Helping Your Elderly Loved One Live with Osteoarthritis

January 20, 2016 by

Elderly Care in Thornhill

Osteoarthritis in general is a condition in which your loved one’s joints start to lose some of the cartilage that protects and cushions the joints. Your loved one might also experience bone spurs in Elderly-Care-Thornhillthe affected joints, but the primary symptoms include inflammation and pain. As the cartilage breaks down even more, your loved one may have stiff joints that feel as if they lock up. Understanding a little more about the types of osteoarthritis can help you to care for your loved one more effectively.

Primary Osteoarthritis

This type of osteoarthritis often develops later in life and it’s usually caused by general wear and tear on your loved one’s joints. It likely came on slowly for your loved one, gradually worsening over the years until she talked about the problem with her doctor. Primary osteoarthritis is one of the more common forms of arthritis and some experts in arthritis say that just about everyone can develop this form at some point in their life, regardless of other risk factors because it’s brought on by using the joints.

Secondary Osteoarthritis

Secondary osteoarthritis is a little bit different. It still involves a breakdown of the cartilage in the joints, but the cause can be different. Your loved one is likely to develop secondary osteoarthritis after an injury or if she’s not been very active. Using your joints helps them to remain strong longer. Inactivity can also lead to obesity which has a dramatic effect on the health of your loved one’s joints.

Coping Tips

Your loved one most likely experiences a good bit of pain due to her osteoarthritis. Work with her doctor to develop a medical plan to help treat her pain. You can also help her to start exercising more regularly. If she’s overweight, this can help her to lose some weight, ultimately helping her to relieve stress on her joints. Ask your loved one’s elder care providers for other suggestions that can help your loved one to cope with her diagnosis. They’ve worked with this problem with others as well, so they’ll have some insight for you.

Osteoporosis is painful, but you and your loved one can learn together how to manage it.

If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care services in Thornhill, contact the caring professionals at Staff Relief Health Care 24/7 at 905.709.1767.

Source
http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/guide/osteoarthritis-basics

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