ARTHRITIS: All about Osteoarthritis
Arthritis: What is it? So what does the word mean? Osteoarthritis: Osteon means bone, Arthro means joints, Itis means inflammation. Now this terminology is technically incorrect and OA is actually not an inflammatory condition by nature and this is why some people now call it Osteoathrosis instead. The Osis part actually means degeneration, which is more accurate. So essentially breaking down the word tells us what it is, which is degeneration of the joint. More specifically it is degeneration of the articular cartilage of the joint. This is essentially damage and loss of cartilage until the joint is “bone on bone”. The bone actually starts to thicken and wear in response to the extra load on it, which causes bony outgrowths to form, called osteophytes. The synovium around the joint also thickens and produces extra fluid making the joint swell up, which isn’t actually inflammation. So the joint looks inflamed but actually isn’t. Arthritis: How common is it?