Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis -- One thing you should know is, it is definitely not fatal, it won't kill you, but it may make one's life miserable, even a living hell.

Osteoarthritis is a progressive degenerative disease, meaning it will only slowly worsen and never better. It is crippling for some with severe form of the disease.
Osteoarthritis is oftenly associated with aging process, and it is rightly so, nevertheless, even young people can get it, from injuries or even other diseases (like SLE, bacterial infections etc).

In this picture is a healthy knee joint (right knee if you wish to know)

The joint surfaces, which are lined by cartilage should be smooth and the bones can glide easily over another without much friction. The cartilages should also be a bit elastic and act as a cushioning when weights press on them.
The joint space is filled with enough amount of synovial fluid (joint fluid) and the joint is properly aligned.

The cartilage, the lining over the joint surfaces, are lack of blood supplies, meaning it can't get the nutrients the way the other tissues do. Instead it gets most, if not all, the nutrients mostly from the synovial fluid, and a bit from the bone it overlays. This actually slows down the regeneration and any repair needed in the joints, as the resources are scarce. (Imagine building or repairing a house on the peak of mount Kinabalu, or maybe the video of the guy changing the light bulb on top of the communication tower)

Through time, daily activities like walking, running, jumping even standing cause little little abrasions with little little frictions (depending on the amount and intensitiy of the activities, and also one's body weight).
As the cartilages take a really really long time to heal, the microabrasions slowly build up giving the cartilages rough surfaces and cause inflammations in the joints.
These rough surfaces in turn increases the frictions between the surfaces, and this causes more abrasion, then the cycle repeats -- a vicious cycle it is.

Other than that, inflammation is also part of another vicious cycle, that an inflammed joint produces less quality synovial fluid, giving less cushioning to the joint, causing swelling and roughens up the cartilages, making possible debris around the synovial cavity (joint space) etc.

Sorry for the many words. Here's what the joint will look like in active Osteoarthritis:

While most of the osteoarthritis happens in the knee joints, it can also strike any joint in the body.
Yes, and indeed we have to protect and take good care of our knees (and other joints), but don't let that be an excuse to go outdoor and go exercise, alright?

What exercise will be suitable for those with osteoarthritis? Read here.

Will discuss more about it's treament options on the next post 😉