Osteo arthritis most often
occurs at the ends of the fingers, thumbs,
neck, lower back, knees, and hips.
Osteo arthritis is the most common
form of arthritis. It is a
degenerative joint disease, the degenerative factor
being associated with the articular cartilage and joint surfaces.
Patients know this disease as old age arthritis.
In a normal joint, a smooth elastic
material called cartilage covers the ends of bones where they
meet. Cartilage enables the bones to glide smoothly across
each other and gives joints their flexibility. When the cartilage
wears away, friction in the joint leads to inflammation, weakened-
tendons, ligaments and muscles that surround the joint.
This leads to the development
of small bony growths, calcium spurs and soft cysts in the
joints. These spurs are caused by the joints attempting to
heal themselves by forming new cartilage, which unfortunately
tends to form hard knobs. These knobs become bony themselves
and lead to a change in the shape and structure of the joint.
In reaction to the pain, muscles near the joint may become
tense and contract. As muscles weaken, use of the joint may
become more restricted.
All the joints in the body may
be affected by osteo arthritis; however it is most commonly
experienced in the weight bearing joints: knees, hips and
lumbar spine. To take the hip joint as an example, the effect
of continually jarring the joint in some forms of athletics
could be to gradually reduce the ability of the articular
cartilage to absorb shock. In time, destruction of the cartilage
could occur with corresponding breakdown of joint surfaces.
This theory is supported by the incidence of osteo arthritis
in overweight people and athletes where normal ageing has
not been the cause.
Physicians categorize cases of
osteo arthritis as primary and secondary. The primary form
seems to begin by itself, with no specific cause, while the
secondary type may have many causes but often results from
too much stress and strain on a joint. Primary osteo arthritis
occurs mostly in women and may have a hereditary component
because it seems to appear more in some families than in others.
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Normal
Joint
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Joint
with Osteo arthritis
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In a normal joint (where
two bones come together), the muscle, bursa (sacs of
fluid that protect moving muscles, skin and tendons)
and tendons (tissue that attaches muscle to bone) support
the bone and help the joint to move. The synovial membrane
releases a slippery fluid into the joint space. Cartilage
covers the ends of the bone to absorb shocks and to
keep the bones from rubbing together when the joint
moves.
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With osteoarthritis, cartilage
breaks down and the bones rub together. The joint then
loses shape and moves. The ends of the bone become thick,
forming spurs (bony growths). Bits of cartilage or bone
float in the joint space.
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Often if a person complains of
pain in joints, the physician will order X-Rays because damage
on a joint can only be seen on an x ray. The history of one's
symptoms and the findings of the complete physical examination
also will be a valuable factor in the diagnosis. The explanation
of how you feel is also important.
People with osteo arthritis usually
do not have a feeling of being ill, do not experience severe
weight loss and do not have a poor appetite or fever. Also,
the pain in the involved joint is usually maximal with activity
(walking, etc.) and decreased by rest in patients with osteo
arthritis.
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