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Conditions

Osteoarthritis

osteoarthritis

This is a condition that most often affects the joints, and is the most common form of arthritis seen in the UK. It generally causes damage to the cartilage, causing friction between the bones, as well as causing unusual bone growths and deposits and inflammation of the joints around the bones. It usually develops in people over the age of 50, and is one of the common side effects of the menopause.

Common symptoms include tenderness around the joint, stiffness and a cracking sound when moving, as well as warmth developing around the inflamed joints. These symptoms can vary according to whether the area of impact is the knees, hands or hips (the most commonly affected joints). Although the conditions cannot be cured, there are various methods to alleviate the symptoms and keep the condition under control. Applying warm or cold compresses to the affected joints can help improve the symptoms, whilst over the counter pain relief such as aspirin and paracetamol are also effective. In the most serious cases there are surgical options to replace the damaged joints (most commonly used on the hips and knees), whilst physiotherapy can be used to ensure that stiffness doesn’t take hold and lead to further deterioration of the condition.

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hi i'm a 21 year old female and ever since i was young my joints have ached when i've done alot of activity and as i've grown up it's gotten worse, especially since i've had my children. i've been to my gp and had blood work done but they came back odd but didn't add up to anything. i want to know why my joint hurt even though my bloods are fine?





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Hi I am a 31 year old female. I have had a pain in my right ankle for longer than 3 years. it started in the ankle bone, now it is painful on top of my foot towards my toes and in the akelies. I can only wear completely flat shoes, if i stand on anything uneven like sand, gravel or even a stone it is so painful, my foot gives way and I am unable to walk it is so painful. I went to the doctors a number of times but because i had full movement of my foot they dismissed me everytime, until i became pregnant with my 3rd child I went back to the doctors to see a trainee doctor who then referred me to a consultant because at night it would stiffen up and I could not walk to the toilet if I woke in the night, I had to hop or crawl. This was 2 years ago. The pain is not only in my foot now but my groin and i get burning pain in my right hip too. I have had an MRI on my feet a year ago which showed a slight sprain and also a bone scan which they have misplaced my results. I am now on my 3rd lot of physio, who cant help either. No-one seems to understand how distressing this is now my right leg goes dead and heavy and quiet often colder than my left. I am so upset about this. I am now waiting for another MRI scan for my back this time but I am going to london for it for the open scanner because I am really clostraphobic. The appointment is taken a while to come thro. I have recently had a polyp removed from inside my cervix and happened to mention to the gnaecologist that I have groin pain on my right side and he sent me off to have an ultrasound to see if I had any Cysts on my ovarie. I had this ultrasound a week ago and they have picked up that my right ovarie is not where it should be, it is tucked under my womb. I would be very grateful if there is anyone that could give me further advise on this as I am so desparate to get a diagnosis to solve this/these problems I have.





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I HAVE POLYMYOITIS AND FIBROMYALGIA, CAN YOU GIVE ME ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THESE CONDITIONS, SOME SYMPTOMS I'VE GOT IS MUSCLE SPASMS, HANDS FEELING LIKE THEY ARE BURNT AND PAINFUL,





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I am 31 years old, and have recently noticed a hard lump underneath my left ankle joint under the skin, it is not visible, but feels like the size of a pea. Is this something I should be worried about?





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hi im 25 and for the past 3 years ive had a clonking sound in my left hip but more recently its happens in both hips.if i stand for a long period my legs begin to go numb and my hips lock until i have click them back into place and i also suffer with lower back pain to which also locks when i lay on my stomach is this a symptom of osteoarthritis?





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hi im really sure i have this i am 13 years old and i used to do alot of sport would this affect me badly when i am older.





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hi i am 13 and i am pretty sure i have this is it normal for my age group i do a lot of dancing is theis a side affect





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Im 22 and have problems with my left foot. It's mainly when I get out of bed or stand up. The pain and numbness I feel really hurts. I end up limping for around about 5 mins everytime I stand up or get out of bed. The pain has been there for around 4 months now, I thought it would go away. I cant really find out what my problem is. I await your reply cheers...





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Hi i suffer with osteo arthritis for over 5 years in my right ankle i wear a splint on it now as thay say my sub talar joint has deteriated over the last 2 years ive been told that i carnt have it fused as ive got extreme pain syndrome in my ankle. I also have osteo arthritis in my neck & shoulder & walk round on crutches. Is there any other way of a miricle to make my foot better to walk on as they wont fuse it. PS im 49 Thank you for reading this help?





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I'm 27years old, and since January 2009 I have been having problems with my left knee. First of all in jan 2009 i fell on my back while roller skating, hurt my coccyc and stayed in bed for a couple of days..(10jan)around the 23rd of jan, my left knee badly swelled up, went to the a&e twice in 3 days and sent home as nothing was found.Ultimately on the 28th blood clots were found under the back of my knee on the femoral vein.treated and sent to do physiotherapy as lost completely muscles on the quadriceps. In august my left knee swells up again..had a key hole surgery in sept as on the MRI scan a tear in my medial meniscus was showing. Surgeon doesnt find anything in my medial meniscus, only an inflamed synovial wall, and once the biospy was done to the fluid, it showed a cronic synovial arthritis. A month late ( oct09) my left knee swells up again, and this time I was sent to see a rheumatologist..fluid drained and steroids injected. all good for 3 months, till 2 weeks ago..my left knee swells up..I go back to the specialist..drained the fluid and injects steroids..4 days later my right one swells up..same procedure..on tuesdays this week my left one swells up again..go to the a&e and they drain 70ml of fluid..no steroids this time..after a couple of hours fluid builds up again..been given antiflammatories and rest..but now its been 3 days..and the stuation isnt improvin..wot can I do? No tests have been carried out by specialist and the only diagnosis I was given is polyarthritis..suspeted psoryasis..I am not a doctor but it looks like to me more an osteoarthritis





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It looks like no one else has asked this question, so please fill in the rest of your details below.





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Content supplied by NHS Choices

Osteoarthritis is a condition that affects the joints. It is the most common type of arthritis in the UK, with an estimated 8.5 million people affected by the condition. Read More »

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