Could knee inflammation be an early warning sign of osteoarthritis? Researchers from The University of Nottingham are conducting a study involving 200 patients with the hopes of answering this critical question.
Currently, osteoarthritis, a “wear and tear”
condition in which cartilage has been worn away, leaving bones to rub together,
can only be identified by x-ray. However, x-rays can only reveal changes in
bones and degeneration of the cartilage — not whether there are any changes or
inflammation in the surrounding tissue or joint lining. This inflammation not
only causes pain and stiffness, but medical experts believe it may be a
precursor to osteoarthritis.
Michelle Hall, a research physiotherapist from the School
of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy at the University of Nottingham, plans
to investigate whether this link exists. With funding from England’s Arthritis
Research Campaign, she plans to conduct a study involving 500 people over the
age of 55 from across Nottingham. Using new ultrasound techniques, she and her
team from The University of Nottingham’s physiotherapy education and academic
rheumatology departments are investigating if people with knee pain and/or knee
osteoarthritis also have inflammation in their knees. Patients will receive
ultrasound scans every three months or if they report
changes in their knee pain. The aim of the study is to chart the progress of
the inflammation to see whether those changes correlate with x-ray changes or
with increases in pain. The researchers are planning to include a control group
of healthy volunteers who will also undergo ultrasound as a comparison group.
Osteoarthritis, which is also called
degenerative joint disease, is the most common form of arthritis.
Osteoarthritis can affect any joint in the body, but most often involves joints
in the hands, hips, knees and spine. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms
include pain in a joint during or after use, or after a period of inactivity;
tenderness in the joint when light pressure is applied; joint
stiffness that may be most noticeable upon waking or after a period of
inactivity; loss of joint flexibility; a grating sensation when the joint is
used; bone spurs that appear as hard lumps forming around the affected joints;
and potentially swelling. It is estimated that between 16 and 20 million people are affected with osteoarthritis.
News Release: Detecting early signs of
osteoarthritis www.physorg.com July 23, 2009