Toshihide Tanaka writes:
Yoko Kashiwagi is a 42-year-old media executive. She is unmarried. Ms. Kashiwagi was a marathon runner in her college days, and continued to run and exercise regularly into her 30s. But her business has kept her busy, so she has stopped exercising the last two years. And she has taken up smoking cigarettes, and has gained 7 or 8 kilos. In the same period, she has been finding it increasingly more difficult to move her left knee, which she was injured in her college days. The left knee is stiff, and especially when she has to work late into the night, her left knee gets swollen.
Considering the type of symptoms and current condition, there is a high possibility that she has osteoarthritis. The reasons are that the symptoms developed slowly and began in the joints of only her left knee, but this information is not enough for an exact diagnosis. In order to determine surely that Ms. Kashiwagi has osteoarthritis, she needs to take some medical tests, for example, X-rays and a sample of her blood or of fluid drawn from inside the joint of her left knee. These tests will show us if the bones of the left knee are damaged by osteoarthritis and, if so, how badly.
If Ms. Kashiwagi has osteoarthritis, she ought to do at least three things in order to improve or maintain the current condition of her left knee. First, she has to lose weight, because Ms. Kashiwagi has gained about 7 kilos for the last 2 years, in the same period she developed the pain. Being overweight is very bad for joints; it causes excess pressure on the joints and speeds the rate at which the cartilage in joints wear down. Weight loss can also help her reduce the pain and stiffness in knee joints. Secondly, she should exercise regularly, for instance, stretching exercises and strengthening exercises. These are very good for relieving the pain and stiffness by osteoarthritis. In addition, these exercises can help her reach or maintain a healthy weight.
If weight loss and exercise are not effective for her left knee, she should take medication, but arthritic medications generally are used to reduce pain and tenderness in the joints. Moreover, in the case of medications having no effect, she may need to have surgery. But surgery is usually done only in severe cases, so in fact, most people who have osteoarthritis will not need to have surgery.
Unfortunately, osteoarthritis can't be cured completely today. So she should live with osteoarthritis in the long term. In order to live with osteoarthritis in the long term, Ms. Kashiwagi needs to change her life style a little. Firstly, she should keep it in mind to protect the joint of her left knee. That is, she should try to avoid excessive stress on the left knee. For example, she ought not to carry a heavy bag or dash up the stairs and so on. Next, she needs to have proper knowledge of osteoarthritis, because the more she knows about osteoarthritis, the more she will know how to handle it well. If she contacts the Arthritis Foundation, she will meet specialists who will give her advice. Finally, this is the most important point, she should have a positive attitude about her osteoarthritis. Being optimistic can increase her ability to control her symptoms. If it is difficult for her to be optimistic, I recommend she share her feelings and fear with family and friends.
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