Osteo Arthritis And Its Symptoms

The commonest form of arthritis especially in older people is known as osteoarthritis. It is also known as degenerative arthritis. Osteo arthritis is a disease in which joint cartilage degenerates or deteriorates progressively. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones at a joint. When this cartilage is healthy, it allows the bones to easily glide over one another. It also acts as a shock absorber during physical movements.

In osteoarthritis, a bone joint loses shape. The surface layer of cartilage wears down and breaks. This erosive effect results in direct contact between bones at the joint. They rub against each other. Further, bone spurs, which are small bony growths (known as osteophytes), grow on the joint edges.

Because of these factors bits of bone at the ends of cartilage breaks off and floats in the bone joint space. This causes pain and damage to the joint.

Osteoarthritis patients have joint pain and restriction in movement as usual symptoms. In osteoarthritis only joints are affected. It is the cause of physical disability among adults. Osteoarthritis mostly affects elderly people, although young people may be afflicted by it due to injuries.

Aging is the most frequent cause of osteoarthritis, although obesity, hereditary factors, occupational stress, and injuries to joints may all be its causes. Osteoarthritis mostly affects joints at the ends of fingers, thumbs, back, knees, hips, and neck. Hip arthritis is the term used to define osteoarthritis of the hip joints.

Some people may confuse fibromyalgia with osteoarthritis. However, osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint cartilage disease, whereas fibromyalgia affects the muscles.

The most common symptom of osteoarthritis is pain after prolonged disuse of a joint or its overuse too. It is important to note that the symptoms of osteoarthritis take a number of years to develop. Different persons may experience the symptoms differently. The symptoms can include joint pain, joint stiffness (especially after waking up or after inactivity), and restricted joint movement with the progression of the disease.

It may also include grating during movement of joints at an advanced stage of the disease. This is due to the wearing away of the cartilage. It may also include numbness, back pain, weakness at an advanced stage in a leg or in an arm.

Some persons may experience joint stiffness on rest that disappears after becoming active. Some others may experience early in the morning stiffness that disappears after about half an hour. Yet some others may be afflicted by less joint pain in the morning, which intensifies at the day's end after activity.

Inactivity is the prime factor that helps exacerbate osteoarthritis. Due to this factor, muscles in the vicinity of joints may undergo disuse atrophy. Moreover, stiffness and pain caused in a joint due to disuse affects posture.

Joints of wrists, knuckles, shoulders, elbows, shoulders and ankles are almost never affected by osteoarthritis. This may be due to the fact that these joints are in use, most of the time.