Risk Factors of Osteoarthritis

Running head : Risk Factors of Osteoarthritis

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Risk Factors of Osteoarthritis

Generally , arthritis is a medical condition , which affects bone joints in the body and causes painful inflammation of the joint (s . There are different types of arthritis , which include rheumatoid arthritis , gout lupus , fibromyalgia , juvenile rheumatoid arthritis , infectious arthritis and osteoarthritis among others (National Collaborating Center for Chronic Conditions , 2008 . The causes of arthritis depend on these types of arthritis . Osteoarthritis (OA ) also known as degenerative joint disease or arthrosis is

the most common form of arthritis . It is a type of arthritis that is mainly characterized by pain and impedes the functionality of joints . The main symptom of osteoarthritis is thus pain , which is increased especially during movement of joints but reduced while at rest . Other symptoms include stiffness of the joints tenderness and joint locking . However , it is not life threatening (Callaghan Rayman , 2006 . It is diagnosed using these characteristic symptoms , X-ray and physical examination of the joints . The main risk factors of osteoarthritis are as discussed below

Aging is perhaps one of the most pronounced risk factor in osteoarthritis . Studies done indicate that people over 65 years are more likely to show evidence of osteoarthritis when an X-ray is conducted on their hands (University of Maryland , 2010 . In fact , it is said that these cases occur first between the age of 30 to 40 years but without symptoms

Obesity is also largely seen as a risk factor of most forms of arthritis...