Arthritis is a disease that consists of inflammation in the joints, which causes pain and stiffness and decreases the ability to move. Within this pathology, the most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis.
Causes of osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is due to wear and tear of the cartilage (the elastic tissue that covers the bones in the joints). When the cartilage wears away, the bones rub against each other, causing stiffness and pain. As the disease progresses, bone spurs (new bone formation) may appear around the joint, so that the ligaments and muscles in the affected area are weakened.
Risk factors for osteoarthritis
The main risk factors that can lead to the onset and progression of this locomotor pathology are:
- Overweight (especially osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, ankle and foot)
- Genetic inheritance
- Sports involving a direct impact on joints
- Fractures and joint injuries
- Hemorrhagic disorders that cause bleeding or block blood supply to the joints
- Other forms of arthritis (gout or rheumatoid arthritis)
Symptoms of osteoarthritis
The first symptoms appear in middle-aged adults, but most suffer some symptoms after the age of 70. The characteristic symptom is pain and stiffness of the joint, which is enhanced when pressure is exerted or after playing sports. This symptom can also be felt in the morning (“morning stiffness”) and usually improves after light activity. Thus, rest usually reduces the pain and activity often intensifies it.
Treatment of osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease, so there is no definitive cure and, moreover, it usually worsens over time. Therefore, the treatment of this pathology is focused on controlling the symptoms.
In addition to treating episodes of pain with analgesics, preventing its worsening with gentle mobilization of the joints and controlling joint stability and load by means of orthopedic products (such as knee braces or lumbar supports), the orthopedic surgeon can offer several alternatives for treatment depending on the case:
- Arthroscopy: this is a minimally invasive surgical technique with which the inside of the joints can be visualized to make a diagnosis and treatment without the need for open surgery, reducing the risk of complications and allowing a faster recovery. Through small incisions, video cameras, tweezers, scalpels and state-of-the-art devices are introduced to repair or replace injured parts.
- Regenerative medicine: this refers to the set of processes aimed at repairing or replacing tissue or the function of an organ by stimulating its own self-regeneration. This discipline encompasses both therapeutic strategies based on the use of living cells or cell therapies and those based on tissue engineering using different scaffolds with biocompatible materials and matrices that alone or in combination support and facilitate the repair of tissue damage. At present, attention has focused on progenitor cells, with better biological properties and superior plasticity than those already differentiated, and on the use of growth factors obtained from the patient’s own blood platelets.
- Prosthesis: when a joint is badly damaged by wear and tear (osteoarthritis), a fracture or a disease that irreversibly destroys it, a total or partial joint replacement or “prosthetic arthroplasty” can be performed, removing the injured structures and replacing the joint with artificial implants. With the latest technological advances, it has become possible to replace almost all major joints in the body in a safe and durable manner, allowing a very satisfactory return to previous activity.