Purpose
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Test Your Knowledge! Take this short quiz over knee OA in the US:
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What is Osteoarthritis?
Definition:
Osteoarthritis is a chronic musculoskeletal disease and it is caused by damage to the articular cartilage resulting in deterioration within the joint (CDC, 2020) [6]. Although OA can affect any joint within the body, the joints most commonly damaged are weight-bearing joints including the knees, hips, feet, and spine, as well as the hands. The most commonly affected location is in the knees. It is the most common degenerative joint disease across the globe and is the leading cause of pain and disability in US adults with approximately 32.5 million Americans having OA [6].
Osteoarthritis is a chronic musculoskeletal disease and it is caused by damage to the articular cartilage resulting in deterioration within the joint (CDC, 2020) [6]. Although OA can affect any joint within the body, the joints most commonly damaged are weight-bearing joints including the knees, hips, feet, and spine, as well as the hands. The most commonly affected location is in the knees. It is the most common degenerative joint disease across the globe and is the leading cause of pain and disability in US adults with approximately 32.5 million Americans having OA [6].
Knee Osteoarthritis
Watch this quick, less than 1 minute long video [1] to learn what OA of the knee is and how it looks inside the body:
United States Prevalence |
Symptoms |
Roughly 80% of people over age 75 show X-ray evidence of some form of OA (Arden et al., 2006) [3].
In the US, at least 19% of adults age 45 and older have knee OA. The knee joint is the most commonly affected joint from OA. Over 80% of the burden of osteoarthritis is due to knee OA (Wallace et al., 2017) [27]. These numbers are continually increasing likely due to the rising population of older adults and the growth in obesity prevalence in the US (Neogi, 2013) [20]. |
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Knee Effusion from OA: Anterior view
Fun Fact! Knee effusion, commonly referred to as "Water on the Knee," is caused by excess build up of synovial fluid within and around the knee joint [28]. Kind of like a water balloon! |