What Is Osteoarthritis?
2. Causes
The daily wear and tear affects the joints (especially the weight bearing joints such as the hip, knee, and ankle). Most experts believe that the degeneration begins in the articular cartilage due to normal load (weight) on an abnormal or damaged joint or excessive load (weight) on a healthy joint.
Some of the risk factors for osteoarthritis include trauma (to the joint), age, obesity, muscle weakness, positive (and significant) family history, low levels of sex hormones, joint infection, repetitive use, previous episode of inflammatory arthritis, bone disorders, diabetes mellitus, history of surgical procedures, congenital joint conditions (such as congenital hip dislocation), and neuropathic disorders (such as tabes dorsalis and syringomyelia).
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