When you feel stiff and achy and your joints hurt, there's a good chance you have osteoarthritis or OA, one of the oldest and most common forms of arthritis. Download a free OA Fact sheet today.
Often known as the "wear and tear" kind of arthritis, osteoarthritis is a chronic condition characterized by the breakdown of the joint's cartilage. Because cartilage is the part of the joint that cushions the ends of the bones and allows the joint to move easily, when it breaks down, bones rub against each other, causing stiffness, pain and even loss of movement.
Osteoarthritis dates back to the Ice Age and now some 27 million Americans live with it. But even after all those years, there is no cure and no definitive cause has been discovered. Contributing factors, however, may include age, obesity, injury, overuse and genetics. Knowing and controlling these risk factors can help you minimize your risk or avoid getting osteoarthritis altogether.
There are several stages of osteoarthritis:
- Cartilage loses its elasticity and is more easily damaged by injury or just by daily use.
- This wear and tear on cartilage causes changes to the underlying bone. The bone thickens and cysts may occur underneath the cartilage. Bony growths, called spurs or osteophytes, form near the end of the bone of the affected joint.
- Pieces of bone or cartilage float in the joint spaces.
- The joint lining, called the synovium, becomes inflamed due to the cartilage breakdown. This causes the formation of inflammation proteins (cytokines) and enzymes which damage the cartilage even more.
Changes in the cartilage and bones of your joints can lead to pain, stiffness and even limitations in how you can use your body. Deterioration of cartilage can:
- Affect the shape and makeup of your joint so that it doesn't function smoothly. This can mean that you have trouble going up and down stairs or you may limp when you walk.
- Cause fragments of bone and cartilage to float in joint fluid, resulting in pain and irritation.
- Cause bony spurs to develop near the ends of bones.
- Means the joint fluid doesn't have enough hyaluronan, which affects the joint's ability to absorb shock.
You may hear osteoarthritis referred to by many different names including degenerative joint disease, osteoarthrosis, hypertrophic arthritis and degenerative arthritis. But whatever it's called, osteoarthritis can be a manageable part of your life when you're armed with resources to keep it under control.
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