or joint support qualities. London nutritionist Steve Hines can design you an anti-inflammatory diet to reduce the symptoms of arthritis.
Certain nutritional supplements may also help in the management of osteoarthritis. These include:
- Glucosamine hydrochloride
- Chondroitin sulphate
- MSM
- Omega 3
London nutritionist osteoarthritis
