Do I have osteoarthritis?
Dr. Peter Stillman: When we mention arthritis, for most of the time, we are refering to osteoarthritis and that’s fair enough, because, after all is the most common form. The fact that over 200 different kinds of arthritis. So in this segment, we are going to look at actually what causes arthritis and what it feels like, inside the body of somebody who suffers from arthritis. I am Peter Stillman this is streaming well.
What causes osteoarthritis?
Female Speaker 1: I don’t know what causes arthritis, no idea.
Female Speaker 2: I can’t answer that expect that it unfortunately happens.
Female Speaker 3: I don’t really know -- bones.
Male Speaker 1: I’m sorry -- injuries stuff like that.
Dr. Carol Cooper: Bad weather does not cause arthritis, but it can certainly make the symptoms feel a lot worse, when cold, damp weather on that way that’s when you are more likely to have aches and pains in your joints if you have osteoarthritis.
What is osteoarthritis?
Dr. Carol Cooper: Osteoarthritis is mainly due to wear and tear of the joints that bones ends rubbing together. Some kinds of arthritis that are due to inflammation in an around the joint. Rheumatoid arthritis is a typical example of this, but it’s also ankylosing spondylitis which is a kind of an inflammatory arthritis. Then there are chemical kinds of arthritis like gout which is due to crystals inside the joint space. Of all the kinds of arthritis you can get, and there are about 200, the most common is osteoarthritis or osteoarthrosis.
What happens inside the joint?
Dr. Carol Cooper: This is the model of a knee joint. It’s a model of a right knee joint and these bits here are cartilage. What happens in osteoarthritis is that these get worn away, so that instead of having this lovely cartilage which normally cushions the joint, they wear away, you get bone rubbing along bone everytime that you to use a knee joint. You can get osteoarthritis in almost every joint in the body. A lot of people especially women, get it in the small joints in their hands, but you can also get in the knees, in the hips, in any other joint and it doesn’t have to be symmetrical. You can get it for instance in one hip, rather than the other, the other hip can be absolutely fine.
Dr. Peter Stillman: Any of us who live long enough are quite likely to suffer from arthritis. But if you do think, that you are developing some sort of problem in the joints, particularly pain and stiffness then discuss this with your doctor. After all, there are over 200 different source for arthritis and only when you and your doctor have arrived at the correct diagnosis, can you then be sure to move on to appropriate treatment, thanks for watching.
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