What is Osteoarthritis? - Mobility Center

Osteoarthritis is a regressive joint disease, in which tissues in the joints break down after a while. It is the most common kind of arthritis and is more common in the elderly.

Individuals with osteoarthritis typically have joint pain and, following inactivity or rest, stiffness for a brief period. The most impacted joints include the:

Hands (tips of the fingers and base and ends of the thumbs).
Hips.
Lower back.
Knees.
Neck.

Osteoarthritis impacts each individual differently. For some, osteoarthritis is somewhat mild and does not impact daily activities. For others, it causes considerable disability and pain. Joint damage typically progresses gradually over years, although it could get worse fast in some people.

What Happens in Osteoarthritis?

Researchers have no idea what triggers or initiates the breakdown of joint tissues. Nevertheless, as osteoarthritis starts to develop, it can damage every area of the joint, including:

Cartilage, the tissue covering the ends where two bones come together to form a joint.
Bone.
Tendons and ligaments.
Meniscus in the knee.
Synovium, the lining of the joint.

As the damage of soft tissues in the joint advances, pain, inflammation, and joint motion loss develops. When you have joint pain, you could be less active, and this can lead to muscle frailty, which could cause added stress on the joint. Eventually, the joint could lose its normal shape. Additionally, small bone growths, known as bone spurs or osteophytes, could grow on the edge of the joints. The shape of the bone could also change. Pieces of bone or cartilage can also break off and float in the joint area. This is going to cause more damage. Analysts continue to study the causes of pain in those who have osteoarthritis.

Who Gets Osteoarthritis?

Anybody can get osteoarthritis; nevertheless, it is more common as individuals age. Women are more possible than men to have the disease, specifically after age fifty. For a lot of women, it develops following menopause.

Young individuals can also develop osteoarthritis, typically as the result of:

Joint injury.
Genetic defect in joint cartilage.
Abnormal joint structure.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

The symptoms of osteoarthritis usually start gradually and typically begin with one or a couple of joints. The normal symptoms of osteoarthritis can comprise of:

Pain when using the joint, which could improve with rest. For many individuals, in the later phases of the disease, the pain could be worse at night. Pain can be widespread or localized.
Joint stiffness, typically lasting less than 30 minutes, in the morning or following resting for a period.
Joint changes that can restrict joint movement.
Inflammation in and around the joint, especially following a lot of activity or use of that area.
Changes in the capability to move the joint.
Feeling that the joint is unstable or loose.

Osteoarthritis symptoms can impact joints variously. For instance:

Hips. You could feel pain and stiffness in your hip joint or in the groin area, inner thigh, or buttocks. Occasionally, the pain from arthritis in the hip can spread to the knees. After a while, you might not be capable of moving your hip as far as you did earlier.
Hands. Bony expansions and shape changes in the finger’s joints can happen over time.
Spine. You might feel rigidity and pain in your lower back or neck. Because changes in the spine occur, many people develop spinal stenosis, which could result in other symptoms.
Knees. When walking you may hear a scraping or grinding sound. After a while, muscle and ligament frailty could cause the knee to buckle.

As your symptoms get worse over time, activities you could participate in previously become hard to do, like stepping up, getting on and off a chair or on or off the toilet, walking across a park, or gripping things.

Pain and other symptoms of osteoarthritis could result in you feeling tired, have issues sleeping, and feeling depressed.

Cause of Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is caused when the cartilage and other tissues in the joints break down or have a change in their structure. This does not occur due to simple wear and tear on the joints. Rather, changes in the tissue could trigger the breakdown, which typically happens slowly over time.

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