What is Osteoarthritis and what their prevalence

Osteoarthritis is the most common disease of the joints, besides being the most common cause of disability locomotor. This pathology of trauma is characterized by a wear layer of cartilage lining the joints. Cartilage is a tissue coating allows movements of a joint also absorbs loads.

From the age of forty cartilage aging rapidly and becomes softer and fragile. On the surface they appear fissures and erosions leaving the bone exposed. As a result, the surface of a joint with arthrosis becomes irregular. Thereby limiting mobility, pain and disability appears. The pain appears to move the joint and walking and usually disappears with rest but in more advanced stages, the pain can be night and disrupt sleep.

Osteoarthritis is rare in adults under 40 years of age and very often above 60. Below 50 years of age men have higher prevalence of osteoarthritis than women but from age 50, is more common in women, prevalence increases with age.

Factors that predispose to suffer arthrosis

There are several factors that predispose to osteoarthritis:

• Family history since osteoarthritis is hereditary.
• Obesity, overweight because the overload our joints.
• Malalignment of the legs accelerates joint, especially in knee osteoarthritis wear.
• Also, work involving an overload or continuing impact on our joints are also predisposing factors.
• Some diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or joint congenital malformations, especially in the hip, lead to early osteoarthritis.
• Trauma or fractures in the joints may predispose to osteoarthritis.

Joints commonly affected by arthrosis

Osteoarthritis most commonly affects some joints and respects other. Thus, it is more common osteoarthritis in the cervical and lumbar spine and hip, knee and hands.

Treatment and prevention of arthrosis

Treatment of osteoarthritis recommended by experts in Traumatology is threefold:

1. Eliminate pain
2. Improve joint mobility
3. Reduce disability

To prevent osteoarthritis should be corrected since childhood those alterations that cause wear or misalignment articular. It must be removed overweight.

Exercise is also recommended because it allows you to maintain joint mobility and prevent muscle atrophy. Sports that keep a wide mobility of affected joints help prevent worsening of osteoarthritis. Sports should be reduced or run- -saltar impact, if osteoarthritic involvement in the hips or knees.