StemCell Therapy

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent type of arthritis, affecting more than three million Canadians thats one in 10! Though once referred to as the wear-and-tear arthritis, the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) recently re-defined this condition. It describes OA as the result of the bodys failed attempt to repair damaged joint tissues. However, OA isnt always developed due to abnormal stresses or injury; it may also occur as part of the normal aging process. This condition leads to the breakdown of cartilage (the tough elastic material that covers and protects the ends of bones) and the underlying bone, resulting in pain, stiffness, swelling and bone-on-bone reduction in range of movement in the affected joint. The joints most commonly affected by OA are the knees, hips and those in the hands and spine. The cause of OA is multi-factorial and complex, with development of OA depending on interplay between factors such as age, obesity, gender, occupation (injury as a result of a physical job), participation in certain sports, history of joint injury or surgery and genetics.

Inflammatory arthritis is a group of conditions whereby the bodys defense system begins to attack the tissues of our joints instead of germs, viruses and other foreign substances. This can result in stiffness, pain and joint damage.As a result of this damage, some of the joints may gradually change shape and deformities can develop. Once a joint is damaged, the damage cannot be reversed. Early treatment aimed at reducing inflammation is important to prevent damage to the joint and, for some forms of inflammatory arthritis, to other organs. Inflammatory arthritis is often called systemic because it can affect the whole body. The most common forms of inflammatory arthritis are: rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. Inflammatory arthritis also affects children.

More here:
About Arthritis - Arthritis Society

This entry was posted on August 4, 2016 at 9:41 am and is filed under Arthritis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |