What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It is also known as degenerative arthritis. It affects over 20 million people in the United Sates.

It is a disease that affects the breakdown of cartilage. Cartilage is a protein substance that is found between our bones and joints. It acts like a cushion.

This type of arthritis occurs as we age. Males are likely to start noticing it when they reach the age of 45. Women usually do not start noticing it until they reach the age of 55.

It generally effects hands, feet, spine and our larger weight bearing joints such as our hips and knees.

Causes of Osteoarthritis

There is water in our cartilage. This water increases as we age. Daily use of our joints over the years and the increase of this water causes irritation and inflammation of our joints. This irritation and inflammation can cause pain and swelling. Slowly, the cartilage begins to degenerate and this degeneration can lead to a total loss of our cartilage. This causes friction between our joints and our bones. It can also cause new bone growth (spurs) to develop on our joints.

Heredity also seems to play a part in Osteoarthritis. Many people have siblings who also suffer from this.

Obesity can also play a role in Osteoarthritis. This is especially true of Osteoarthritis of the knees. In fact, obesity plays the second largest role in Osteoarthritis.

Some other factors that can cause Osteoarthritis is repeated trauma to the joint structure, gout and diabetes.

Some people are also born with abnormally formed joints. This can cause Osteoarthritis to appear earlier.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Pain after repetitive use of a joint

Pain usually later in the day, after physical activity

Swelling, warmth and creaking of the affected joints

Pain and stiffness after a long period of inactivity (example: sitting at movie theater).

Diagnosis:

Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis is as easy as a simple X-ray.

Treatment:

The first step is to loose weight, if necessary. You should also avoid activities that puts stress on the joints.