The knee is one of the most important parts in the mobility of human beings. This joint is made up of bone, cartilage, ligaments, and fluids.
According to the US National Institutes of Health, the muscles and tendons found in this area help the knee move in its joint.
However, when any one of these parts fails, either through injury or disease, many more parts of the body can be affected.
The main problem is that having a condition in the knees, a person experiences pain and difficulty walking, which deprives them of having free mobility.
However, knee problems, experts say, are very common and can occur at any age, as well as interfere with other activities, such as playing sports.
This occurs mainly because the cartilage that the knee is made of gradually wears away, causing pain and inflammation that can affect quality of life.
This mentioned cartilage is responsible for cushioning the ends of the bones and allowing the movement of the joints without generating friction between them.
“Sufficient damage can cause bone to move directly on bone, causing pain and restriction of movement. This natural wear and tear can occur over many years, or it can be accelerated by joint injury or infection,” explains the Mayo Clinic.
Nevertheless, These problems have treatments that can range from therapies to recover the total mobility of the joint, to a knee replacement.when the treating health professional deems it necessary.
Symptoms
Some of the most common signs and symptoms of arthritis affect the joints. And, depending on the type of arthritis, they can include the following:
- Pain
- Rigidity
- Swelling
- redness
- Decreased range of motion
complications
In addition to the obvious complication of not being able to move easily, cartilage damage in the knee can have other implications.
One of them, also reviewed by the Clinic, is that the joint, when affected, can progressively lose its alignment and shape. This is mainly because the knee is one of the weight-bearing joints.
Risk factor’s
In addition, Mayo Clinic exposes some of the factors that could increase the risk of arthritis in the knees:
- Family background. Some types of arthritis run in families, so a person is likely to get arthritis if their parents or siblings have the disorder.
- Age. The risk of many types of arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout, increases with age.
- Sex. Women are more likely than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis.while most people with gout, another type of arthritis, are men.
- Previous joint injury. People who have injured a joint, perhaps while playing sports, are more likely to develop arthritis in that joint over time.
- Obesity. The extra weight puts stress on your joints, especially your knees, hips, and spine. People with obesity have a higher risk of developing arthritis.