Note from the Editor:
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member @Doctor Alan.

For most of us, mobility becomes more limited as we age. The movement we took for granted when we were indestructible teenagers later became a longed-for memory. Osteoarthritis is often the problem with our knees, and we find we can no longer run up and down stairs—or, in fact, run anywhere with ease—due to the pain from those knees.



What is osteoarthritis?
Probably because we’re now living a lot longer than our ancestors, we are aware of the gradual breaking down of our bodies with more and more regular visits to our GP to try to relieve our symptoms. Our mobility and balance deteriorate as we get older, and one of the most common causes of mobility problems is the deterioration of the knee joint, known as osteoarthritis. This is also known as ‘wear and tear’ arthritis and is caused by the knee cartilage gradually wearing away, leaving the bones to actually contact one another with very painful consequences.

My own knee problems were brought about some years ago when I had a split meniscus cartilage in one knee, then a couple of years later in the other knee. In a younger man, these splits could be repaired, but I was told that because of my age, there was not enough blood flow to sustain repair and that the offending flap of cartilage would simply have to be removed. The doctor commented after the second ‘repair’ that I could expect to have ‘trouble with my knees’ in later years.



What is the cause of knee osteoarthritis?
Apart from a torn meniscus cartilage, there are a number of basic causes for the problem. These include:

• age – as we get older, there is a decreasing ability for the cartilage to heal itself;
• repetitive stress injuries: kneeling or squatting that may be part and parcel of a person’s occupation produces pressure on the knees which could stress the joint;
• heredity: the bone shape around the knee joint may have inherited abnormalities;
• sports/ athletics: while regular exercise is a very good activity to avoid the onset of osteoarthritis since it strengthens the muscles around the knee joint, sporting activities such as soccer, squash or tennis could put one at a higher risk of contracting osteoarthritis.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque in diam id erat facilisis consectetur vitae vel urna.

Ut lacus libero, suscipit auctor ipsum sit amet, viverra pretium nisl. Nullam facilisis nec odio nec dapibus. Integer maximus risus et velit porttitor ullamcorper