What is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis (also known as arthrosis) is a degenerative disease that affects the cartilage, which are the tissues that protect the joints. As the cartilage wears down, friction between the bones increases, causing discomfort, pain, inflammation, and deformities, which can make movement difficult or even impossible.
Incidence
Generally associated with aging, the condition is more common in weight-bearing joints—those that support more weight—such as the feet, hips, spine, and especially the knees.
International studies show that 6% of the population over the age of 30 already shows symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. After age 45, the number rises to nearly 28%, with 16% of those patients experiencing pain or motor limitations. Obesity and excessive physical activity or sports can increase the risk.
Treatment
Osteoarthritis has no cure. However, there is a wide range of resources that can benefit patients. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to slow the progression of the disease and ensure a better quality of life—as well as help avoid or delay the need for joint replacement.
Conventional treatment combines medication (pain relievers and anti-inflammatories) and physical therapy. In the early stages, arthroscopy can also be helpful. With the aid of a microcamera and appropriate instruments, this minimally invasive surgical technique allows for the treatment of various joint injuries, such as meniscus tears, and the removal of fragments that detach from the cartilage tissue during the osteoarthritis process. In addition to causing pain and limiting movement, these fragments can intensify inflammation and cartilage degeneration. Removing them, therefore, improves the patient’s well-being and helps slow the progression of osteoarthritis. Arthroscopy is also used to perform cartilage segment transplants, where tissue is taken from a less affected area and implanted in a more damaged and stressed area, such as the weight-bearing zone of the knee.
Medicine has been incorporating new tools in the treatment of the disease. The range of medications, for example, has been expanded with anti-inflammatory herbal remedies. These plant-based products have less impact on the stomach and kidneys, which are the organs most affected by the side effects of commonly used drugs—especially in older patients.
There are also new procedures being tested for young patients with isolated cartilage defects, which are believed to potentially be used in the future for older patients with osteoarthritis. These include the implantation of cartilage cells extracted from the patient and grown in a lab, and cartilage transplants from cadavers. For now, these are experimental procedures still under research, but they show promise as future treatments for osteoarthritis.