A man goes to the doctor says, “It hurts when I do this doc.” The doctor says . . . (say it with me) . . . “so don’t do that!” And you might just get that advice if your doctor determines you have osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the “wear-and-tear” type of arthritis that comes from degeneration of protective cartilage. Managing osteoarthritis well involves incorporating different behaviors and therapies into your lifestyle, and your doctor should be a part of that process.

Your doctor may suggest taking an anti-inflammatory, such as ibuprofen, to calm the swelling, inflammation, and pain within the joint. Physical therapy may be prescribed to help you regain movement and to train the muscles supporting the joint to work properly. Assistive devices such as canes, jar openers, or steering wheel grips can help when joints don’t want to work like they should.

Depending on your specific condition, the doctor may inject steroids directly into the joint to reduce the inflammation, which may improve your ability to move the joint. If the damage to the cartilage is severe enough and other treatments haven’t helped, surgery may be recommended. Some options are arthroscopy to remove loose cartilage or bone fragments, osteotomy (removing a wedge of bone to balance the weight of the joint on the cartilage more evenly), joint resurfacing, joint fusing, or joint replacement.

The bottom line is, we must take care of our joints so that they can take care of us. When diagnosed with osteoarthritis, it’s important to maintain a healthy weight and a healthy balance between rest and activity to reduce further damage to joints. Incorporating alternate exercises to your routine can help you continue an active lifestyle. Sometimes doctors advise avoiding high-impact exercise: cycling and walking are great low impact alternatives. To learn more about managing osteoarthritis, visit the Arthritis Foundation.

What have you found that works well to manage your osteoarthritis?