What is Osteoarthritis?

Series Summary

Osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, is caused by the abnormal wearing of the cartilage that cushions the joints, and the destruction of the synovial fluid which lubricates those joints. The painful inflammation that results from the condition has a negative influence on the lives of nearly 21 million people in the United States alone. In fact, by the age of 65, it is estimated that nearly 80% of the population will show signs of osteoarthritis. The signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis are chronic pain, loss of mobility, stiffness, and muscle spasms in the tendons.

In this free video series, our expert Dr. Susan Jewell, will teach you how to treat the pain of osteoarthritis. If you find yourself suffering from painful, inflamed or stiff joints and have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, let our expert show you possible treatments for this common condition. Learn how to use hot and cold packs, anti-inflammatory creams, and over the counter pain medication to treat your osteoarthritis. Get tips on how to exercise to improve your condition, what minerals and dietary supplements may help, and what alternative treatment options are available to minimize your osteoarthritis symptoms.

Video Transcript

"Hello my name is Dr.Susan Jewell and on behalf of expert village today, I am going to talk to you about the subject of osteoarthritis or OA and I am going to talk to in a series of clip about how to allieviate the pain from arthiris. Now, in this clip we are going to talk about the definition of arthritis. What is arthritis? Arthritis the definition is a chronic non-inflammatory arthritis of the joints particularlly the moving joints like your hips, your knees your elbows your wrists and your fingers. Now, it also is the deterioration of the articular cartilage and formation of osteophytes or what we call spurs at the end of the joint bones itself. In the next clip I am going to draw some diagrams and show you some diagrams of what is the destruction of the cartilage and how it happens and then the formation of these so called osteophytes or bone spurs that causes a lot of pain. "