Experts confirm that once OA starts, it may take years to reach a severe stage. However, in extreme cases, OA progresses rapidly to complete the destruction of the cartilage within a few months. Some of the factors that determine the rate of OA progression include: The severity of your symptoms at the time of diagnosis.
Osteoarthritis is generally a slowly progressive disorder. However, at least 1 in 7 people with incident knee osteoarthritis develop an abrupt progression to advanced-stage radiographic disease, many within 12 months.
Osteoarthritis is a long-term condition and cannot be cured, but it doesn't necessarily get any worse over time and it can sometimes gradually improve. A number of treatments are also available to reduce the symptoms. Mild symptoms can sometimes be managed with simple measures, including: regular exercise.
Post-traumatic arthritis can develop months to years after any physical injury to your joints. Most commonly, physicians see arthritic development in patients who have suffered from vehicle accidents, past sports injuries, military injuries, and falls.
Depending on the type of arthritis, symptoms can develop suddenly or gradually over time. Symptoms may come and go, or persist over time.
Extra weight puts a lot of pressure on the hips and knees, which causes the cartilage in your joints to deteriorate quickly. Specifically, research shows a heightened rate of OA progression in obese people⁴ as compared to people with healthy weights.
You can't reverse osteoarthritis, but you can manage the condition and slow its progression down. However, it's important you talk with your doctor first before trying any new treatments, remedies, or supplements. This is because certain products and medications can interact with each other, causing side effects.
Osteoarthritis is a chronic, progressive condition that worsens over time. While it may seem to come on “all of a sudden,” usually the cartilage between the joints has been eroded over time, so even if the joint pain seems sudden the process has been underway for a while.
A person with mild osteoarthritis may experience minor symptoms but will not yet have significant joint damage. In contrast, a person with moderate or severe osteoarthritis has more extensive joint damage and may experience more severe symptoms, including: joint deformities. loss of mobility.
With the right support, you can lead a healthy, active life with osteoarthritis. The condition does not necessarily get worse.
Anyone can get osteoarthritis, but it is more common as people age. Women are more likely than men to have osteoarthritis, especially after age 50. Other factors that may make it more likely to develop osteoarthritis include: Overweight or obesity.
Osteoarthritis symptoms can usually be managed, although the damage to joints can't be reversed. Staying active, maintaining a healthy weight and receiving certain treatments might slow progression of the disease and help improve pain and joint function.
Get Physical
Physical activity is the best available treatment for OA. It's also one of the best ways to keep joints healthy in the first place. As little as 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise five times a week helps joints stay limber and strengthens the muscles that support and stabilize your hips and knees.
Unlike other types of arthritis, the pain from osteoarthritis usually develops gradually over many months or years. Often it increases with activities that put stress on the joint, such as running or prolonged walking. Pain and joint swelling tend to increase slowly over time.
But, for most people, osteoarthritis doesn't continue to get steadily worse over time. For some people, the condition reaches a peak a few years after the symptoms start and then remains the same or may even improve. Others may find they have several phases of moderate joint pain with improvements in between.
In fact, exercise is considered the most effective, non-drug treatment for reducing pain and improving movement in patients with osteoarthritis.
The typical case of rheumatoid arthritis begins insidiously, with the slow development of signs and symptoms over weeks to months. Often the patient first notices stiffness in one or more joints, usually accompanied by pain on movement and by tenderness in the joint.
Osteoarthritis may flare up after a person's health status changes. For example, this may occur due to an infection. Sudden or excessive weight gain can also cause symptoms to flare up because additional weight adds pressure to the joints.
Symptoms vary from mild to severe and may come and go. Some may stay about the same for years, but symptoms can also progress and get worse over time. Severe arthritis can result in chronic pain, difficulty performing daily activities and make walking and climbing stairs painful and grueling.
It's different for everyone, but some people with RA notice that as the seasons shift, so do their symptoms. Studies suggest autumn may be the sweet spot for RA while winter and spring are the most challenging. A recent study found that humidity made pain worse, especially in colder weather.
If you have arthritis, participating in joint-friendly physical activity can improve your arthritis pain, function, mood, and quality of life. Joint-friendly physical activities are low-impact, which means they put less stress on the body, reducing the risk of injury.