When someone suggests you might have a form of arthritis,osteoarthritis in your hands because of the pain you have, you might have a lot more questions in the beginning before you see a doctor. What is osteoarthritis? What causes it? Will it go away? How can you determine you even have the disease? Can anything be done to make the pain lessen?

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in people. When people have sore fingers, toes, elbows or even knees, it is probably from osteoarthritis. It is simply caused by wear and tear on the joints, over time and through repeated action and use of those joints. There are a few things you can do to eliminate or reduce the pain you feel from arthritis in any joint that you might suffer pain in.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis symptoms include swelling, pain or stiffness in any joint. The pain is the worst in the morning and lessens as your body starts to move around for daily activities. Over the counter pain medication will help or a medicine that reduces swelling. When the joints are not swollen, they will have less pain.

Osteoarthritis of the knee is one of the common places arthritis attacks. The knees are some of the busiest joints on your body, so they will have a lot of wear and tear on them over the years. When you have knee pain, see a doctor if there is something that can be done to ease the pain, such as exercises, over the counter pain medication or changing activities in your lifestyle to help.

Foods to Help Osteoarthritis

There are certain foods to eat that will also help with symptoms of arthritis conditions. Eat a diet that contains foods rich in vitamin C and D. Vitamin C helps the joint material to stay healthy, therefore they won’t get worse as fast as if you weren’t eating the vitamin C. Food that are high in vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, broccoli, cantaloupe, papaya, tomatoes and blueberries.

Foods to stay away from include ones that have a high level of purines, which is turned in to uric acid by the body. These foods include animal organs, such as the tongue, heart and liver, salmon, beer, peas, asparagus, cauliflower and mushrooms. Eating a small amount of these foods will not hurt you, as long as you eat a healthy balanced diet.