Arthritis: Do I have it?
Part 4
In our latest edition of this column, we discussed Management of Soft Tissue Rheumatism.
Now, we move on to more related topics.
There is a SOFT TISSUE ABSCESS for Osteoarthritis. The Generalities for this include: Cartilage degradation: loss of matrix integrity; Role of cytokines, enzymes, nitric oxide; Age is the strongest risk factor; Other risk factors include obesity, injury, muscle weakness; Knees and hips are most commonly affected; Heberden’s and Bouchard’s nodes; Mechanical pain, without systemic features
There is also the Normal vs. OA Joint. The ones involved are the Normal knee, capsule, cartilage, synovium, and bone
There is also the Osteoarthritic knee characterized by: thickened capsule; cyst formation; sclerosis in; subchondral bone; fibrillated cartilage; synovial hypertrophy and osteophyte formation.
There are two (2) Classifications of OA – primary and secondary.
The Primary OA has the following information: most common form; is rare before age 40 years; prevalence increases with age; knee joint most often affected; genetic predisposition, particularly for hand arthritis
The Secondary OA has these information: preceded by a predisposing disorder such as joint trauma; and occurs in any joint.
The Risk factors for primary OA include the following:
Old age, Obesity, Occupation, Family history BGenetics, Trauma, Joint dysplasia, Joint injury, Bone injury, and
Gender