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Knee Arthritis
If
you suffer from knee pain, it’s possible you have arthritis. Knee
arthritis is caused by the deterioration of cartilage in the knee
joint. The two most common types of knee arthritis are osteoarthritis
and rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a progressive, degenerative disease in which the
cartilage of the knee slowly wears away. Cartilage serves as
insulation between the bones of the joint, and when the cartilage of
the knee joint wears away due to osteoarthritis, the resulting pain
and inflammation can be debilitating.
Your chances of osteoarthritis of the knee increase with age; the
condition most often affects middle-aged and older people.
Osteoarthritis may first appear between the ages of 30 and 40, though
symptoms may not be present in the early stages. By the age of 70
almost everyone will have this type of knee arthritis.
Causes
The
question of what causes osteoarthritis of the knee has not been
answered. Prior knee injuries seem to increase the likelihood of
osteoarthritis, but many people with knee arthritis have never had a
serious knee injury. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of
arthritis, and many people have a genetic predisposition to this
chronic disease.
Symptoms
The
primary symptoms of osteoarthritis are pain in the knee, swelling and
stiffening of the knee joint. In the early stages of osteoarthritis
the pain may be mainly associated with activity. As the cartilage
wears away and the bones of the joint rub against each other, pain can
become more severe and constant, interfering with regular daily
activities and disrupting sleep.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Unlike osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid knee
arthritis involves inflammation of the lining of the joints, known as
the synovium. Though less common than osteoarthritis, rheumatoid
arthritis is among the most debilitating of the over one hundred forms
of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis usually develops in middle age, but
may occur in the 20s and 30s.
Causes
The exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown. It’s
possible that a virus or bacteria may trigger the disease in people
with a genetic predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis. Many doctors
think rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the
tissue of the joint’s lining is attacked by the body’s immune system.
It’s also possible that rheumatoid arthritis is caused by severe
stress. The disease sometimes occurs after a life-changing event such
as divorce, loss of a job or a severe injury.
Symptoms
The primary
symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include pain and swelling in the
joints and difficulty moving. Other symptoms may include loss of
appetite, fever, loss of energy, anemia, and rheumatoid nodules (lumps
of tissue under the skin).
If you think you may have arthritis of the knee, contact your doctor
for a complete evaluation and a discussion of the options available
for treatment.
Click here
for information on treatment options for knee arthritis
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons |
