What is Osteoarthritis?

Your joints are the parts of your body where two or more bones meet. The joint enables your bones to move around without slipping too far away from each other. Osteoarthritis can occur when the cartilage starts to thin or roughen.

Osteoarthritis (OA) used to be called ‘wear and tear’ because people thought joints would inevitably wear out as you got older. “It is now known that the process of osteoarthritis is much more complicated,” says Arthritis Action.

“Inside the affected joints there is quite a lot of healing and repair going on, also called inflammation,” Arthritis Action explains, “this healing and repairing process can include the formation of new bone, which can contribute to some of the pain and stiffness.”

While the risk of osteoarthritis increases with age, it is not inevitable. “The other good news is that the pain of osteoarthritis can come and go and will not inevitably get worse,” Arthritis Action adds.

“No-one knows exactly what causes osteoarthritis but it may be due to repeated small injuries that happen as part of daily life that don’t heal completely. Osteoarthritis can also run in families and injuries such as a broken bone or sporting injury can lead to osteoarthritis later in life,” she adds.

“Cartilage is a flexible tissue found around the joints between bones. Inside a joint with osteoarthritis, there is loss of cartilage which surrounds the ends of the bones and acts as a shock absorber,” Arthritis Action says.

“Despite its flexibility and strength, cartilage can be damaged. Problems can arise due to general wear and tear over time, a specific injury, or other diseases. When cartilage is damaged, the bones may rub and grind against one another at the joint, which can be very painful,” Arthritis Action continues.

“The symptoms of osteoarthritis can vary a lot from person to person,” Arthritis Action explains, “sometimes OA causes the joints to swell and change shape, especially the finger joints, and sometimes the joints make creaking or cracking noises.”

While arthritis can occur in any joint, it is most commonly found in fingers, thumbs, hips, knees, the lower back and neck.

Osteoarthritis can be present without symptoms. While 70% of people over 70 years of age have x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis, only half of the people with x-ray evidence develop symptoms. ⁴

The symptoms of osteoarthritis are very varied. “Sometimes a person will feel no pain at all, while for others the pain can be severe and make moving their joints difficult,” says Arthritis Action, “there can frequently be loss of muscle around the joints and this can make them feel weaker.”

Osteoarthritis can sometimes affect your mobility and the pain can sometimes affect people’s work, home and social life, but pain relief medication and an exercise plan can lessen its impact.

“Surgery is one option for people living with osteoarthritis, however there are many effective ways at managing their symptoms,” says Arthritis Action.

“Arthritis Action promotes the self-management of arthritis. Put simply, this means managing your condition yourself using a variety of approaches and techniques to address both the physical and mental impact of arthritis,” she continues.

Different things will work for different people, so it’s important to create a self management plan which is right for you.

“Genetic factors can sometimes make someone more likely to develop arthritis, but anyone can get osteoarthritis,” Arthritis Action.

There isn’t a gene which is responsible for arthritis, as far as we are aware. Your age, weight and lifestyle are more likely to play a part.

“Body weight plays a key part to arthritis, especially the three common types (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout),” says Arthritis Action, “excess weight places additional pressure on weight-bearing joints. A landmark study has found one lb of weight-loss lessens four lbs of pressure on the knees, per step,”

Eating a healthy diet and incorporating an enjoyable activity - whether that be walking, gardening or zumba - into your daily life can help you maintain a healthy weight.

While exercise may be the last thing you want to do when you’re in pain, it actually has a lot of benefits. “Exercise may help protect against osteoarthritis because strong muscles help to support the joints and people who exercise may be slimmer than those who don’t and keeping to a healthy weight can also help protect the joints from osteoarthritis,” says Arthritis Action.

“The latest research suggests that exercise can actually increase the level of anti-inflammatory chemicals inside the joints and these can protect against cartilage loss and joint damage,”