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.
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest India dergisinin May 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest India dergisinin May 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
BOOKS
Books review
STUDIO - Off Lamington Road by Gieve Patel
Oil on Canvas, 54 x 88 in
NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE
FOODS THAT FIGHT DEMENTIA
TO HELL AND BACK
The Darvaza crater in Turkmenistan is known as the Gates of Hell. I stood on its edge - and lived to tell the tale
THE SNAKE CHARMERS
Invasive Burmese pythons are squeezing the life out of Florida's vast Everglades. An unlikely sisterhood is taking them on
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
Just Sit Tight
Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, I desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"
Allow Me to Mansplain...
If there's one thing we know, it's this: We're a nation of know-it-alls
THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT SUGAR (AND SUGAR SUBSTITUTES!)
It's no secret that we have a serious addiction. Here's how to cut back on the sweet stuff, once and for all.