What is Osteoarthritis?!

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Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that is caused by breakdown of cartilage. Cartilage is a protein substance that serves as a "cushion" between the bones of the joints. When the cartilage weakens, the bone next to it becomes inflamed and can be stimulated to produce new bone in the form of a local bony protrusion, called a "spur."

Early signs:
The early signs of osteoarthritis is when you have a knobby bony deformity at the smallest joint of the end of your fingers. The bony deformity is a result of the bone spurs from the osteoarthritis in that joint. Another common bony knob (node) occurs at the middle joint of the fingers in many patients with osteoarthritis and is called a Bouchard's node.

What is the remedy?:
Aside from weight reduction and avoiding activities that exert excessive stress on the joint cartilage, there is no specific treatment to halt cartilage degeneration or to repair damaged cartilage in osteoarthritis. But some patients with osteoarthritis have minimal or no pain and may not need treatment. Others may benefit from conservative measures such as rest, exercise, diet control with weight reduction, physical and occupational therapy, and mechanical support devices.

How to prevent this I really don't know but i went online and found out that
"The Arthritis Foundation makes the following recommendations to protect joints and prevent osteoarthritis:

?Maintain your ideal body weight. Excess weight puts stress on your joints, especially your hips, knees, back, and feet.

?Move. Exercise strengthens muscles around joints, this can help prevent wear and tear on cartilage in a joint.

?Maintain good posture. Good posture protects your joints from excessive pressure, especially your neck, back, hips, and knees.

?Do a variety of physical activity. Alternate periods of heavy activity with periods of rest. For example, if you do weight training one day, do aerobic exercise the next day. Repetitive stress on joints for long periods of time can cause the excessive wear and tear that can lead to osteoarthritis.

?Pay attention to pain. If you have joint pain, don't ignore it. Pain after activity or exercise can be an indication you have overstressed your joints and that they need to rest.

?Forget the weekend warrior. Start new activities slowly and safely until you know how your body will react to them. This will reduce the chance of injury.

?Avoid injury to joints. Wear proper safety equipment. Don't leave helmets and wrist pads at home. Make sure your safety gear is comfortable and fits appropriately."

Hope this helps :)

it is one hell of a pain in the knees that is what it is.... i have this in both my knees and it is pretty painful