

Jobs and sports that require physically repetitive motions that place stress on the knee can increase risk for developing osteoarthritis. Severe injury or repeated injury to the knee can lead to osteoarthritis years later. Being overweight or obese puts additional stress on the knees over time. Slight joint defects or double-jointedness (laxity) and genetic defects may contribute to osteoarthritis in the knee. The older you are, the more likely you are to have worn-down knee joint cartilage. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative, “wear and tear” condition. Knee arthritis may reduce how much someone moves, which makes the joint even weaker and worsens symptoms. Weakness in the knee, which is often a result of reduced activity and resulting atrophy (wasting) of the quadriceps or hamstring muscles.Crepitus: the audible cracking, crunching, clicking or snapping sound made when moving a damaged joint.Catching and locking of the knee, which occurs when damaged and rough cartilage makes smooth movement difficult.Stiffness of the knee joint, which makes it difficult to bend and straighten the knee.Pain in the knee that can be worsened by certain movements and exercises, including prolonged walking or standing.Signs of arthritis in the knee may include: Knee arthritis can make activities of daily living very difficult, including walking and climbing stairs. Injuries to the ligaments of the knee make the joint less stable over time, which may lead to cartilage breakdown. Post-Traumatic Knee ArthritisĪ history of injury or trauma to the knee may lead to development of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis can affect people of any age. Inflammatory cells release substances that break down knee cartilage over time. It causes inflammation of the synovial membrane, the capsule surrounding the knee joint. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue in several joints of the body, including the knee. The breakdown of cartilage leads to pain and inflammation. It is often associated with wear and tear related to aging, and gradually progresses over time. It is the most common form of knee arthritis and can affect other joints as well. Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative joint disease. There are many different kinds of arthritis, but the ones most likely to affect the knee are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and post-traumatic arthritis.

When all three areas are affected, this is called tricompartmental arthritis. Some patients have cartilage loss in one, two or all of these areas.Thinning of the cartilage under the kneecap (patella) is called patellofemoral arthritis (kneecap arthritis).Where can arthritis occur in the knee?Ĭartilage loss can occur between the thighbone and the shinbone in the medial portion (inner side), lateral portion (outer side) and under the kneecap. In advanced arthritis, bone rubs on bone and bone spurs (bumps on the bone) may form.ĭamage to the joint cartilage over time may result in the development or worsening of deformities of the knee, including knock knees and bowleg. When cartilage wears away, the space between the bones narrows. Knee cartilage coats the end of the thighbone (femur), top of the shinbone (tibia) and the backside of the kneecap (patella). Cartilage is the slippery coating on the ends of bones that serves as a cushion and allows the knee to smoothly bend and straighten. ICD-10-CM M17.9 is grouped within Diagnostic Related Group(s) (MS-DRG v39.Knee arthritis is inflammation and deterioration of knee joint cartilage. (Crenshaw, Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics, 8th ed, p2019) Noninflammatory degenerative disease of the knee joint consisting of three large categories: conditions that block normal synchronous movement, conditions that produce abnormal pathways of motion, and conditions that cause stress concentration resulting in changes to articular cartilage.
