Arthritis - what's that?

Several bones impact on each other in a joint. In the knee joint there are three: the large femur, the tibia and the knee cap. So that they do not rub painfully against one another causing injury, the bearing surface of the bones is cushioned by a soft layer of cartilage. When the intervertebral discs in the spine adopt this role, every joint has cartilage.

Wear and tear in the joint = arthritis of the knee

Healthy knee joint: Femur and tibia are surrounded by protective cartilage and are softly cushioned. Ligaments provide stability.

if the protective cartilage around the joint disintegrates, then this is called wear and tear of the joint. The specialist medical term for it is arthritis. Because cartilage is absent the tibia and femur move closer together – the joint space reduces.  „Better expressed this means arthritis ‚excessive wear and tear to the joint‘ – a strong change in the joint, which is not associated with normal ageing processes only“ explains Prof. Dr. Pavel Dufek. Consultant at Schön Klinik Neustadt who specialises in the treatment of arthritis in the knee.

This is because joints can wear out – like everything that is used and moved a lot and frequently. Once injured then progressive destruction of the cartilage tissue occurs. Like a stone hitting the windscreen: A small stone produces a small crack. During the journey this can spread across the whole windscreen.

With every step it becomes a little worse.

In terms of the knee joint this means: Because of imbalances or abnormal positions in the knee the bones involved make minimal movements and tendons and ligaments alter their position. This increases friction within the joint. With each step the joint becomes damaged a little more. Avoidance postures and not remaining active however are fatal: If there is too little movement the joint cartilage dries out and also loses its protective dampening function. A vicious circle.

Arthritis becomes very painful when at an advanced stage the protective cartilage layer in the knee joint partially disintegrates. Then the bones rub against each other. This can lead to bone abrasion and deformations.