What is Osteoarthritis?

Who Gets Osteoarthritis?

What Causes Osteoarthritis?

How Is Osteoarthritis Diagnosed?

How Is Osteoarthritis Treated?

How Can Self-Care and a “Good-Health Attitude” Help?

What Research Is Being Done on Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that mostly affects cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over each other. It also helps absorb shock of movement. In osteoarthritis, the top layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away. This allows bones under the cartilage to rub together. The rubbing causes pain, swelling, and loss of motion of the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also, bone spurs may grow on the edges of the joint. Bits of bone or cartilage can break off and float inside the joint space, which causes more pain and damage.
People with osteoarthritis often have joint pain and reduced motion. Unlike some other forms of arthritis, osteoarthritis affects only joints and not internal organs. Rheumatoid arthritis – the second most common form of arthritis – affects other parts of the body besides the joints. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis.




Who Gets Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis occurs most often in older people. Younger people sometimes get osteoarthritis primarily from joint injuries.

What Causes Osteoarthritis?

The cause of osteoarthritis is unknown. Factors that might cause it include:

Being overweight

Getting older

Joint injury

Joints that are not properly formed

A genetic defect in joint cartilage

Stresses on the joints from certain jobs and playing sports.

How Is Osteoarthritis Diagnosed?

Osteoarthritis can occur in any joint. It occurs most often in the hands, knees, hips, and spine.
Warning signs of osteoarthritis are:

Stiffness in a joint after getting out of bed or sitting for a long time

Swelling or tenderness in one or more joints

A crunching feeling or the sound of bone rubbing on bone.

No single test can diagnose osteoarthritis. Most doctors use several methods to diagnose the disease and rule out other problems:

Medical history

Physical exam

X rays

Other tests such as blood tests or exams of the fluid in the joints.

How Is Osteoarthritis Treated?

Doctors often combine treatments to fit a patient’s needs, lifestyle, and health. Osteoarthritis treatment has four main goals:

Improve joint function

Keep a healthy body weight

Control pain

Achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Osteoarthritis treatment plans can involve:

Exercise

Weight control

Rest and joint care

Nondrug pain relief techniques to control pain

Medicines

Complementary and alternative therapies

Surgery.

How Can Self-Care and a “Good-Health Attitude” Help?

Three kinds of programs help people learn about osteoarthritis and self-care and improve their good-health attitude:

Patient education programs

Arthritis self-management programs

Arthritis support groups.

These programs teach people about osteoarthritis and its treatments. They also have clear and long-lasting benefits. People in these programs learn to:

Exercise and relax

Talk with their doctor or other health care providers

Solve problems.

People with osteoarthritis find that self-management programs help them:

Understand the disease

Reduce pain while staying active

Cope with their body, mind, and emotions

Have more control over the disease

Live an active, independent life.

People with a good-health attitude:

Focus on what they can do, not what they can’t do

Focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses

Break down activities into small tasks that are easy to manage

Build fitness and healthy eating into their daily routines

Develop ways to lower and manage stress

Balance rest with activity

Develop a support system of family, friends, and health care providers.

What Research Is Being Done on Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is not simply a disease of “wear and tear” that happens in joints as people get older. There is more to the disease than aging alone. Researchers are studying:

Tools to detect osteoarthritis earlier

Genes

Tissue engineering

A wide range of treatment strategies

Osteoarthritis in animals

Medicines to prevent joint damage

Complementary and alternative therapies

Vitamins and other supplements

Injection of hyaluronic acid (a natural part of cartilage and joint fluid)

Estrogen

Biological and structural markers (biomarkers) for osteoarthritis.