Some people with severe changes, for example, are pain-free. X-rays can show OA changes but they can be very misleading, as the degree of OA on the x-ray often does not correlate with the degree of a patient’s symptoms. OA feels stiff when you first move a joint whereas tendonitis gets worse during or after use.The pain from OA spreads over the whole joint but inflamed tendons cause localised pain.OA tends to affect older people, while tendonitis is more common in very active people.OA pain gradually builds up whereas tendonitis pain develops fast.OA is more common in the knee and tendonitis in the foot and ankle.It is a treatable and reversible condition. It is usually caused by over-use of a joint and can cause pain, swelling and stiffness. This is inflammation of the tendons that attach muscle to bone. Tendonitis, for example, can be confused with OA. What causes joint pain?Īny part of a joint can give you pain, and while OA is not reversible, other causes of joint pain are, so it’s crucial you get the right diagnosis if you’re to receive the right treatment. Muscles that have been gradually trained with good biomechanics seem to give the best protection to joints. If they are weak or misaligned, this impact through the bone and cartilage is unevenly distributed, which can lead to cartilage damage and overgrowth of bone. The muscles supporting the knee joint are vitally important, since they absorb impact when the foot hits the ground. Running with an injury, however, may increase your OA risk. Exercise is a treatment for established OA and will reduce pain and disability. Moderate exercise, including running, will not damage your joints or cause OA, and if you already have some arthritis present it will not speed up the process. Most of these studies focus on the knee joint and ask, ‘Are we wearing out our knees?’ The overriding conclusion seems to be no. Many studies have examined whether runners have more OA than less active people. Finally, muscles surround the joint adding further stability and attach to the bones by tendons. Ligaments are strips of thick fibrous tissue that connect bone to bone and help to stabilise joints. Between the cartilage, a liquid called synovial fluid bathes the joint, acting like oil to ensure all parts of the joint move smoothly. The end of each bone is coated in a hard smooth substance called cartilage. Your joint is behaving normally, it is looking after itself and it may never give you any symptoms. So, if you have been told you have ‘early arthritis’, do not panic. It’s only when the damage to a joint is excessive, or the repair process cannot keep up, that true joint damage occurs and you get symptoms from OA. It might look different inside, but the joint still works fine and is pain-free. Small areas of cartilage are lost and bone shape changes as the joint is ‘re-organised’. If a joint suffers damage of any kind, it needs to be fixed to keep the joint functioning and pain-free. NICE describes arthritis as a process that is actually repairing your joints. You might picture this as a destructive process wearing down your joints, but NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) wants us to think about it differently. The most common type of arthritis in the UK is osteoarthritis (OA). Before you hang up your running shoes, let’s look at the facts. Does this mean the end of your running career? Not necessarily. One of the most dreaded of words your GP could say to you are ‘I think you have arthritis’.
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