Everything About Osteoarthritis: Risk Factors, Symptoms, and Treatment
Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common types of arthritis that is also known as a degenerative joint disease (DJD) or wear-and-tear arthritis. This chronic joint disease usually occurs due to the biochemical breakdown of cartilage or deformity in the synovial joints. Cartilage is a firm, rubbery, flexible protective tissue covering the bones’ ends in a joint. The primary function of the cartilage in the joints is to reduce the friction between bones and also act as a shock absorber. But due to OA, the cartilage breakdown (diminish), and the bones start rubbing each other, leading to pain, stiffness, and more. The breakdown of cartilage can cause two types of OA, depending on how the breakdown happens.