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Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA), or degenerative joint disease
most commonly affects patients who are middle-aged
and older. OA can range from very mild to severe.
It affects the hands and weight-bearing joints
such as the knees, hips, feet and the back.
Joints are structures that hold two or more bones
together.
In a healthy joint the bone ends are lined with
articular cartilage that acts as a cushion to
absorb the shock of movement.
Osteoarthritis is characterized by the breakdown
of the joint's cartilage.
Cartilage breakdown causes bones to rub against
each other, causing pain, swelling, and stiffness
of the joints and loss of movement.
In Osteoarthritis there is a slow but irreversible
erosion of the cartilage.
In the early stages, the cartilage begins to
soften and break loose.
This restricts the movement of the joint causing
pain. The loss is compensated by the growth of
bone spurs. In time, the unprotected ends of bones
may grind together, resulting in further
restriction & pain.
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