What You should Know about Osteoarthritis
What You should Know about Osteoarthritis
by: Arlene Gentallan
What You should Know about Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is not a normal part of aging.
It's hallmark feature of articular cartilage destruction is not an expected package that comes with being old. The earlier belief that it is caused by aging is a myth. It is true that certain components of cartilage like proteoglycans diminished with old age, leading to decreased quality of articular cartilage, still the breaking off and loss of articular cartilage is not normal.
Osteoarthritis is incurable.
The sad truth is, once the disease develops, it is lifelong and incurable. But there are still ways that allows us to slow down its progression.
Osteoarthritis can involve more than one joint
Articular cartilage destruction can affect multiple joint in the body such as the spine, hip, knee, hands, etc.
The knee bears 6 times the body weight
We exert about 6 times our body weight into our knee when we walk while we exert about 3 times our weight on our hip. The knee is a major weight bearing joint of our body. Overweight people are at an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis of the knee.
