Osteoarthritis Research Paper

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 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

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. The prevalent population suffering from OA is the elderly, but it may afflict a person of any age, especially upon injury of the joint. This ailment will usually affect loan bearing joints such as the knee or hips, but it can affect any joint. OA is the breakdown of the protective cartilage within the joint, and the patient will suffer from pain, swelling and/or stiffness of the joint, and a decreased range of motion at the joint. These symptoms can have a debilitating effect on a patient by making menial tasks suck as walking, climbing stairs, or even rising out of bed or a chair difficult. Currently, there are various treatment options available for OA but no cure exists; therefore,

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by a fragmentation and erosion of the articular cartilage, which becomes soft, frayed and thinned with alteration of the subchondral bone. It also characterized by the hypertrophy of the bone, changes accompanied by pain and stiffness which finally leads to loss of

Osteoarthritis knee is the common form of arthritis; it causes degeneration of knee joints. It develops when cartilage, the lining of joints that allows smooth movement between opposing bones, starts to break down, especially in the elderly. Swelling and inflammation in the affected knee joint are a major cause of pain and disability.

OA was thought to affect primarily the articular cartilage of the synovial joints. One pathophysiological feature includes disruption and loss of joint cartilage. Normal joints have little friction with movement and do not wear out. The trigger of OA will begin with tissue damage from mechanical injury transmission or from defects in cartilage metabolism. Damage in tissue will stimulate chondrocytes to attempt repair, increases proteoglycans and collagen production. Although the attempt to repair will stimulate the enzymes that will degrade cartilage and trigger inflammatory cytokines which usually have only small amounts. Inflammatory mediators will trigger an inflammatory cycle that stimulates chondrocytes and synovial lining cells more which will break cartilage down. Apoptosis (death of cells) occurs to the chondrocytes. Once the cartilage is destroyed exposed bones will become eburnated (degenerative process of bone) and sclerotic (becoming rigid and unresponsive). Another Pathophysiological feature bony hypertrophy. OA of the spine cause marked thickening and proliferation of the posterior longitudinal

Any kind of knee pain you may have has the potential of reaching the point where it becomes a debilitating issue for you. If you are already living with some type of knee pain you probably do not want to allow it to ever reach the level of severity that it causes even simple tasks to give you terrible levels of pain. Maybe you are not currently dealing with knee pain but are hoping to avoid it altogether, either way, there are some tools that you may find beneficial for reducing and/or preventing your knee pain.

OA pain, swelling or stiffness may make it difficult to perform ordinary tasks at work or at home. Simple

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.

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Osteoarthritis is a condition where joint and bone cartilage start to deteriorate. This is can be caused by age, injury in joint areas, and genetics. There is no known cure for Osteoarthritis, but recommended treatments such as, exercise, physical therapy, stretching, can help minimize the symptoms. Osteoarthritis is more commonly found in the elderly, women, people who are obese, people who have had an injury in the joint areas, people who worked in certain occupations, and those who have been born with bone deformities.

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.