Is Your Arthritis Genetic?
We’ve all heard the two famous words, “It’s genetic,” many times. Whether it is about our personality or a certain health condition, those two words seem to be everyone’s go to. In this post, we will be talking about Osteo-Arthritis (OA) and whether or not it is genetic (it’s not).
Wolff’s Law
To understand OA, it is first required to know what Wolff’s Law is. I’ll spare you the lecture on who Wolff was. I’m sure you are capable of Googling that on your own.
Wolff’s Law indicates that in areas of added physical load or “stress,” more bone will develop. Bone cells are called osteocytes. The cells that specifically lay more bone are called, osteoblasts. “B” for build, “B” for blast is how I learned it.
So why does this happen?
Imagine holding a bowling ball close to your bowl. This bowling ball could weight anywhere between 8–12 pounds. Now, slowly begin to hold it farther away from your body until your arms are straight out in front of you. Chances are you will not be able to hold the bowling ball for long. Couple seconds at best. 30 seconds if you have an iron-core. What does begin to happen is, you start to lean forward. Your back tightens up. Your mid-back gets achy. Lastly, your neck begins to ache.
This bowling ball comparison is essentially what happens at a slow pace to the framework of your body when the neck, back, and/or low back are relatively displaced. Every angle has relative rotational angle in comparisons to the adjacent bone. Every region has absolute rotational angles. For example: The neck averages 24–32 degrees of normal curve. Any more, any less and you may be subject to cervicalgia — neck pain. Similarly, the mid back (thoracic spine) and low back (lumbar spine) have their own, respective, rotational angles. Now that we have this concept down, let’s move on.
Osteo-Arthritis
Going back to Wolff’s Law, more bone will be added in areas the body deems “weak” or unstable.
Got arthritis in the neck?
No, it’s not because of your poor grandmother. It’s because your head is out forward in excess of 15 millimeters. Remember the bowling ball analogy? Your head is the bowling ball and your neck is its foundation. Reposition the head and the load/stress will be more evenly balanced. This concept, again, applies to the entire spine.
“I Got Arthritis In My Knees!”
Almost everyone’s mom or grandmother complains of arthritis in the knees. But, have you noticed its 9/10 times only in one knee. In advanced cases, it’ll be in both knees. The primary reason behind this is your body’s neurological balance favoring one side — left or right. Form follows function, correct? Because the body’s function is off-set, the result or form, is excess bone (OA) in areas that are under higher stress. Leaning to left? Expect OA somewhere on the left side. Leaning to the right? Expect OA somewhere on the right. This phenomena happens over years — not last week or yesterday when your pain started.
Take Home…
There are many forms of arthritis — including one’s that are genetic. However, to specify here, we are talking about osteo-arthritis. To know more about arthritis and its variants, click here.
To find out more and to see if you are off-balance, you are welcome to schedule a free consultation with Marietta, Georgia’s best Upper Cervical and Structural Rehabilitation Chiropractor, Dr. Milan Modi. Dr. Modi is an established Chiropractor at East Cobb Chiropractic. Visit his website at: www.mariettagachiropractor.com.