What is it?
Osteoarthritis (OS-tee-oh-are-THRY-tis) (OA) is one of the
oldest and most common forms of arthritis. Known as the
"wear-and-tear" kind of arthritis, OA is a chronic condition
characterized by the breakdown of the joint's cartilage.
Cartilage is the part of the joint that cushions the ends of
the bones and allows easy movement of joints. The breakdown
of cartilage causes the bones to rub against each other,
causing stiffness, pain and loss of movement in the joint.
Osteoarthritis is known by many different names, including
degenerative joint disease, ostoarthrosis, hypertrophic
arthritis and degenerative arthritis. Your doctor might
choose to use one of these terms to better describe what is
happening in your body, but for our purposes, we will refer
to all of these as osteoarthritis.
It is thought that osteoarthritis dates back to ancient
humans. Evidence of osteoarthritis has been found in
ice-aged skeletons. Today, an estimated 27 million Americans
live with OA. Despite the longevity and frequency of the
disease, the cause is still not completely known and there
is no cure. In fact, many different factors may play a role
in whether or not you get OA, including age, obesity, injury
or overuse and genetics. Your OA could be caused by any one
or by a combination of any of these factors.
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There are several stages of osteoarthritis:
Cartilage loses elasticity and is more easily damaged by injury or
use. Wear of cartilage causes changes to underlying bone. The
bone thickens and cysts may occur under the cartilage. Bony growths,
called spurs or osteophytes, develop near the end of the bone at the
affected joint. Bits of bone or cartilage float loosely in the joint
space. The joint lining, or the synovium, becomes inflamed due to
cartilage breakdown causing cytokines (inflammation proteins) and
enzymes that damage cartilage further.
Changes in the cartilage and bones of the joint can lead to pain,
stiffness and use limitations.
Deterioration of cartilage can:
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