Understanding Osteoarthritis: Symptoms, Classification, Causes, and Management, Cheat Sheet of Nursing

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OSTEOARTHRIT

IS

DESIRAE ARGUETA

STC ADN STUDENT

10/28/

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a

degenerative joint disease

Articular cartilage in a joint breaks

down over time

Most common type of arthritis and

more common in older people

Classification

Primary or idiopathic OA

Common form: unknown and can be

from genetics, age, ethnicity, and

biomechanical factors

Secondary OA

Previous joint injury, infectious

inflammatory disease, or

biochemical etiologies

Statistics and Epidemiology

Osteoarthritis often begins with the third decade of life and

peaks between the fifth and the sixth decades.

By 40 years of age , 90% of the population has degenerative

joint changes in their weight-bearing joints.

Prevalence of OA is between 50% and 80% in the elderly.

Increasing age = increases the degenerative process in the

joint

Clinical Manifestations

 Begin slowly and begin with one or a few joints

 Pain

 can be localized or widespread

 Limited movement of joint - stiffness

 Later stages of the disease, pain can worsen at night

 Morning stiffness <30 min

 Swelling in and around the joint, after a lot of activity

 Bone spurs

 Bits of bone, feel like hard lumps, can form around the

affected the joint

• In

It affects:

 Hands

 bony enlargements

 Knees

 Crepitus (crunching sounds)

 grinding or scraping noise

 Hips

 pain and stiffness in the hip joint and

radiates to the knees

 Spine

 pain in the neck or lower back

 some develop spinal stenosis (increase

pain)

Deterioration of the cartilage

Diagnostic Procedures

and Assessment

Physical assessment

 tender and swollen joints

X-ray

Will appear on the x-ray as a

narrowing of the joint space

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Damage to soft tissues in and around

the joint

Provider evaluates joint that is locking

or giving out

Referrals

• Rheumatologists, who specialize in arthritis and other

diseases of the bones, joints, and muscles.

• Primary care doctors, such as a family physician or

internal medicine specialist, who coordinates care

between the different health providers and treats other

problems as they arise.

• Orthopaedical surgeons, who specialize in treatment

and surgery for bone and joint diseases.

• Physical therapists, who help improve joint function.
• Occupational therapists teach ways to protect joints,

minimize pain, perform activities of daily living, and

conserve energy.

• Dietitians, who teach about nutrition and maintaining a

healthy weight.

Prevention



Weight reduction

 To avoid too much weight upon the joints, a reduction

of weight is recommended.

Prevention of injuries

 As one of the risk factors for osteoarthritis is previous

joint damage, it is best to avoid any injury that might

befall the weight-bearing joints.

Perinatal screening for congenital hip

disease

 Congenital and developmental disorders of the hip are

well known for predisposing a person to OA of the hip.

References

• (^) Malik. (2023, September 7). Osteoarthritis nursing care and management: Study Guide for

Nurses. Nurseslabs. https://nurseslabs.com/osteoarthritis/

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2023, September 29). Niams health

information on osteoarthritis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin

Diseases. https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/osteoarthritis#:~:text=Osteoarthritis%20is

%20a%20degenerative%20joint,a%20short%20period%20of%20time.

• (^) Osteoarthritis - pathophysiology - clinical features. TeachMeSurgery. (2022, June 14).

https://teachmesurgery.com/orthopaedic/principles/osteoarthritis/#:~:text=The

%20pathogenesis%20of%20OA%20involves,cells%20in%20the%20surrounding%20tissues.