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About joint pain

Joint pain may be the result of cartilage wearing away due to the normal aging process. Cartilage is tissue that provides a cushion between bone surfaces. This tissue loss is commonly called arthritis.

There are three common types of arthritis:

• Osteoarthritis – often referred to as degenerative joint disease. Loss of cartilage primarily in the hip and knee joints results in bone-on-bone contact, pain and decreased mobility.
• Rheumatoid arthritis – the result of inflammation of the joint covering which results in swelling, pain and stiffness of the joint.
• Post-traumatic arthritis – this results after an injury to a joint; the bone and cartilage do not heal properly causing wear on the joint.

If the pain advances to the point where normal daily activities are affected, joint replacement surgery may be the recommended treatment.