TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Avoiding heart disease, stroke, diabetes, to Covid can be with a healthy lifestyle and obey health protocols. But there is a disease that cannot be avoided with age, namely osteoarthritis (OA).
Osteoarthritis is a condition where there is damage to the body that attacks everyone sendi. However, this condition most commonly occurs in the knees, fingers, and pelvis. The main complaint is pain when walking, supporting, and so on. Generally, this condition occurs in the elderly.
If you’re wondering why everyone gets this disease, orthopedic specialist Asa Ibrahim tries to compare a human joint to a machine that wears off after decades of use. He said this disease is caused by the process of decreasing organ function over time. This is the reason why everyone will inevitably experience this disease. Although it is common in the elderly, in fact this disease has occurred at a young age.
“The problem with this disease is that joints that have already been damaged cannot return to good shape, they can only be replaced,” said Asa, launching his Instagram account.
In addition to the aging factor, it turns out that there are several things that can actually accelerate the condition of knee joint damage, even at a young age. Here are some of them.
Fractures near joints that are not treated properly
In general, people experience calcification of the joints at the age of 60-70 years. However, this fracture condition can cause acceleration in less than 3-5 years since the incident.
“The location of the fracture that occurred near joint can cause Post Traumatic Arthritis (OA), where the joints will feel stiff, “explained Asa.
Therefore, if you have a broken bone, don’t hesitate to go to the doctor to get the right treatment.
Often lift heavy weights
“Lifting heavy weights once or twice is okay, but if you lift a lot, walk long distances, and commute every day, joint damage will occur more quickly,” Asa warns.
Obesity
People with obesity have an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis by 6-18 times. “The heavier the body, the heavier the burden on the knee, and the faster the knee will be damaged,” said Asa.
Currently, many obese patients aged 40-45 years have knee conditions similar to those aged 65-70 years. In addition, obesity also increases the risk of other diseases, such as stroke and heart attack. If there are no risk factors as mentioned above, osteoarthritis will usually occur at the age of 55 or 60 years.
“The most important thing is to reduce the burden on the knees, starting with losing weight, reducing activities that put strain on the knees, using a stick to reduce the load, and so on,” suggested Asa.
Also read: Similar but not the same, recognize the difference between Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis
– .
