degenerative arthritis

Learn About Degenerative Arthritis

Arthritis information and treatment is something that you might need to look into if you think that you have it. You can tell by the many symptoms if arthritis is something that you have or not, and also by reading more about degenerative arthritis.

Degenerative arthritis is another term for osteoarthritis and refers to a type of arthritis that most commonly affects those that are older. For the most part, degenerative arthritis is simply a progressive wearing away of the protective lining found within joints.

Over time, the cartilage and other lining components are worn down. When this occurs, the joints are not lubricated or move easily. This causes pain. When the bone or cartilage within joints rubs against itself, this can cause extremely intense pain, as well as stiffness and decreased mobility.

Degenerative arthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting nearly twenty-one million people in the United States. Osteoarthritis is responsible for roughly twenty-five percent of the primary care physician visits in the United States. The statistics see to be about the same for Canada and most of Western Europe.

Is has been estimated that about eighty percent of the population will have radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis by the time they reach the age of sixty-five. This certainly explains why we tend to think of elderly people as necessarily having some type of arthritis. Though only about sixty percent of these patients will be symptomatic, this certainly is a rather large number of people.

It is estimated that twenty-five percent of visits to primary care physicians, and about half of all non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory drug prescriptions are caused by those seeking relief from their osteoarthritis. Now that's a lot of doctor visits.

The primary symptom of degenerative arthritis is chronic pain which itself causes loss of mobility and very often includes stiffness....

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