Joint Damage
The most common joint damage is Osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease. This type of joint disorder can occur in any of the joints, but is most familiar the joints that are used the most, such as the knee or the hip. Generally, the wear and tear on the joint begins with the cartridge. Cartridge is the ‘cushiony’ substance in between the bones that keeps the bones from rubbing together and still allows proper movement. When the cartridge is worn away and the cushion is gone, the bones will continue to rub together and wear away. Of course, this causes increasing pain in the joint itself.
Osteoarthritis and Rheumatory arthritis can be passed down from generation to generation, but other joint damage typically occurs from severe trauma, such as a car accident or a sport injury. With Osteoarthritis it is often unclear where the root of the disease actually begins, but most doctors agree that age has a lot to do with it. The wear and tear typically begins to cause problems after the age of 55 and then joint damage begins to be seen.
The most common symptoms of joint damage are pain and stiffness. Slowly, over time the conditions get worse. The joints are stiff in the morning for a period of 30 minutes, or more and the pain gets worse after exercise, especially when there is no treatment. Some relief may when you are resting, but the pain always gets worse with activity because it is bone on bone. There are a few incidences where no pain is felt at all in the joint, yet x-rays show wear and tear on the cartridge and bone and there are no blood teats that show OA, only x-rays and MRIs.
There is no cure for joint damage aside from surgery, or joint replacement. If you are feeling pain in your joints contact your doctor and get x-rays taken and evaluated.
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