Arthritis has more than 100 types, and osteoarthritis is the most common form. It is known to affect over 21 million people across the United States, which is 10 percent of the total population an astronomical figure. It is a disease of the joints, characterized by degeneration. This condition leads to the deterioration of the cartilage the cover at the ends of the bones. With the loss of cartilage, the bone ends rub against each other, causing pain, swelling, and movement loss. Gradually, along with the loss of movement, the joint may also lose its shape.
Osteoarthritis affects only the joints and not other organs of the body. It is most common among people over the age of 60, though it can affect younger people, people about to begin their careers, about to start their families, and even those who have reached the peak of their careers. It is expected that in the next 25 years, around 70 million people in the United States will be at its risk, as over 20 percent would be 65 years of age and above.
How And Where
Osteoarthritis is the major cause of physical disabilities, especially among adults. Younger people do develop this condition from injuries to joints, in most cases sport related. This is common to both males and females, with more men suffering from it before the age of 45, and more women after the age of 45. Experts are not aware what causes osteoarthritis, but it affects different people differently. Though not conclusive, it is thought that: the process of aging; obesity and being overweight; injury to joints due to sport; and joint stress; among others, may be a combination of factors causing osteoarthritis.
In most cases, osteoarthritis affects the joints of the fingers, thumbs, the neck, the lower back, the knees, and the hip joint. Each hand has 27 bones, and therefore, more joints in the fingers and thumbs to develop osteoarthritis. The knuckles and the tips of the middle finger are most affected joints of the fingers. Osteoarthritis of the fingers causes them to swell, and the thumbs have problems at their bases. The fingers and the thumbs feel pain, stiffness, swelling and loss of movement.
Osteoarthritis of the neck is also known as cervical osteoarthritis, or more commonly cervical spondylosis. Degeneration of the padding between the cervical discs, and the joints of the bones of the cervical spine, is what causes osteoarthritis of the neck. It is thought that it occurs primarily due to the process of aging.
Osteoarthritis of the knee could ensue from wear and tear of the cartilage, injury, and over straining; and that of the hip is felt in the front part of the thigh, and not necessarily over the hip directly.
Doctors are known to call osteoarthritis by various names, such as ostoarthrosis, hypertrophic arthritis, degenerative arthritis, and degenerative joint disease, among others.
This condition needs to be tackled seriously and severely, as it affects not only the health, but due to physical disabilities, the very independence of the sufferers.
Veronika Lepinski is the author of Specialist Arthritis, a trusted source of information about arthritis & treatments.
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