Southeast Georgia Health System issued the following announcement on Jan. 25.
You expect aches and pains with aging. In fact, even younger people know that sports or work-related injuries can cause painful, swollen joints. When the symptoms of osteoarthritis interfere with staying fit or daily chores, it’s time to seek help.
“Osteoarthritis is progressive; how you manage it is key,” says Gregory R. Kelley, M.D., a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Summit Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery. Kelley helps prevent, diagnose and treat disabling musculoskeletal diseases, injuries and disorders. Drawing on his multidisciplinary skill set, he improves mobility, function and quality of life for people of all ages.
Focusing on Patients
“The first thing I ask patients is, ‘How does osteoarthritis affect your overall function and well-being?’” He also asks patients if they might be doing anything in work or sports to aggravate their arthritis. After evaluating a patient’s limitations and needs, he may utilize radiologic and other imaging modalities to diagnose and grade the severity of abnormalities within the joint.
Slowing the Progression
Kelley believes in starting with conservative, non-surgical approaches. “I treat osteoarthritis from several different perspectives.” Physical therapy is one of his preferred ways to slow the progression of osteoarthritis. “Guided exercise including proper stretching and active resistance creates muscular support that can offload pressure around the joint.” Speaking of weight, many people reduce symptoms simply by shedding excess pounds. An anti-inflammatory diet replacing sugar, alcohol, red meat and refined foods with healthier options help with weight-loss and may decrease inflammation that irritates osteoarthritis. “Excess weight overloads a joint that’s already stressed, especially weight-bearing joints like the ankle, knee and hip,” Kelley says.
In addition to physical therapy, he recommends regular exercise for lubricating joints and enhancing strength and mobility. “We have to fight the tendency to do less as osteoarthritis sets in. It’s important to keep moving but if high impact exercise, such as running or jumping exercises, aggravate the joint, you may want to limit these activities. Resistance training is especially helpful,” explains Kelley
A Future Fountain of Youth?
Doctors who treat musculoskeletal problems are always looking for alternatives to surgery, especially for people who can’t undergo surgery. While Kelley performs a good deal of ultrasound-guided steroid injections to alleviate arthritic symptoms, he’s especially excited about emerging biologic medications. “Treatments such as prolotherapy and platelet-rich plasma (PRP), as well as mesenchymal stem cells which can be harvested from the patient’s own bone marrow or adipose tissue, can then be injected to elicit cellular responses to promote healing. This may even help restore worn cartilage and other damaged tissues within the joint; however, more research is needed before these treatments become widespread and covered by insurance.”
Biologic agents are available for those paying out of pocket, but steroid injections are more commonly used, and typically covered by insurance. Long-term use of steroids is not without risk, but Kelley says injections are safe if doctors are “judicious with the frequency and dose.”
You can’t turn back the clock or undo the injury that caused your osteoarthritis, but you can benefit from medical guidance. “If you’re becoming limited in what you can do, don’t wait – see a musculoskeletal physician,” says Kelley.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Southeast Georgia Health System
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