Never Feel The Pain Again!
Reader's Digest India|May 2016

A leading cause of disability, osteoarthritis affects over 15 million Indians every year, and doctors are discovering new ways to treat it

Anita Bartholomew And Kathakoli Dasgupta
Never Feel The Pain Again!

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。

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。

READER'S DIGEST INDIAのその他の記事すべて表示
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Reader's Digest India

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.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
Who Wants Coffee?
Reader's Digest India

Who Wants Coffee?

It’s bitter—but beloved around the world

time-read
2 分  |
October 2024
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
Reader's Digest India

Prevent The Pain Of Shingles

You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps

time-read
3 分  |
October 2024
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Reader's Digest India

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.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
ME & MY SHELF
Reader's Digest India

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.

time-read
3 分  |
October 2024
SWITCHED
Reader's Digest India

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.

time-read
10+ 分  |
October 2024
ECHOES OF THE PAST
Reader's Digest India

ECHOES OF THE PAST

A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC

time-read
6 分  |
October 2024
Fathers of the Bride
Reader's Digest India

Fathers of the Bride

A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood

time-read
8 分  |
October 2024
Fiction's Foresight
Reader's Digest India

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?

time-read
7 分  |
October 2024
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
Reader's Digest India

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.

time-read
2 分  |
October 2024