What is osteoarthritis?
Signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis
Coping with your diagnosis
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Osteoarthritis is a medical condition that affects the cartilage - the pads of tissue that cushion and protect the ends of your bones within a joint. You might have heard osteoarthritis referred to as 'wear and tear' arthritis. But this isn't strictly true. Osteoarthritis is not an inevitable part of ageing, and young people can get it too, though it's much more common in older people.
If you've had osteoarthritis for some time, you'll know only too well how painful and stiff it can make your joints. You may also find certain everyday things that most people take for granted have become increasingly tricky, such as gripping a knife or walking up the stairs.
You may be worried that you'll need an operation or that you you'll become disabled as a result of your osteoarthritis. But osteoarthritis affects different people in different ways, and nowadays there are treatments available that are effective at relieving symptoms. What's more, we know that being informed about your condition and taking good care of yourself can help you stay fit and active.
See how much you know about osteoarthritis by taking our true or false quiz.
View the transcript
Osteoarthritis symptoms are no more than aches and pains that we should just put up with.
False - Osteoarthritis is a serious medical condition that can cause pain and lead to disability. But there are treatments that can help keep the symptoms under control and help you get on with your life. Some people with Osteoarthritis may need surgery, but normally such operations are very straightforward. They can transform some people’s lives.
Only old people get osteoarthritis.
False - It is true that osteoarthritis is more common in people over 50 However, younger people can get it, especially if they have injured their joints or had another condition that affects their joints.
Osteoarthritis always gets worse.
False - Osteoarthritis can worsen, but not in every case. It’s a condition that develops over many years and there’s no way of knowing how it will affect you in the future. Some people have mild pain for many years and their symptoms never get any worse. Others might have pain and stiffness for a few months or years followed by periods when they are pain-free.
Nothing can be done about osteoarthritis symptoms, they are just part of getting old.
False - There are many treatments your doctor can prescribe for the symptoms of osteoarthritis. These will reduce the pain and stiffness in your joints and help you stay active. There are also many things you can do to help yourself. For example, if you’re overweight, shedding a few pounds helps to reduce the pressure on your joints and can ease your symptoms. Other things can also help, such as taking gentle exercise and watching what you eat.
People with osteoarthritis become disabled and need a wheelchair.
False - You may think that osteoarthritis always leads to disability, but this is not the case. Because the condition affects everyone differently, it’s not possible to say what will happen to you. Many people with osteoarthritis lead full and active lies. Although they get symptoms of pain and stiffness, these do not always cause permanent disability. Keeping your appointments with your doctor and looking after your health in general can help you stay active.
No one is quite sure what causes osteoarthritis but we do know that it happens when something goes wrong with the body's normal way of repairing bone and cartilage.
Normally your body repairs and replaces bones and cartilage without you noticing. But if you have osteoarthritis this process is disrupted. Your cartilage becomes thin and brittle, and small holes may appear in it. It can no longer protect the ends of your joints and the bones rub together, causing pain and swelling.
At the same time the bone, which can repair itself, tries to fix the damage in the cartilage. But in osteoarthritis the bone grows faster than normal and instead of making things better, it may grow where it's not supposed to. Bits of bone might grow at the end of the joint where the cartilage should be. These bony growths, called 'spurs,' might make your joint look knobbly. You might also notice a grating sound as the bones of the joints rub against each other where the cartilage has been destroyed. This can be very painful.
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