What is Osteoarthritis?

You might be familiar with the term osteoarthritis, but how much do you know about it? Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that mostly affects the articular cartilage that overlies the bone in joints, causing the cartilage to become thin and fragile. This can cause joint pain, stiffness, swelling or reduced ability to move around.

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. Almost 1 in 10 Australians (8.3%) are predicted to be living with OA in 2022.

What causes osteoarthritis?

You may have heard that OA is caused by the ‘wear and tear’ of the joint; however, we now know that this is not the case, and your OA doesn’t worsen with increased joint use.

Some risk factors increase your chances of developing OA, including moving into older adulthood (>55 years old), obesity, muscle weakness, previous joint injury and structural differences that arise at birth.

How is it diagnosed?

OA is often diagnosed by a doctor or physiotherapist based on how the joint feels to the patient and any changes in their ability to function. It might surprise you, but this is more accurate and relevant than X-ray alone. 

This is because the joint changes shown on X-ray do not always equal the amount of pain experienced. Some people have X-ray degeneration long before symptoms arise, and some have a lot of symptoms but no radiographic changes.

Chloe Little and George D'Agostino

4th year physiotherapy students at University of South Australia

Undertaking their Health Promotion placement at Good Country Physiotherapy, supervised by Angela Willsmore