What are knee arthritis and its types?

Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring infection. A joint is an area of the body where two bones come together. There are three different types of arthritis that can be appearing on your knees. The most common type is OA (Osteoarthritis), it is a continuous condition that slowly wears and tears away joint cartilage. Osteoarthritis is most likely to occur after middle age.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an explosive condition that can strike at any age. 

Post-traumatic arthritis develops result in an injury to the knee. It can occur years after a ligament injury, knee fracture and a torn meniscus.

What are the causes of Knee Arthritis?

The causes of arthritis depend on the type of arthritis. There are many causes of arthritis of knee some of these are given below:

  • Age: The ability of cartilage to repair decrease as a person gets older.
  • Weight: Weight increases the pressure on all the joints, especially on the knees.
  • Heredity: This contains a genetic mutation that might make a person more likely to evolve osteoarthritis of the knee.
  • Repetitive stress injuries: People with some occupation that include a lot of activities that can stress the joint, like squatting, kneeling and weightlifting are more common to develop OA of the knee.

What are the symptoms of Knee Arthritis?

Symptoms of the knee Osteoarthritis are explained below:

  • Swelling of the knee
  • Stiffness in the knee in the morning or when you have been sitting for some time
  • Pain increases when you are active, but gets a little relief with rest
  • Feeling of warmth in the joint
  • When the knee moves hear the cracking sound
  • A decrease in the mobility of the knee

Are surgeries used to treat Knee Arthritis?

Here are the three surgical treatments for knee arthritis. The names of these treatments are Osteotomy, Arthroscopy and Arthroplasty:

  • Osteotomy Surgery: This type of surgery may be suggested if you have damage basically in one area of the knee.
  • Arthroscopy surgery: This surgery may be suggested to remove the damaged cartilage, clean the bone surface and repair other types of tissue.
  • Arthroplasty surgery: In this type of surgery, the whole joints are replaced with artificial parts made from metals.