Arthritis of the Knee : Osteoarthritis
Monday, July 21st, 2008Knee arthritis can also be called osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is essentially the wearing down of the cartilage surrounding the knee which occurs simply as people age. Another common form of knee arthritis is Rheumatoid Arthritis, which results in swelling within the joint and damage to the cartilage. Not only do these forms of knee arthritis affect the joints and cartilage, they can also have a serious impact on the surrounding ligaments, muscles and tendons.
Osteoarthritis is often the result of increased strain on the joint due to weight, or repeated injury or damage. Knee arthritis is definitely more common in middle aged to elderly persons. A younger sufferer of knee arthritis has usually inherited the condition- it does have a genetic disposition, or it can be the after affect of a serious knee injury- more common in sports men- specifically footballers. Rheumatoid arthritis is more common in younger people for this reason.
Unfortunately, the condition can get worse if it is not treated. A funny thing about arthritis in knee is that you don’t experience the pain all the times. Some months you can be free of pain depending on the weather.
There are less related methods of testing for knee arthritis as well. The main one is simply a blood test- doctor’s will be able to see deficiency in the blood results. An arthroscopy will also most certainly confirm the diagnosis of knee arthritis, however this will only be recommended if there is an intention to fix the knee arthritis.
It has been proven that one of the most significant factors in causing knee arthritis is being overweight. If the sufferer can begin a gentle exercise regime in combination with a healthy diet, there is every chance that the knee arthritis symptoms will ease.
Sometimes, your doctor extracts some fluid from the knee joint to determine the presence of other types of arthritis such as gout. An arthroscopy is only required if a surgery is to be performed. It can provide a better picture of the damage of the cartilage, tendons, and ligaments.




