Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis causes cartilage to breakdown. This is the gelatinous tissue, which prevents the bones rubbing against each other. As osteoarthritis (OA) progresses, direct contact between the bone causes abnormal bone hardening and spurs. This leads to inflammation and acute pain.

With time this can cause the bones to become more brittle and likely to fracture. Did you know that three hundred thousand hip and knee replacements yearly in the US are due to osteoarthritis?

There are two types of OA:

Primary - This type is wear and tear arthritis and is due to an unhealthy aging process. This type usually develops in those over forty five and affects the weight bearing joints in the lower back, hips, knees, neck, feet and fingers.

Genetics can play a role in this type of arthritis as with many others forms, but it usually occurs when joints are placed under extreme long-term stress, as in the instance of arthritic knees in obese individuals.

Secondary- This type of osteoarthritis is less common and has a more direct cause, such as injury, trauma, prolonged use of medications, surgery, infection, congenital joint misalignment, rheumatoid arthritis or other previous inflammation and it often shows before the age of forty.

You are more likely to develop OA if your joints lose their full extent or motion, as compromised mobility decreases the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the cartilage, which leads to its breakdown. However it is possible to nourish your cartilage so that it can repair itself.

The body also reacts to muscle and joint biomechanical imbalances by sending calcium to damaged areas to stabilize the weak joints, which causes calcium deposits where there were once smooth elastic tendons, ligaments and muscles. This is what causes joint stiffness and the spurs, which protrude from the joints.

An excess build up of fibrous tissue, (fibrosis) can also set in as waste products accumulate in the joint and muscle area, which hamper movement even further. These act as a barrier and the joints don't receive the key nutrients that are required to replace old cartilage cells with new.

As mentioned previously obesity is a strong contributing factor to the development of osteoarthritis because of the increasing wear and tear on your joints, as well as the negative impact on biomechanical and biochemical processes.

Being too heavy is predominantly stressful to the hips and knees because they carry the brunt of this extra weight, and for each pound you are overweight six pounds of pressure is added to the hips and three pounds of pressure to the knees, which gradually increases joint stress and the risks of OA in later life.

Research has shown that people with osteoarthritis often have insulin resistance or a deficiency and a diet high in carbohydrates; especially sugar and wheat products increase this resistance further.

Insulin resistance is a precursor to adult onset diabetes, which is a blood sugar disorder that transpires when the body fails to realize the effects of insulin in the blood. When this happens it is harder for the body to use glucose for energy, and it starts to break down protein to use as its energy source. This has a negative effect on the connective tissue further damages the joints. Read more