Your joints are the places where bones meet. They provide support for your body and allow movement.
There are different joint types but the most common and most mobile are the synovial joints which are lubricated by synovial fluid, such as the hip and knee joints.
It is easy to take our joints for granted when they are working normally but when they do not they can cause a lot of pain and disability.
Diseases of the joints are very common and typically cause some degree of inflammation. This is known as arthritis.
There are more than 200 types of arthritis and related diseases, and more than seven million people in the UK have long-term health problems as a result. Of these, osteoarthritis is by far the most common.
When a joint develops osteoarthritis, the cartilage gradually roughens and becomes thin, and the bone underneath thickens.
Osteoarthritis is a slow process that develops over many years. In most cases there are only small changes that affect only part of the joint, but it can be severe.
It is one of the oldest known diseases on the planet as dinosaur skeletons have been found with it!
For more information on arthritis visit the excellent website of the Arthritis Research Campaign -just follow the link:http://www.arc.org.uk/.
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