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Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is known as a degenerative joint disease of ageing. However, it is now becoming better recognised that some forms of osteoarthritis have inflammation as an integral part of the disease process. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, which occurs often in older people and typically affects the knees, hips and hands. This disease affects cartilage, the tissue that cushions and protects the ends of bones in a joint. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage starts to wear away over time. In extreme cases, the cartilage can completely wear away, leaving nothing to protect the bones in a joint, causing bone-on-bone contact.
Osteoarthritis causes joint pain and can limit a person's normal range of motion (the ability to freely move and bend a joint). When severe, the joint may lose all movement, causing a person to lose function in the things we all take for granted, such as walking, opening jars etc....