What causes osteoarthritis?
Their doctor responded,"As with most forms of arthritis, the exact cause of osteoarthritis is unknown. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, which is an inflammatory condition of the joint membrane, or synovium, osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition of the joint cartilage, the shock-absorbing cushion of gristle that is found in all joints. While in rheumatoid arthritis the primary abnormality is inflammation, in osteoarthritis inflammation occurs secondary to mechanical irritation of the degenerated joint. An osteoarthritic joint is not necessarily inflamed, and therefore, the name is something of a misnomer. The British call it osteoarthrosis to indicate that it is not basically an inflammatory condition.
Their doctor responded,"As with most forms of arthritis, the exact cause of osteoarthritis is unknown. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, which is an inflammatory condition of the joint membrane, or synovium, osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition of the joint cartilage, the shock-absorbing cushion of gristle that is found in all joints. While in rheumatoid arthritis the primary abnormality is inflammation, in osteoarthritis inflammation occurs secondary to mechanical irritation of the degenerated joint. An osteoarthritic joint is not necessarily inflamed, and therefore, the name is something of a misnomer. The British call it osteoarthrosis to indicate that it is not basically an inflammatory condition.
"Although we really don't know the cause,"the doctor continued,"we do know about some predisposing factors:
"Advancing age is one factor. Scientists think that the joint cartilage may contain less fluid in older individuals and may become brittle and develop tiny cracks, leading to deterioration of the cartilages that cushion the joints.
"Another possible factor is previous injury or damage to a joint, even injury caused by a disease like rheumatoid arthritis, which can have secondary osteoarthritis superimposed upon it."Looking at Stella, the doctor went on."It is possible that your knee injury many years before may have produced a minimal degree of damage to the knee cartilage that ultimately led to the development of osteoarthritis, especially since you don't have it to the same degree in the opposite knee. A variation on this theme might be the late osteoarthritis that frequently develops in people with a history of congenital joint abnormalities, like a dysplastic or dislocated hip at birth.
"Obesity is another predisposing factor, particularly for weight-bearing joints like the hip and knee.
"Whatever the cause, most theories include some mechanical component of 'wear and tear with inadequate repair' that appears to play a much greater role in osteoarthritis than in other arthritic conditions.The irritation produced by wear and tear causes abnormally robust bone growth locally, which is called hypertrophy, and results in bony spurs around osteoarthritic joints.
" Harry asked,"Could we have done something to prevent this from happening?"
