Causes
Impacting Your Ability to Work. Severe joint pain and limited mobility can have a serious impact on your ability to perform your regular daily tasks, let alone work. If you have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, you most likely suffer from enlarged joints, stiffness in your joints, and severe pain.
Symptoms
Osteoarthritis may start in one joint, but it usually spreads to other joints over time. Because of the stiffness and pain, your mobility may be impacted so much that you must use a walker or crutches to help you get around. Can I Work with Osteoarthritis?
Prevention
Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint, the disorder most commonly affects joints in your hands, knees, hips and spine. Osteoarthritis symptoms can usually be managed, although the damage to joints can't be reversed.
Complications
Knee osteoarthritis can be caused by repetitive bending of the knee and overloading the joint. Work activities predisposing you to knee osteoarthritis should include a phase of squatting or kneeling with phases of straightening up, or using ladders or repeatedly going up and down stairs.
How does osteoarthritis affect your ability to work?
Can osteoarthritis spread to other joints?
What joints are affected by osteoarthritis?
How do you get knee osteoarthritis at work?
Can osteoarthritis be job related?
People who type, operate machinery, bend repeatedly or who have to regularly lift and carry heavy objects (construction workers, landscapers, warehouse workers) are more likely to develop osteoarthritis.
What is the main cause of osteoarthritis?
Primary osteoarthritis has no known cause. Secondary osteoarthritis is caused by another disease, infection, injury, or deformity. Osteoarthritis starts with the breakdown of cartilage in the joint. As the cartilage wears down, the bone ends may thicken and form bony growths (spurs).
Can too much work cause arthritis?
This can lead to overuse of your hands (which includes the hand's joints) and to conditions like osteoarthritis. Many jobs require repetitive motion, including those in construction, offices, and manufacturing. Consequently, many workers develop injuries or conditions like arthritis.
Can you sue your employer for causing you osteoarthritis?
If a work injury, working conditions, or workplace duties have caused, aggravated, or accelerated your OA, you may be entitled to file for workers' compensation. But proving that workplace conditions or tasks are responsible for your osteoarthritis can be challenging.
What are the worst symptoms of osteoarthritis?
Severe osteoarthritisIncreased swelling and inflammation. The amount of synovial fluid within the joint may increase. ... Increased pain. You may feel pain during activities and also when you're at rest. ... Decreased range of motion. ... Joint instability. ... Other symptoms.
Is osteoarthritis a disability?
Osteoarthritis is considered a disability by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Osteoarthritis can be debilitating, causing severe pain and mobility issues. Many joints can be affected by osteoarthritis, including the knee. Even tricompartmental osteoarthritis or osteoarthritis in the knee is a disability.
What jobs give you arthritis?
People who work in mass production situations, such as textile or clothing manufacturing, often find they end up with arthritis in joints related to their repeated motions. For example, people who must frequently reach overhead as part of a production line routine are likely to develop arthritis from shoulder to hand.
Is osteoarthritis covered by the disability Discrimination Act?
People with osteoarthritis that has had a substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities for at least 12 months are likely to be considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010. Osteoarthritis is more common in women and older people.
Can I take time off work for osteoarthritis?
In some cases, your osteoarthritis diagnosis is not enough to qualify you for disability benefits under the Blue Book guidelines, but you can still qualify for disability benefits if you can prove that your condition prevents your ability to work.
How do you prove you have osteoarthritis?
Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis Having a physical exam to check your general health, reflexes, and problem joints. Having images taken of your joint using: X-rays, which can show loss of joint space, bone damage, bone remodeling, and bone spurs. Early joint damage does not usually appear on x-rays.
How do you prove osteoarthritis?
DiagnosisX-rays. Cartilage doesn't show up on X-ray images, but cartilage loss is revealed by a narrowing of the space between the bones in your joint. ... Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of bone and soft tissues, including cartilage.
What percentage of disability is osteoarthritis?
The osteoarthritis disability ratings are either 10% or 20% depending on the following symptoms: 10%: a veteran has degenerative arthritis in two or more major joints or two or more groups of minor joints seen with X-ray evidence. through X-ray evidence) along with occasional incapacitating exacerbations.
What is the biggest risk factor for osteoarthritis?
Age—The risk of developing OA increases with age. Gender—Women are more likely to develop OA than men, especially after age 50. Obesity—Extra weight puts more stress on joints, particularly weight-bearing joints like the hips and knees. This stress increases the risk of OA in that joint.
What is the best treatment of osteoarthritis?
Exercise is one of the most important treatments for people with osteoarthritis, whatever your age or level of fitness. Your physical activity should include a combination of exercises to strengthen your muscles and exercises to improve your general fitness.
How can I stop my osteoarthritis?
Preventing osteoarthritisExercise. Avoid exercise that puts strain on your joints and forces them to bear an excessive load, such as running and weight training. ... Posture. It can also help to maintain good posture at all times and avoid staying in the same position for too long. ... Losing weight.
How do you stop osteoarthritis from progressing?
Slowing Osteoarthritis ProgressionMaintain a Healthy Weight. Excess weight puts additional pressure on weight-bearing joints, such as the hips and knees. ... Control Blood Sugar. ... Get Physical. ... Protect Joints. ... Choose a Healthy Lifestyle.
Why does osteoarthritis get worse?
Medical conditions that involve bleeding near a joint can cause osteoarthritis to become worse or new symptoms to develop.
Why do young people have arthritis?
Younger people are more likely to develop arthritis as a direct result of a trauma.
Why does cartilage break down?
It occurs when the cartilage that cushions the joints wears away. Cartilage is a buffer of sorts that lets your joints move smoothly. When cartilage begins to break down, your bones end up rubbing together when you move. The friction causes: Many of the causes of osteoarthritis are out of your control.
What causes OA in adults?
The trauma of a sports injury can cause osteoarthritis in adults of any age. Common injuries that may lead to OA include: 1 torn cartilage 2 dislocated joints 3 ligament injuries
What is the condition called when the cartilage in the joints wears away?
About osteoarthritis. , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The condition is an inflammation. It occurs when the cartilage that cushions the joints wears away. Cartilage is a buffer of sorts that lets your joints move smoothly.
How old do you have to be to have arthritis?
According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) , most people show symptoms of osteoarthritis by the time they are 70 years old. But OA isn’t restricted to older adults.
What is OA in the body?
OA is sometimes referred to as a “wear and tear” disease. Repetitive strain in your joints can cause the cartilage to wear down prematurely. People who perform certain activities in their jobs for hours at a time may be more likely to develop joint pain and stiffness. This includes:
What are the risk factors for OA?
Joint injury or overuse—Injury or overuse, such as knee bending and repetitive stress on a joint, can damage a joint and increase the risk of OA in that joint.
How is OA diagnosed?
A doctor diagnoses OA through a review of symptoms, physical examination, X-rays, and lab tests.
How is OA treated?
There is no cure for OA, so doctors usually treat OA symptoms with a combination of therapies, which may include the following:
How to treat osteoarthritis?
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.
Why do women have more osteoarthritis?
Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis, though it isn't clear why. Obesity. Carrying extra body weight contributes to osteoarthritis in several ways, and the more you weigh, the greater your risk. Increased weight adds stress to weight-bearing joints, such as your hips and knees.
Why does cartilage rub on bones?
Causes. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in your joints gradually deteriorates. Cartilage is a firm, slippery tissue that enables nearly frictionless joint motion. Eventually, if the cartilage wears down completely, bone will rub on bone.
What happens if cartilage wears down?
Eventually, if the cartilage wears down completely, bone will rub on bone. Osteoarthritis has often been referred to as a wear and tear disease. But besides the breakdown of cartilage, osteoarthritis affects the entire joint.
What does it feel like to have a joint?
Tenderness. Your joint might feel tender when you apply light pressure to or near it. Loss of flexibility. You might not be able to move your joint through its full range of motion. Grating sensation. You might feel a grating sensation when you use the joint, and you might hear popping or crackling. Bone spurs.
Why does my knee swell?
Swelling. This might be caused by soft tissue inflammation around the joint.
Does osteoarthritis worsen over time?
Osteoarthritis symptoms often develop slowly and worsen over time. Signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis include:
