Osteoarthritis Symptoms

Osteoarthritis symptoms vary from few symptoms in spite of dramatic degeneration seen on X-rays to complete debilitation. Pain in the neck or low back is a common symptom of osteoarthritis of the cervical spine or lumbar spine. Encroaching on the nerves of the arthritic spine, bony spurs, called osteophytes, cause severe pain, numbness, and tingling. Osteoarthritis is characterized primarily by stiffness and pain in the joints, although not everyone with osteoarthritis actually experiences pain and disability. This pain is usually worse in the morning, known as first movement pain. Pain that wakes during the night can also be an indicator.

Other osteoarthritis symptoms include joint warmth or swelling, particularly during weather changes; joint tenderness when the area of the spine is pressed; aching joint pain sometimes aggravated by motion; loss of joint flexibility; crunching sound or feeling of bone on bone when joint is moved (crepitus)--notable in the neck; abnormal curvature of the spine, possibly due to unbalanced muscle spasm; and pinching, tingling or numbness in the spinal cord or nerve nearby--from bone spurs at the end of joints.

No one wakes up in the morning with a raging case of osteoarthritis. It's a gradual condition. It may start with joint pain after exercise, or physical labor. That pain may fade and then return, when the joint is overused. But as the cartilage thins, the pain from bone on bone friction can make it difficult to climb stairs or walk. Inactivity is also not good for osteoarthritis. Stiffness and pain can result after a long car trip or even watching a movie. Advanced osteoarthritis may cause substantial pain even when the body is at rest.

In the lower back, osteoarthritis symptoms may include radiculopathy, or pain that refers down the legs, pelvis, buttocks, thighs and sometimes even in the groin. Additional symptoms caused by herniated discs and osteophytes may also cause numbness, tingling, pain and weakness in the legs. When osteoarthritis causes spinal stenosis, walking and exercise symptoms may present in both legs.

In the neck, cervical spine osteoarthritis symptoms, tend to produce localized pain that is worse in the morning and evening. The pain can radiate to the shoulders, or up the neck to cause headaches. Again, with nerves affected through spurs and disc herniation, radiculopathy (numbness, tingling, weakness) in one hand or the other may present. In severe cases, compression of the spinal cord in the neck can create problems with walking and bowel and bladder control.

For osteoarthritis in the neck or spine, Allied Healthcare Clinics offer and advocate natural relief through IDD Therapy®, the best available form of spinal decompression. Read further on how IDD Therapy® can treat osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis Symptoms

• Pain, numbness and tingling down the arms and legs known as radiculopathy
• Numbness and Tingling
• Stiffness and Pain in Joints
• Morning Stiffness
• Severe Pain

Osteoarthritis Topics

• What is Osteoarthritis?
• Causes of Osteoarthritis
• Osteoarthritis Treatment
• Exercises for Osteoarthritis

For clinically proven, non-surgical osteoarthritis relief call today for a FREE consultation on IDD Therapy® with Allied Healthcare, 770-460-1911 or contact us.