Posted on January 4, 2008 in Latest News
Osteoarthritis, sometimes called degenerative joint disease or osteoarthrosis, is the most common form of arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when cartilage in your joints wears down over time. This is the most common form of arthritis and is caused by the breakdown of cartilage in one or more joints. Cartilage acts as a cushion between the bones of joints. When there is cartilage loss, a joint can become bone-on-bone, which is very painful for the patient.
Where is it painful?
Osteoarthritis can affect any joint in your body, though it most commonly affects joints in your hands, hips, knees and spine. Osteoarthritis typically affects just one joint, though in some cases, such as with finger arthritis, several joints can be affected.
Causes
Primary osteoarthritis is mostly related to ageing. With aging, the water content of the cartilage increases and the protein makeup of cartilage degenerates. Besides aging, factors which may increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis include:
- injury to joints
- repetitive use of joints
- being overweight
- stressing the joints
- family history
Symptoms
The main symptom is chronic pain, causing loss of mobility and often stiffness. “Pain” is generally described as a sharp ache, or a burning sensation in the associated muscles and tendons. OA can cause a crackling noise (called “crepitus”) when the affected joint is moved or touched, and patients may experience muscle spasm and contractions in the tendons. Occasionally, the joints may also be filled with fluid. Humid weather increases the pain in many patients.
Treatment
Generally speaking, the process of clinically detectable osteoarthritis is irreversible, and typical treatment consists of medication or other interventions that can reduce the pain of OA and thereby improve the function of the joint. Application of heat — often moist heat — eases inflammation and swelling in the joints, and can help improve circulation, which has a healing effect on the local area.
» Filed Under Latest News
Comments
Leave a Reply
November 8th, 2008 at 9:27 am
[...] Myth 1: Rheumatoid arthritis is similar to osteoarthritis or regular arthritis. The fact is that RA is not similar to osteoarthritis or regular arthritis. Osteoarthritis is mainly caused due to wear and tear of aging joints and affects elderly people. Whereas RA is a progressive and chronic autoimmune disorder, bodily response attacking own tissues and joints. [...]