Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down over time.
The most affected joins, are: hands, neck, lower back, knees and hips. Osteoarthritis affects just joints, not internal organs.
Risk factors :
- Being overweight (extra weight causes more wear and tear)
- Getting older (usually appear in middle age)
- Fractures or other joint injuries
- Certain occupations
- Genetic factors
- Other diseases which change cartilage structure(metabolic or hormonal disorders)
- Your sex – Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis than men.
Signs and symptos:
- Pain in the affected joint(s), that usually geting worse later, after time causing pain even at rest or limited motion.
- Stiffnes, swelling, warmth, and creaking (crepitus) of the affected joints.
- The ligaments and muscles around the joint become weaker and stiffer
- Joint tenderness
- Local inflammation
- Limited range-of-motion
- Muscle weakness
- Complete loss of the cartilage cushion causes friction between bones
- Limping ( knee- or hip degeneration)
- Progressive cartilage degeneration of the knee joints can lead to deformity and outward curvature of the knees,
- Deformation of the small joints of the fingers and the toes
- Heberden’s node, osteophyte formation
About treatment:
Treatments include physical therapy, medicines and sometimes surgery.
The goal of treatment is :
- to reduce joint pain
- to reduce inflammation
- improving and maintaining joint function with physical therapy.
- sometimes, the pain, limping, and joint dysfunction may not respond to medications and physical therapy, they need total knee replacement (surgical procedures) Osteoarthritis is the most common reason for knee replacement
- Physical therapy is an essential part of rehabilitation after total knee replacement.
- Weight loss if patient is overweight