OsteoarthritisWhat are the causes / symptoms of osteoarthritis? What are the symptoms treatment for osteoarthritis? What is Osteoarthritis? Osteroarthritis is a joint disease that causes the articular cartilage found at the end of bones to break down. Osteoarthritis also affects other areas such as
Causes and symptoms of osteoarthritisSymptoms of osteoarthritis
Initially pain occurs only when the joint is used but in the later stages, the joint aches even in a stationary position.
The joints become stiff. In the early stages of the disease, the stiffness can be overcome by workout and exercise, but as the diseases progresses, permanent loss of motion occurs even with warm up execises.
This occurs in advance stages of osteoarthritis and most often at the knee due to the joint rubbing together during use.
When the cartilage degenerates, the bones become damaged. Bone cysts, gross bony overgrowth or fluid retention develop causing deformity and enlargement. Causes of osteoarthritisPrimary osteoarthritisPrimary osteoarthritis is a slow and progressive condition that affects people over the age of 45. It occurs due to obesity as excessive load being placed on the joint or due to inferior joint tissue. The knee and hip joints handle loads up to 10 times a person’s body weight. A person weighing 200 pounds may be putting as much as a ton of pressure on his joint during running or walking. Therefore, as body weight increases the load on the joints become very difficult to bear. Defective genes also cause primary osteoarthritis. Researcher have identified mutation of a gene on the twelfth chromosome which they believe may be linked to osteoarthiritis.
Secondary osteoarthritisIt appears before the age of 40 and has clearly defined causes such as trauma, joint laxity, joint infection, or metabolic imbalances. Trauma appears to be the main cause in secondary osteoarthritis. Trauma can be acute ( such as a sudden, serious injury) or chronic. Chronic trauma is injury recurring over time. One form of chronic trauma is Repetitive impact loading. An example would be a pneumatic drill operator absorbing vibrations of his drill in his shoulders for years. Over a period of time the repeated motion damages the cartilage and subcondral bone. Osteoarthritis may be also caused by poor bone alignment. The affected joints bear excessive pressure and damage the cartilage, resulting in osteoarthritis. Structure of CartilageCartilage is made of 4 components:
The collagen are tough fibres which are laid down at right angles to each other in a crisscross pattern and creates framework to hold the proteglycans. Collagen provides elasticity and absorbs shock. The proteoglycans are anchored in spaces in the collagen “netting”. They provide elasticity and trap water and lubricate and nourish the cartilage. The proteoglycan allows cartilage to behave just like a sponge in water. When you squeeze the sponge water is expelled from the sponge but upon relaxation of your grip, waters re-enters the sponge. Likewise, cartilage absorbs water when there is no pressure exerted upon the joint and squeezing out water when pressure is applied on the joint. Chondrocytes are miniature factories that produces collagen and proteoglycans.
Symptoms treatment for osteoarthritisTwo inexpensive over the counter nutritional supplements are glucosamine and chondroitin sulfates.
How Glucosamine worksGlucosamine is needed to make glycosaminoglycans (GAG) which are proteins binding water in the cartilage matrix. Glucosamine also stimulates chondrocytes to produce GAG , proteoglycan and collagen. Finally, it normalizes cartilage metabolism and prevents break down of the cartilage. All these actions actually help the body to repair damaged cartilage. It has also been shown Glucosamine helps to reduce pain and improve joint function in patients.
How Chondroitin Sulphates workChondroitin Sulphate is a long chain of repeating sugars and helps to attract fluid into the proteoglycan. The structure of Chondroitin Sulphates contains large branches of core protein. Each large branch further divides into 100 smaller branches of chondroitin sulfate chains. These Chondroitin Sulphates possess negative electrical charges and repel each other, thus creating a space that forms the matrix of the cartilage. A single proteoglycan molecule may contain as many as 10,000 chains of Chondroitin Sulphates thus making it a excellent water retainer. Chondroitin Sulphate also serves other functions as such:
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