Arthritis Explained

Arthritis can be an extremely painful and difficult condition to manage. Currently there are around 9 million people with arthritis in the UK.

The two most common forms of arthritis, ‘joint inflammation’, are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The bones in your joints are covered by a layer of cartilage which is a tough, lubricating tissue that provides smooth, pain-free motion to your joints. Arthritis causes the cartilage to wear away resulting in painful bone-on-bone contact. Without cartilage, walking is painful and in some cases impossible.

A Healthy Knee Medial Compartment Arthritis Total Knee Arthritis

There are two very different types of arthritis but both are treatable by knee replacement surgery.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis or “wear-and-tear” arthritis, is a condition where the surface of the joint is damaged and the surrounding bone grows thicker, resulting in bone against bone friction. This friction can cause severe pain and eventually loss of movement. It is commonly believed that osteoarthritis only occurs in older people, though it can in fact also appear as a secondary condition in younger people.

Approximately 11% of people over 64 years of age have symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee.
Factors that can trigger the cartilage of the joint to wear away are; injury, occupation, excess weight, and genetics.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. A person’s own immune system attacks cells within its own joint capsule destroying cartilage, bone and ligaments which can lead to possible deformity and disability.