Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at the University of Washington

The fellowship-trained surgeon faculty of University of Washington Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine provides expert and personalized surgical approaches to the bone and joint problems that threaten the comfort and function of thousands of individuals each year. These surgeons combine decades of experience, knowledge of the world's literature and their own cutting edge research to optimize the approaches to the vast range of conditions that can be effectively managed by arthroscopic surgery, arthritis and arthritis surgery, foot and ankle surgery, hand and wrist surgery, hip and knee reconstruction, pediatric orthopedic surgery, shoulder and elbow surgery, spine surgery, orthopedic trauma surgery, as well as tumor surgery and post surgical reconstruction.

Osteoarthritis

Last updated Thursday, February 10, 2005

Incidence and risk factors

Osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease (DJD) is the most common type of arthritis, affecting over 20 million people in the United States. DJD probably affects almost every person over age 60 to some degree, but symptoms are often mild.

Some individuals have an inborn tendency to degenerative joint disease because they have changes in the structure of the important protein-building blocks of the articular cartilage which covers the surface of their joints. These seemingly small, but significant abnormalities predispose the joint to wear and degeneration. In other cases, joint injuries may contribute to the development of DJD.