WHAT IS OSTEOARTHRITIS ?

 
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Osteoarthritis

Arthritis is the word used to describe inflammation of a joint.

There are a few different problems that can cause joint inflammation or arthritis. One of these problems is called osteoarthritis. People often refer to osteoarthritis by other names like 'degenerative joint disease,' or 'wear-and-tear arthritis.'

Osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown of cartilage in one or more joints. Cartilage is composed of 65 to 80 percent water, collagen (fibrous proteins), proteoglycans (proteins and sugars which interweave with collagen), and chondrocytes (cells that produce cartilage). Cartilage is a hard but slippery tissue which serves as a cushion between the bones of joints, allowing the bones to glide over one another. Cartilage also absorbs shock from physical movements.

When cartilage loss occurs, the joint can deteriorate to the point of rubbing bone against bone. Changes in structures around the joint (muscles and tendons), fluid accumulation, and bony overgrowth (e.g., osteophytes or bone spurs) can develop, causing severe chronic pain, loss of mobility, and disability.

 

   
 
SYMPTOMS OF HIP OSTEOARTHRITIS
   
   

Patients who have hip osteoarthritis experience pain localized to the groin area and the front or side of the thigh. The pain might even refer to the knee. Hip stiffness is also characteristic of hip osteoarthritis. Most significantly, there is limited range of motion of the hip and pain during motion. The symptoms can worsen to the point that pain is constantly present.

 

   
 
WHAT CAUSES OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE HIP ?
   
   

Osteoarthritis is a condition once thought to be due simply to wear and tear on the cartilage of a joint. Osteoarthritis is now known to be a complex process that involves an active disease process.

Normal joint surfaces are covered with a smooth layer of cartilage. This cartilage is the surface that is worn thin in the condition called osteoarthritis. The problem that causes osteoarthritis is due to more wearing away (degradation) and less repair of the cartilage surface. There is both a mechanical (wearing away) part of osteoarthritis, and a biologic (abnormal joint biology) part of the disease.

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