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Arthritis - What Happens
- Topic Overview
-
Health Tools
- Cause
- Symptoms
- What Happens
- What Increases Your Risk
- When To Call a Doctor
- Exams and Tests
- Treatment Overview
- Prevention
- Home Treatment
- Medications
- Surgery
- Other Treatment
- Other Places To Get Help
- Related Information
- References
- Credits
Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage that cushions your joints breaks down and wears away. When this happens, the bones rub together and cause damage and pain. In most cases, it takes years for cartilage to break down.
It's hard to know how fast arthritis may progress. You may not have any symptoms for years, until the bones and tissues become damaged. Or symptoms may come and go, stay the same, or get worse over time.
Arthritis can
cause problems in any joint in the body. But in most cases, you'll have
symptoms in only one or two joints or
groups of joints 
. Arthritis may cause problems in your
hands ,
hips ,
knees , or
feet , and sometimes in your
spine . At first, you may only
feel pain when you're active. As the disease
gets worse, you may also feel pain when you're
at rest.
If you have arthritis in your
fingers, the joints at the tip or middle part of your fingers may get bigger
and form bumps. These are known as
Heberden's and Bouchard's nodes .
Even though there is no cure for arthritis, most people can manage their symptoms with medicine and lifestyle changes. But in a few people, arthritis may get so bad that they decide to have surgery to replace the worn joint or to fuse the bones together so that the joint won't bend.
Learn about the complications of arthritis.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: April 8, 2011 |
| Medical Review: | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine Stanford M. Shoor, MD - Rheumatology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
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