What Causes Osteoarthritis?
Before going into the causes of Osteoarthritis, it is necessary to know its types. Osteoarthritis can be of two different types-primary and secondary. Primary Osteoarthritis refers to Osteoarthritis affecting a person without showing any definite or known cause. On the contrary Osteoarthritis showing known or definite cause is referred to as secondary Osteoarthritis.
Primary Osteoarthritis has been mostly observed in people experiencing increase in cartilage fluid and degeneration of the protein composition of cartilage as they become older. Complete degeneration starts with flaking or formation of very small crevasses by cartilage.
In advanced cases of Osteoarthritis the cushion (shock absorber) of cartilage in bone joints erodes altogether.
The frequent and repeated use of worn joints for long time leads to irritation and inflammation resulting in joint pain and swelling. The erosion of cartilage cushion also leads to friction between the bones resulting in pain in joints besides preventing joint mobility.
Inflamed cartilage may also causes the bones to outgrow. Sometimes Osteoarthritis can be seen in more than one member of a family thus indicating its hereditary nature.
Secondary osteoarthritis occurs due to obesity, operation in joints or any other medical conditions or diseases like repeated trauma. Even abnormality in joints at the time of birth can also be a causative factor for secondary osteoarthritis. This abnormality is known as congenital abnormality. People with gout or hormonal disorders can also be susceptible to secondary osteoarthritis.
Since cartilage in obese people mostly bears additional mechanical stress, they are at higher risk of developing osteoarthritis. In fact, obesity is considered as second largest factor behind osteoarthritis after aging. Osteoarthritis in obese people mostly affects their knees.
Moreover osteoarthritis is seen developing gradually among most of weight lifters. They suffer this condition in their knees because of extra body weight. Even soccer players can be seen having osteoarthritis in their knees because their ligaments, bones and other joint tissues like cartilage get affected by repeated trauma.
However, it has not been clear whether long-distance runners can be at the risk of developing this condition or not.
Cartilage may begin to degenerate because of accumulation of crystals in it resulting in osteoarthritis. Arthritis in gout mostly occurs due to uric acid crystals whereas arthritis in pseudo gout may develop as a result of calcium pyrophosphate crystals.
