All about Knee Osteoarthritis, Stages & Symptoms

All about Knee osteoarthritis, Stages & symptoms

Are you having pain in your knee joint? If yes, then pay attention it can be a sign of Osteoarthritis.
So, what is osteoarthritis of knee?
Usually Osteoarthritis is referred to as wear and tear joint cartilage. It is a disorder in which the normal padding mostly between joints & cartilage is diminished away. Once it occurs, the articular bones of joint rubs against each other. The fluid in the joint act like grease between bones, so when this fluid starts to lessen, bones produce friction and articular cartilage is damaged. The friction ends in pain, inflammation, tightness, reduced ability to walk and sometimes bony spurs are formed.

Stages

So depending upon the damage and severity of symptoms, it is divided into 4 stages that are:

Stage 1

Small bone growths called osteophytes may develop in the knee joint. As well as, the cartilage may become slightly damaged. Also there would be no evident shrinking of the gap between both the bones.
Individuals mostly with stage 1 OA are probable to experience discomfort or pain. But the joint appears normal in X-ray scan.

Stage 2

During this phase, physicians may see some indications of wear. As well as X-rays and other knee joint tests will obviously indicate more osteophytes development, and the cartilage will start to shrink.
The gap between the bones will still look normal, but the region where the bones and tissues join will begin to tighten. Hence this causes the bone thicker and denser near joint. The individual may develop stiffness or pain in the joint.

Stage 3

The cartilage damage becomes advanced, the space in between the bones reduce, and X-rays will demonstrate cartilage damage. Soreness and discomfort can happen when performing regular tasks including running, walking, kneeling, and twisting. Furthermore synovitis and early indications of joint swelling may occur.

Stage 4

As this is the most advanced level of OA, so the signs are highly noticeable. So well as the gap in between the bones in the joint progressed to reduce further, allowing the cartilage to dissolve even more. As a consequence, the joint will have stiffness, continuous inflammation, and have less fluid in the joint. Hence there is even more friction between bones, more disabling pain and distress during movement. X-rays shows closed approximation of bones, which depict that either the cartilage might have totally worn away or there’s very little left. So the individual is prone to develop further bone lumps and feel pain that is quite severe even during basic tasks including walking. In extreme cases, deformation or angulation of bones occurs.

Conclusion

To conclude all, osteoarthritis is a disease affecting mostly larger joints like knee joint. So the signs and symptoms of this disease vary from person to person depending upon the stage of progression, starting from mild degeneration of cartilage to completely worn away. Hence, the individual feels pain, stiffness, tissue tightness, sounds during movement, decrease ROM and inability to walk because of pain etc.