Post-Trauma (after injury) Arthritis: What is it and How to Treat it
What is Post-Trauma Arthritis? Post-Trauma Arthritis, or PTA, occurs when a joint in your body experiences trauma or injury and heals improperly.
Here’s what you need to know about Post-Trauma arthritis.
What is it?
Post-traumatic arthritis is a painful condition that develops following an injury to your joint. Sometimes these injuries are mild and often go unnoticed. The patient feels pain in the joint many months or years later and therefore can not recall the incident that triggered arthritis.
The most common type of injury that leads to post-traumatic arthritis is a sprain, which often happens during athletics.
Post-traumatic arthritis is thought to be caused by damage in either your cartilage or ligaments. For you to develop post-traumatic arthritis, an injury must have caused significant swelling within these tissues.
Sometimes, this swelling creates pressure on your tendons and muscles, causing them not only pain but also preventing you from moving certain muscles properly.
The Symptoms
As a result of an injury, people will sometimes develop post-traumatic arthritis. The symptoms of post-traumatic arthritis are similar to those experienced by people with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.
These symptoms include inflammation, joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and fatigue. The joints most often affected by post-traumatic arthritis are those in your wrists, hands, knees, and feet.
For example, if you injured your hand on a door handle at work or during an accident then you may end up with post-traumatic arthritis in that hand.
It may be necessary for you to receive treatment from a medical professional who can diagnose you correctly and give you treatment options that work best for your needs.
The Causes
While everyone experiences a certain amount of joint wear over time, trauma can accelerate that process.
This can result in sudden, severe arthritis that causes pain and swelling in your joints within a few days of an injury.
In most cases, however, post-traumatic arthritis progresses more slowly over weeks or months.
The affected joints swell due to inflammation around damaged cartilage, but they may also become stiff due to the hardening of soft tissues around tendons that attach muscle fibers to the bone.
The Causes - vehicle accidents
Although Post Traumatic Arthritis can occur after almost any type of trauma, such as falls, sports injuries, or auto accidents, more than 80% of cases stem from a motor vehicle accident.
When your car crashes, your body is forced into a high amount of acceleration which creates pressure that travels through your body at an amazing speed.
This pressure can cause damage in both soft tissues and bones as well as within joints.
A fracture that is in or around the joint can damage the cartilage. As you are aware that cartilage is essential for the smooth functioning of joints, and damaged cartilage initiates osteoarthritis. Further progression of the disease can happen due to a change in the normal alignment of bone or joint.
The Causes - combat injuries
War injuries are common causes of arthritis. Any injury that results in joint damage can lead to inflammation, bony growths, swelling, and pain.
The force of a blast or IED impact may be enough for severe damage. Explosions can also cause injury by sending debris into joints causing arthritis later on.
The Causes - falls
Falls are one of the most common causes of arthritis, but they’re also one of its biggest contributors. Post-trauma arthritis can result from anything that leads to a serious injury, such as a significant fall.
The knees, ankles, hips, shoulders, and wrists are all common sites for post-trauma arthritis. Additionally, men over 60 are more susceptible than women in their 50s to develop osteoarthritis after injuries due to hormonal differences between men and women.
The Causes - sports
Studies have shown that athletes who play contact sports like football, hockey, wrestling, and lacrosse are at higher risk for developing OA as a result of their injuries.
Doctors estimate that 50% of pro football players develop OA later in life because of all the hits they take while playing. Many such injuries cause ligament rupture and result in abnormal movement of the joint.
They’re especially vulnerable during practice; even wrongly done warmups can cause damage! These injuries however if treated early can prevent further deterioration of the joint.
Diagnosis and Treatment
If you suffer from trauma arthritis, it can feel like your whole world has been flipped upside down. You're not just dealing with physical pain—you're also worried about what could happen in the future as a result of your injury.
Should you take time off from work? Will you ever be able to return to your old habits?
Diagnosis of Post-trauma arthritis
Fortunately, post-trauma arthritis can be detected easily long before significant damage takes place.
Consult your doctor if you have an injury that has caused pain and inflammation of the joints. Many times, a simple investigation like an X-Ray is enough to detect the injury, other times you may need a higher investigation like MRI.
Primary treatment
Rest, Ice compress, and splinting are the initial treatment after injury to the joint. Many times due to the natural healing mechanism of the body, primary treatment is all that is needed.
Medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Medications are often helpful in relieving pain caused by post-traumatic arthritis. NSAIDs may be used for long periods.
Long-term use of these medications can cause stomach upset, ulcers and bleeding kidney problems, or high blood pressure.
If you need medications for more than two weeks, talk with your doctor about changing to a different medication that might help your symptoms while causing fewer side effects.
Before you make any changes to your medication regimen, consult your doctor.
Treatment - lifestyle changes, such as losing weight if needed
By losing weight, some people with arthritis say they feel less stiff. The most important lifestyle change you can make if you have arthritis is to lose excess weight.
Extra pounds strain joints and make them ache more. You may also need to change your diet if certain foods trigger pain flare-ups.
If that’s so, avoid those foods or substitute others that are easier on your stomach.
Treatment - low-impact exercises
You have pain in your joints and especially when you move, but you want to keep moving. Keeping active will help improve your quality of life as well as reduce your pain.
Low impact exercises are great for keeping active when you have joint pain due to arthritis or injury. Start with low-impact workouts like walking, swimming, or using an elliptical machine.
You may find that these exercises are enough on their own, without needing further treatment for arthritis symptoms.
Prognosis
While some injuries are severe enough to cause rapid progression of arthritis, treatment options are available to manage mild to moderate injuries and therefore slow disease progression.
While many different therapies can provide some relief, your surgeon may recommend a combination of procedures.
If you have post-traumatic arthritis, you should see your doctor regularly to monitor both symptoms and medication side effects.
You should also consult your physician immediately if your condition worsens or new symptoms develop.
N.B – The content provided is for information and education purposes only.
