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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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I am 49 and have osteoarthritis in my knee which is controlled with anti-inflamatories. However for the past few weeks I have had similar stiffness in the foot of the same leg. When I wake up in the morning or after periods of inactivity I can hardly walk. Can you get arthritis on the top of your feet or is it something else? The pain does not feel as if it is from a joint.





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I'm 17 but i've been suffering from stiff joints, clicking and if i crouch down and stand up my knees make an awful creaking sound like a door, Its isn't just my knees though its all of my joints! My mum suffers from really bad arthritis especially in winter when she can barely walk, is there any chance i have the same?





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hi my name is jo,since a fall 2 years ago have been diagnosed with sacriolic joint dysfunction,was given physio to do plus steroid injections into sacriolic joint,am permenantly on morphine patches and co codamol for the pain,i do exercises given but seem to cause more pain so am at a loss as to what to do to help myself.Do i persevere with them or could it be making it worse,if ask gp they tell me to ask at pain clinic which i am curently under,i feel i am not listened to also,some days i stay in bed as pain so excruciating,if i go out for the day with family i always suffer next day,i would be grateful for any advise as i feel life is passing me by as unable to work due to the discomfort i am in.





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im 20 years old and for the past couple of years daily, everytime i open my legs my left side of my groin area clicks. and also my hips are very painfull, especially on the right side, it feels sometimes that its going to pop out and if my legs are open for a long time during sex they cramp up and are painfull, some days they ache with every step of pressuse i put on the right side. when i go to the doctors i get given ibuprofen and told to exercise it.... nothing really helps.





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Hello I am 58 years and since last 3 years have been suffering from dry eyes problems. I have been to the hospital a few times but there is no cure for it. Lately my eyes start to blink when I am amongs company and talk to people. It is very ambarrasing please can you tell what can i do or what should I take to improve them.





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Hi, Im 31 and have had a bone density scan due to being on the depo for 5yrs. I constantly have an ache in both my hips and my right hip cracks quite a lot. Any ideas what the problem is and if I could get Osteoarthritis. Thanks





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im 24 and been diagnosed with oteoarthritus of the ankle i have to take strong pain killers and also use crutches from time to time to take the pressure of it





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Hi,my name is lucy.For several months now i have suffered from pain in both knee's such as flashing sharp pain or gnawing toothache type pain.,painful joints in my fingers on my right hand and gripping things is difficult,hips are painful,again toothache type pain or sharp shooting type pain, and stiff when trying to move.I get alot of weakness in my hips that spreads down my legs as though they are going to give way.My right shoulder aches a lot and can't raise it for more than a few seconds.Im not over weight and eat healthy.Any ideas anyone?





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Hi, Im 31 and have just had a bone density scan due to being on the depo for 5yrs. I have started to get a constant ache in my hips, which sometimes goes down my legs and my right hip cracks. I was in a lot of pain with my left hip a few week ago and the doctor told me I had sprained it. I can only describe it as if the bone is the problem and not the leg, a sharp pain.

Hi. I am a 34 year old woman, who last week was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis of the Spine. I have been advised, exercise try Pilates, maintain the pain with tablets and loose weight - great! lol I was doing really well dieting until I was told i need to loose weight. Can any refer me a book or a site which is good for information on Arthritis and exercises etc. Thanks Sarah





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I'm 14 and I have had pains in my knees and hips. It all started at school after P.E as we had to run around a 400m track. I had seen my GP and she prescribed me 400mg Ibuprofen ad a tubi-grip and said it will get better within 2 weeks and it got worse and I seen my GP again and then she prescribed me 50mg Diclofenac Sodium. Now 3 months have passed and I still suffer from pain. Every now and again when ever my knee goes stiff and I move it, it clicks and it's really sore and you can hear it loud and clear clicking.





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I'm exactly the same! I have it in my knees, hips and one shoulder and its very painful and my doctor seems unwilling to do anything other than prescribe ibuprofen and even then they sometimes don't and say just to buy it yourself. I bothers me a lot, I'm 18 and have been like it for near enough two years now.





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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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