Causes of Osteoarthritis

Possible causes of osteoarthritis

A arthrosis develops out of an imbalance between the Resilience of a Joint and the actual load.

The Causes of primary osteoarthritis develop with no apparent cause. It represents the classic, age-related osteoarthritis. The cartilage abrasion is particularly important here. determined by genetic factors. If you will, there are different quality grades of articular cartilage (hyaline cartilage), which is affected by wear sooner or later.

The Causes of secondary osteoarthritis are the consequences of misalignments, accidents with permanent joint damage or infections and much more.

Of the Articular cartilage Has no blood vessels. This means that it is nourished by the synovial fluid and the vessels of the bone. This also explains the poor healing potential of the articular cartilage. The fiber structure of the cartilage is built up in such a way that loads are evenly distributed over the cartilage. A healthy load is even necessary for the nourishment of the cartilage, since the loading and unloading of the cartilage, similar to a sponge, is squeezed out and the nourishment through the joint fluid is improved.

A basic distinction is made between the following Causes of osteoarthritis:

• Congenital developmental disorders and joint deformities
  
  • congenital hip dislocation or Hip dysplasia = congenital hip dislocation or insufficient maturation of the acetabular roof
    You can find more about this under our topic: Hip dysplasia
  • Coxa vara / valga (too steep / flat femoral neck angle = CCD angle)
  • Protrusio acetabuli (Protrusion of the acetabulum into the pelvis)
  • enchondral dysostosis (benign bone structures)
  • Chondromatosis (Cartilage formation in the joint mucosa)
  • Misaligned feet (e.g. Clubfoot)
    
• Joint diseases in growing age
  • Perthes disease (Death of the child's femoral head due to a circulatory disorder)
  • Epiphysiolysis capitis femoris (Solution and displacement of the femoral head in the area of ​​the growth plate of the femoral head)
  • aseptic epiphyseal necrosis (Death of the end of the bone behind the growth plate of unknown cause)
  • Osteochondrosis dissecans (In the case of osteochondrosis dissecans, a piece of cartilage detaches from the cartilage surface for various reasons (see there). This free piece of cartilage can jam in the joint and cause further cartilage damage (osteoarthritis) (mostly on the knee joint)).
  • post-traumatic (accident-related) and post-infectious growth disorders (through an injury to the growth plate)
    
• age-independent joint diseases as possible causes
  • chronic polyarthritis (cP), rheumatism
  • Spondylarthritis (Inflammation of the small vertebral joints)
  • bacterial arthritis (bacterial joint inflammation)
    + Idiopathic necrosis (death) of the femoral head, shoulder and knee joints
  • Crystal arthropathies (Crystal deposits in the knee joint), e.g. gout, Pseudogout (Chondrocalcinosis)
• systemic, metabolic and endocrine diseases as possible causes
  • Wilson disease (hepatolenticular degeneration, copper storage disease)
  • Paget's disease (Disease with disorders of the cells that break down bone (osteoclasts))
  • Hemochromatosis (Iron storage disease)
  • Arcromegaly (hormonal disorder with huge stature, especially of the extremities)
  • Hyperparathyroidism (Disruption of the Parathyroid)
    + Haemophilia (blood disease)
    
• neurological diseases
  • Charcot osteoarthritis (Tabes dorsalis)
  • Syringomyelia (Gap formation in Spinal cord)
  • Polyneuropathies at Diabetes mellitus
    
• Overuse damage from work and sport (increased cartilage abrasion in severe joint disease)
  
• post-traumatic changes
  • Axial misalignment after fractures (e.g. Knee legs or If one)
  • Cartilage, meniscus, ligament and capsule injuries (lead to incongruences and / or instabilities of the joints with increased cartilage abrasion; e.g. cruciate ligament tear, Meniscus tear, Meniscus removal)
    
• Genetic influencing factors
  • In many cases, however, no cause for the development of osteoarthritis can be found. In these cases one speaks of an ideopathic osteoarthritis.

Appointment with ?

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Who am I?
My name is dr. Nicolas Gumpert. I am a specialist in orthopedics and the founder of .
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In order to be able to treat successfully in orthopedics, a thorough examination, diagnosis and a medical history are required.
In our very economic world in particular, there is too little time to thoroughly grasp the complex diseases of orthopedics and thus initiate targeted treatment.
I don't want to join the ranks of "quick knife pullers".
The aim of any treatment is treatment without surgery.

Which therapy achieves the best results in the long term can only be determined after looking at all of the information (Examination, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, etc.) be assessed.

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You can make an appointment here.
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For more information about myself, see Lumedis - Orthopedists.

Meaning of alcohol

In many cases, alcohol is considered a risk factor for diseases, as is the case with osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the result of one Articular cartilage degeneration, which is mainly caused mechanically by incorrect or overloading, but the regeneration of the joint surfaces can also be reduced in some cases.

An overload can be caused by a unhealthy lifestyle come, which includes obesity, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, smoking and even alcohol.
Alcohol in turn promotes through his high number of calories and an increased feeling of hunger the excess weight. In addition, it is harmful to the tissue and especially to the articular cartilage, which is already under-supplied. The Supply of oxygen and further metabolic products is reduced and thus a damaged cartilage cannot recover more easily.

Thus alcohol applies harmful in two ways and promotes the development of osteoarthritis. This is usually true of one significant excess of alcohol or in connection with other risk factors.

Diet as the cause

One theory about the causes of osteoarthritis is that wrong diet could have an impact on the development of osteoarthritis. The theory is that one Acidification of the body the Increase the breakdown of collagen and articular cartilage could. Excessive consumption of sausage and meat products, for example, as well as alcohol, sugar, caffeine, grain products (such as baked goods and pasta) and ready meals with synthetic food additives could promote the development of osteoarthritis.

The study situation on this topic is still very poor and the influence of diet on osteoarthritis is increasing controversial.

However, it seems nutrition actually one indirect cause for osteoarthritis, as poor nutrition (for example, too much sugar consumption and overall too high calorie intake) and too little exercise lead to obesity. Overweight in turn leads to increased stress on the joints and thus intensifies the process of wear and tear in osteoarthritis.

In addition, at Malnutrition the cartilage tissue poorly supplied with nutrients that can also be a cause of osteoarthritis.

Please also read: Diet for osteoarthritis

Risk factors

The main risk factors for developing osteoarthritis are a lack of exercise and being overweight, as the joint is very heavily stressed. The same applies to regular lifting of heavy loads or sports injuries. Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis than men, and the risk increases with age.

The main focus here is on improper loading of the affected joint, which promotes degenerative wear and tear on the articular cartilage. This incorrect loading can mean, on the one hand, that an entire joint is more loaded than the opposite side and has to withstand more force, or it means that part of the joint surface is more stressed than another part of a joint due to a misalignment of the joint axis. This one-sided additional load can be caused by a leg length difference. Overloading a part of the joint surface is mostly caused by a congenital axis difference, such as knock knees or scoliosis, or after a bone fracture, when this then grows back together so that the joint surface can no longer be optimally evenly loaded.

Obesity is also one of the risk factors, as the increased body weight means that all joints have to bear a heavy load and the joint cartilage then wears out much faster due to the high pressure. In some cases, an unhealthy and unbalanced diet can also increase the risk of osteoarthritis. In addition, old age is a risk factor for osteoarthritis, because for years the joints and their cartilage surfaces are exposed to enormous but also smaller regular loads and then naturally wear and tear occurs. In addition, there are always genetic factors that additionally increase the risk. Metabolic diseases and inflammatory joint processes, such as rheumatism, are also among the risk factors for osteoarthritis.

Read more about this at: Osteoarthritis and obesity

Prevent osteoarthritis

Since osteoarthritis is a Degenerative disease it is important to take various measures to prevent factors that promote degeneration.
Aging and genetic predisposition cannot be prevented, but can still go through enough exercise and a healthy eating the respective characteristics are favorably influenced.

Is there a Joint misalignment before, it would make sense this from one Orthopedists have them checked and repaired, as these almost always result in a arthritic change leads to the joint.

After a broken bone, osteoarthritis can be prevented by performing an operation original bone shape and joint axis restore as best it can and with physiotherapy tries to relearn the movement sequences in a way that is gentle on the joints and cartilage.

Please also read: Knee school for the treatment of osteoarthritis

In addition, existing metabolic diseases and inflammatory joint diseasethat have a negative impact on the quality of the articular cartilage.

With a healthy level of sporting activity you can also prevent osteoarthritis. On the one hand, weight, which is too much, is reduced what gentle on the joints and on the other hand, the vitality of the tissues and the joint surfaces is preserved.
However, caution is also advised if you want to prevent with sport, because depending on the sport, the degenerative process can be promoted. This is especially the case in those sports in which the joint surfaces rub against each other very vigorously and at high frequency or in which a heavy weight is placed on the joints. Recommended, for example swim and To go biking.

There Smoke the Supply of the tissues lowering with oxygen would be a decrease in consumption or even a Stop smoking also recommended.

Please also read: Sport for hip arthrosis, Knee osteoarthritis, which sport is recommended?