Osteoarthritis (OA) represents failure of a diarthrodial (movable, synovial lined) joint. It is also called, somewhat erroneously, degenrative joint disease. Osteoarthritis is of two types
OA is the most common joint disease of humans.Knee OA is the leading cause of chronic disability in developed countries. Though the pathology has been understood well, it is not very clear why some people are affected and others not. The disease is associated with certain factors more commonly than others. These are called risk factors. Commonly know risk factors are given below.
Race and Gender
Symptomatic knee OA, is more common in women than in men. Hip OA is more common in white population. Interphalangeal joint OA and, especially, hip OA are much less common in South African blacks than in whites in the same population. Whether these differences are genetic or are due to differences in joint usage related to life style or occupation is unknown.
Age
Age is the most powerful risk factor for OA. Prevalence of OA increases from 2% to 30% from age of 45 to 65.
Repetitive Injury
Though damage to the articular cartilage may occur at the time of injury or subsequently, with use of the affected joint, even normal cartilage will degenerate if the joint is unstable. A person with a trimalleolar fracture will almost certainly develop ankle OA.
The pattern of joint involvement in OA is influenced by prior vocational or avocational overload. Thus ankle OA is common in ballet dancer, elbow OA in baseball pitchers, and metacarpophalangeal joint OA in prize fighters, although OA is not very common at any of these sites in general population.
It is important to note that there are no convincing data support an association between specific athletic activities and arthritis if major trauma is excluded. The pattern seen in professional is most probably due to repetitive injury.
Running nor jogging has not been shown to cause OA.
Obesity
Obesity is a risk factor for knee OA and hand OA. A weight loss of only 5 kg was found to be associated with a 50 percent reduction in the odds of developing symptomatic knee OA.
Developing a healthy life style and keeping yourself fit is the way to prevent osteoarthritis.
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