What is degenerative arthritis? How bad is it? Who can get it? Many questions are asked about this dreaded form of arthritis, which is no surprise considering the prospects of a life spent with on-going pain, gnarled joints and the potential complete loss of joint movement. It is a fear that most of us have as we get older, but it is also shared by the very young as they too can get arthritic diseases and disorders. In fact, this type of arthritis is also known as osteoarthritis.
Such as it is, this arthritis breaks down and causes the inevitable loss of your cartilage around at least one of your joints, though arthritis usually strikes more than one location at a time. Your cartilage cushions your bones so they do not grind against your joints which serve to keep you mobile and moving about. Out of the hundreds of arthritis related disorders and diseases; sadly, this one is one that most people get. It affects about twenty million in the US alone. Most people when they age may start getting it just before age 45 and after age 55 and both men and women can get it.
Generally this type of arthritis will affect the knees, hips, spine, feet and hands, but the primary causes are not yet known. In many cases the arthritis is simply something that happens due to the aging of the cartilage as it gains water and proteins begin to decay it. In the end the cartilage will flake and form small crevasses. Joints began rubbing against the bones with a friction that can lead to limited mobility, pain, inflammation and stiffness. However, though this type is usually experienced by people who are getting older, not everyone is guaranteed to get it, or get it as severely as everyone else around them.
Degenerative arthritis is not just caused by aging, but can be the secondary result of surgery, hormonal issues, diabetes, gout, trauma and obesity. Some people may have been born with these abnormalities in their joints when they were born. Uric acid might be deposited in and around the joints, causing further problems. Some people lose their cartilage because their joints were more vulnerable from the start. That is why the reason that you might get this may not be known and you might not get it in late age, but earlier, even in childhood, though that is rare.