Essay On Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, is a form of arthritis characterized by the breakdown of cartilage within joints. Cartilage serves to provide cushion at the ends of bones, and when the cushion is not sufficient, as in osteoarthritis, the bones rub together. As a result, osteoarthritis sufferers are constantly plagued by stiff, swollen, and inflamed joints (http://www.arthritis.org/answers/diseasecenter/oa.asp). It is a relatively common condition, with an estimated 20 million American sufferers, most of whom are elderly (http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/1668.50297). Traditional treatments include Tylenol, aspirin, or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, is most prevalent in older patients. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative bone disease due to the gradual loss of cartilage. A primary type of osteoarthritis is hip arthritis where it is caused by joint injury, increasing age, and being overweight (“Hip Osteoarthritis,” n.d.). However, osteoarthritis can also be caused by immature joints, inherited defects in cartilage, and extra stress on a patient’s joints (Hip Osteoarthritis,” n.d.). As a result, hip arthritis becomes a huge detriment in patient’s social, emotional, physical lifestyles. In order to treat hip arthritis, doctors choose from a variety of non-drug treatments, medications, and surgeries. Uniquely, I was inspired to research about the treatments of hip arthritis because my very own brother was pronounced with hip arthritis a few years back. Therefore, his determination to battle this disease encouraged me to investigate about the treatment of hip arthritis.

As stated earlier, the patient admitting challenge was right total knee replacement related to history of osteoarthritis as evidenced by unrelieved pain. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease that “results from cartilage damage that triggers a metabolic response at the level of the chondrocytes” (Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, Barry, Goldsworthy & Goodridge, 2011, p. 1881). As it progress, it causes the cartilage to become “dull, yellow, and granular” instead of being “smooth, white, translucent” (Lewis et al., 2011; Gulanick & Myers, 2014, p. 1881).As a result, it eventually becomes softer, less elastic, and less capable to resist wear during heavy use. Moreover, as the “central cartilage becomes thinner, cartilage and bony growth increases at the joint margins … that results to uneven distribution of stress across the joint” that contributes to a decrease in motion. (Lewis et al., 2011; Gulanick & Myers, 2014, p. 1882). According to this patient, OA has been giving her pain for about two years that lead her to the decision of having the knee replacement.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down over time. Most people don't know they have it because the aches, tenderness, stiffness dont feel like arthritis until x-rays prove it. Just like regular arthritis, it affects the skeletal system. This is because it causes the bones to wear and then become stiff.Primary osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis not resulting from injury or disease, is mostly a result of natural aging of the joint. With aging, the water content of the cartilage increases, and the protein makeup of cartilage degenerates. Eventually, cartilage begins to degenerate by flaking or forming tiny crevasses.Secondary

Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is an endemic condition that affects 20 million people in the United States alone. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis and is defined as a gradual process of destruction and degeneration or wearing away of the joint cartilage which typically occurs in the older individual age 50 and over (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/330487-overview#a0101). . Although this diease is well known for its association with the natural aging process, it is also prevalent in athletes. Specifically, osteoarthritis of the knee has been said to be the most commonly affected area as a majpr weight bearing joint and is a growing epidemic in relation to sports injuries in the young adult. http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/guide/ostearthritis-of-the-knee-degenerative-arthritis-of-the-knee. According to, (Vincent), among upper and lower reported extremity sites, the most common region for osteoarthritis to manifest is p’in the medial compartment of the knee. The risk of knee osteoarthritis from knee joint injury is high; approximately 50% of individuals with an ACL or meniscus tear develop knee osteoarthritis [10-15]. A long-term prospective study indicated a relative risk for knee osteoarthritis of approximately 5 for any previous injury of the knee [13]. As cited in, _____, Thelin and colleagues determined that injury of the knee joint was associated with all knee OA in a

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease. It’s where flexible tissues in the end of the bones wear down. It mostly occurs in knees, hips, lower back, fingers, and the neck. In Osteoarthritis, the cartilage in the bone breaks down which causes pain, swelling, and problems in moving the joint. When it worsens over time, one can get spurs, where bones break down and develop growths. Even though this can occur in anyone, ones who are over the age of 65 will most likely get Osteoarthritis. Some risk factors will include the increasing of age, obesity, genes, weak joint muscles, previous joint injury, and the overuse of the joint in the body. Some related signs/symptoms can be swelling around a joint, stiff joint, and/or having a clicking sound

As people in the world live longer as a result of advances in medicine and technology, more and more people are suffering from osteoarthritis, especially in the knee. Osteoarthritis in the degeneration of cartilage, which causes chronic pain and disability. Today, around 10-15% of people over the age of 60 suffer from osteoarthritis, and by 2050, it is estimated that greater than 20 percent of the total world population will experience OA (Kong et al). Today’s there are a number of treatments, many of which have serious complications or do not fix the problem. Typically for severe cases of osteoarthritis, total knee replacement surgery is the accepted treatment, however as many as 20 percent of patients still experience pain or other complications post-surgery (Freitag et al). The use of regenerative methods such as the use of mesenchymal stem cells could provide an better alternative to this procedure. Mesenchymal stem cells are found in bone marrow as well as other sources such as umbilical cord blood, adipose tissue, and muscle, and are multipotent, meaning they can differentiate into multiple tissues including cartilage, bone, and fat. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy is the future in treating osteoarthritis in the knee because it produces real cartilage, effectively reduces pain and is safe.

Osteoarthritis (OA)50 is a synovial joint disorder and heterogeneous chronic disease affecting synovial joint tissues. The disease etiology involves various mechanical, biochemical and genetic factors.

The knee has the highest prevalence of OA of all of the joints in the human body. Knee OA regularly causes people to experience troubling pain and/or loss of physical function to varying degrees,5 and often results in total knee arthroplasty8 after years of distress and economic burden to the patient and society.9 During 2005 in Ontario, Canada, knee OA costs for an individual averaged $12,200 annually, including personal expenses as well as lost wages.10 It is estimated that as the world’s population ages and as the obesity epidemic grows, the burden of OA on the healthcare system, and therefore the economy, will continue to increase, barring improvements in knee OA management.8

Osteoarthritis indicates joint disorders, characterized by symptoms of pain and stiffness. It includes metabolic processes of destruction and reparation. Osteoarthritis is classified as primary (idiopathic) or secondary, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. primary OA of the knee is a process of degeneration of the articular surface occurs without an obvious underlying abnormality. The manifestations of OA arise from high stresses on the normal joints or normal stresses on weakened joints, increasing in severity and frequency with age. The most commonly affected joints with osteoarthritis are large, weight-bearing joints, such as the knee and hip, and also smaller joints in the hands, feet. Unfortunately, treating articular

Any potential reduction in weight can also help reduce the pain from OA. When the patient is walking, the downward pressure on their knees is not just equal to their body weight, but is multiplied. The pressure going down on the knee on average is 4.85 lbs. extra exerted per pound of body weight. This means that if the patient is able to lose around 6 lbs. of body weight, there would be a reduction of around 29.1 pounds of pressure on the joint. This pressure was found to be reduced in the posted by the Osteoarthritis Research Society International. To note, the pressure the pressure was lowered upon altering the speed of gait. Researches had found that due to the reduction in irritation from less pressure, patients were speeding up their gait, which was amplifying pressure. The results of this study can be beneficial in helping the patient realize that the sooner they can take control of their situation, the more control they can have over their diagnosis. Often, it is not uncommon for the patient to just be thinking of the reduction of weight influencing secondary conditions like hypertension and diabetes, but do not take into consideration the positive impact it can have on their joints. Inflammation can also be altered by helping reduce the chemicals in circulation. Weight reduction has been shown to help reduce the circulation of IL-6 and CRP, which are two main components in contributing to

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder, and more than half of all Americans who are older than 65 have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. However, recent US data has revealed knee osteoarthritis does not discriminate age, and there is growing evidence that osteoarthritis affects individuals at a young age. The annual cost of osteoarthritis due to treatment and loss of productivity in the US is estimated to be more than 65 billion dollars.1 With no cure currently available for osteoarthritis, current treatments focus on management of symptoms. The primary goals of therapy include improved joint function, pain relief, and increased joint stability. Although the exact cause of osteoarthritis is unknown, many risk factors have been identified including increased age, female gender, obesity, and trauma.2 Within these risk factors, the etiology of osteoarthritis has been divided into anatomy, body mass, and gender.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common and nation’s leading cause of disability of the joint disorders. Older individuals are highly impacted by O.A. Center for Disease control (CDC- 2015) estimates that by the year 2040 approximately 85% of the older population (>75 years) will either have clinical or radiographic incidence of OA. Too many people, arthritis is seen as the disease for the older people, but the incidence of this degenerative disease among the children is critically as relevant as the older population. Effective self-management tools for managing OA needs attention and is a health care imperative.

OA is a musculoskeletal disease that causes chronic joint pain and reduced physical functioning (Laba, brien, Fransen, & jan, 2013). Osteoarthritis (OA) is a non-inflammatory disorder of synovial joints that results in loss of hyaline cartilage and remodeling of surrounding bone. OA is the single most common joint disease, with an estimated prevalence of 60% in men and 70% in women later in life after the age of 65 years, affecting an estimated 40 million people in the United States (Goodman & Fuller, 2009). Women are more commonly affected after the age of 55, almost everyone has some symptoms by the age of 70 (Tan, Zahara, Colburn & Hawkins, 2013, p.78). Osteoarthritis can be described radiological, clinical, or subjective.

In the United States, arthritis has become the second most common disorder, in the past years. Moreover, the condition affects more than 34 million Caucasians, 4.6 million African-Americans and nearly 3.1 million Hispanics with women being the most affected (Helmick, 2008). 28.3% of people suffering from arthritis are women whereas 18.2% are men (Helmick, 2008). By the year 2030, it is predicted that the number of patients with arthritis will double if prevalence rates remain the same. Apart from being cost-intensive, Osteoarthritis (OA) affects nearly twenty seven million Americans, which effectively limits their work (Reid, Shengelia & Parker, 2012). The statistics show that Caucasians are the most affected and the Hispanics to be the less affected from Caucasians, Hispanics, and African Americans. It also shows how women also have greater possibilities of getting arthritis than man ever did.