This form of arthritis is also called degenerative joint disease and is the most common type of arthritis in older people.
Arthritis causes pain and loss of movement.
It can range from a mild problem with only occasional stiffness and joint pain, to a serious condition with enough pain to severely limit your life. There is much, however, that you can do to maintain your body's flexibility and movement. When we are younger, the bones of our knee joints are kept from grating on each other because they are seated in cartilage sockets encased in a sac of oily fluid. The fluid provides the lubrication when we bend our knees. As we grow older, our active lives cause the cartilage in our bones to wear thin, just like the brake lining on your car.