Osteoarthritis affects almost an eighth of population and is certainly the most popular form of arthritis. Most of us will sooner or later suffer from it. This form of arthritis attacks the cartilage, causing pain and preventing joints from moving.

As many other chronic diseases, osteoarthritis can't be really cured. Despite hundreds of research concerning anti-arthritis medications, all we can do now is to slow down the disease or decrease the chance of its appearance.

First of course, contact your doctor. However, you can do much more than just taking pills. The most important thing you can do is to do exercises. First, you have to keep your joints moving if you want to strengthen them and reduce the cartilage loss. The best idea is usually to employ some aerobic-like exercise system or swimming. Weigh lifting may also be a good idea, but do not overdo it - your aim is to strengthen your joints, not to endanger them. Then, you need to reduce the stress put on joints and being overweight is the main reason of joints' overbear. That's why working on your diet a bit may also be in order.

Ice and hot baths are the two best methods of getting rid of the pain which comes along with osteoarthritis. Hot bath makes blood flow faster and muscles relax, thus decreasing the pain. The affected joints however, have to be treated with ice rather than hot water - unlike in case of rheumatoid arthritis, heat will only increase the pain.

Over-the-counter pain killers such as Acetaminophen are also an acceptable solution for those who do not want to ask their doctors for some prescription drugs. If it doesn't help though, contact your doctor immediately and ask for some stronger drugs. Just remember to learn about the side-effects - as you are going to take the pills for a long time, you'd better be prepared for all possible problems.

The second best thing that slows down the osteoarthritis is Omega-3 fatty acids. They are second only to frequent exercises. The only problem is that these nutrients are naturally found only in a few kinds of fish and in flax, making it very difficult to compose a healthy and varied diet capable of providing enough Omega-3 fatty acids. While Mediterraneans are generally able to get enough seafood to do it, North Americans most often rely on Omega Daily and other similar supplements to get enough Omega-3 fatty acids to lessen the impact of arthritis on their lives.

To sum everything up: stay in shape, eat a lot of Omega-3 fatty acids and keep thew pain in check with as few medications as possible. This will reduce the risk of the joint's overstress and increases the ability to withstand inevitable cartilage loss.