Read on: danhwilliams.com

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‘Osteo-‘ means bone, ‘Arth-‘ joint and ‘-itis’ inflammation. 

And when it comes to what really matters in Osteoarthritis..

     

So to ask ‘What is Osteoarthritis?' 

We really need to ask the question..

  

My take: Inflammation is the protective response to anything harmful.

It keeps us safe by recruiting the cells needed to eliminate the underlying cause. 

  

This defensive response ranges in severity and timescale depending on the cause, the size of the cause, and how effective the response is. 

  

The response to an acute joint injury leads to increased blood flow.

Fluid, cells and molecules then flow / diffuse / move into the joint:

..all shift from the blood into the joint to deal with the underlying cause and kick-start repair.

  

These changes swell the joint.

And, slowly, the underlying cause is cleared..

That's what we feel as pain in the groin (hip) or on the inside of the knee.

Inflammation in the joint hopefully settles back to ‘normal’ over a few days or weeks. The pain + swelling slowly settles.

  

Joint inflammation can follow a one-off injury to one joint

..be triggered by an underlying whole-body disease, 

..or affect multiple joints across a whole lifetime.

  

Or, in most people with hip or knee pain. 

The root cause is a subtle difference in underlying anatomy.

  

We now know a lot more about what we used to call ‘primary’ hip + knee osteoarthritis.

     

What is the underlying cause of Knee Osteoarthritis?

And here's my ask of you: let me know if you have any questions? Either:

Together we can build an information resource to really help others with their hip and knee pain👏👏