Family Doctor 2007 - (Page 217) OSTEOARTHRITIS DID YOU KNOW? Doctors are not exactly sure why people get osteoarthritis, but a number of factors may be at play. These factors include age, family history, obesity, joint injury or overuse, and muscle weakness. Battling osteoarthritis Your joints are sore or stiff at times, and you think it may be osteoarthritis. Talk to your family doctor — you can take action to relieve the pain. By Amy Ronek tive joint disease. Osteoarthritis often affects the small finger joints. Osteoarthritis affects people of all races and backgrounds. In all, about 21 million Americans currently have this disease. You are most likely to get osteoarthritis if you are older than 45, but it can also occur in younger people. Osteoarthritis is also called degenerative arthritis, hypertrophic arthritis or degenera- the bones can’t move smoothly and easily against each other. This can cause stiffness, pain and loss of movement. O steoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It occurs when cartilage (the tissue that lines the joints) wears down. When the cartilage is damaged or missing, What causes osteoarthritis? Doctors are not exactly sure why people get osteoarthritis, but a number of factors may be at play. These factors include age, family history, obesity, joint injury or overuse, and muscle weakness. Some diseases (such as hemochromatosis) and other types of arthritis familydoctor 2007 217
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