A leading cause of disability, osteoarthritis affects over 15 million Indians every year, and doctors are discovering new ways to treat it
IN 2005, Sukla Bhattacharya, an associate professor at Visva-Bharati University, Shantiniketan, refused to let the pain in her left knee slow her down. At 55, she would ride her scooter, shop for groceries, cook for herself, besides going to the university to teach her students. But then her knee screamed in protest. X-rays revealed her diagnosis: osteoarthritis (OA), often simply called arthritis, the most common of joint disorders. If you’ve ever eaten a chicken leg, that rubbery gristle you see covering the ball and socket where the bones meet is actually cartilage, much like our own.
“This spongy material cushions the bones, absorbs shocks and stops them from rubbing against each other,” explains Dr Rajiv Chatterjee, consultant, Orthopedics, Columbia Asia Hospital, Kolkata. And this is what gets damaged in OA, usually after decades of wear and tear, or through injury to the joint. Although it typically starts in the cartilage, OA may not stop there.
What’s Up With That Joint?
“Once the cartilage is damaged, the bone that supports it starts to get damaged,” says Philip Conaghan, professor of musculoskeletal medicine at the University of Leeds and Medical Advisor to Arthritis Research, UK. Cartilage is slow to grow back ; the bone grows instead, attempting to fill the gap. This ‘repair’ makes it worse.
この記事は Reader's Digest India の May 2016 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Reader's Digest India の May 2016 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.