General information
What is Knee Osteoarthritis ?
Knee osteoarthritis (gonarthrosis)
Knee osteoarthritis is an irreversible degenerative pathology of the knee joint characterized by pathological wear of the cartilaginous articular surfaces. Severe osteoarthritis is defined by complete wear of the cartilage with hard "bone on bone" friction. The knee then becomes more and more painful, stiff, and deformed. The knee is often the site of repeated synovial effusion with crepitus or grating sensations. The wear often remains localized to a small part of the knee, this is called unicompartmental osteoarthritis.
Knee osteoarthritis is said to be ‘secondary’ when there is an obvious cause for its occurrence, otherwise it is called ‘primary’. The causes of secondary knee osteoarthritis are multiple:
- Overweight
- History of knee trauma (bone fracture or meniscus and ligament lesions)
- Extreme anatomy of the lower limbs (significant deformities)
- Osteonecrosis of the femoral condyle
- Rheumatic diseases
- Etc ...
