Types of Osteoarthritis

There are two types of degenerative arthritis:

•    Primary degenerative bone disease has no underlying cause and is most common in elderly individuals.  The inflammation and changes in the bones lead to debilitating pain.  When an individual ages, the water in the cartilage decreases and this prevents the cartilage from being resilient.  The cartilage breaks down and the pieces of cartilage get released into the joint space.  Bone growths or spurs can form in response to these pieces of cartilage.  Primary osteoarthritis can also be broken down into erosive degenerative bone disease and generalized nodal degenerative arthritis.

•    Secondary Osteoarthritis is the result of an underlying disease like joint injury or diabetes.  It does have the same general pathology as primary osteoarthritis.