Arthritis

Arthritis is a general term that describes many different diseases causing tenderness, pain, swelling, and stiffness of joints as well as abnormalities of various soft tissues of the body.  The term arthritis comes from “arthros”, which means a joint and its attachments, and “it is” meaning inflammation.

Arthritis affects approximately 90% of people over the age of 55 in Canada.  Arthritis can affect any part of the body, including the spine.  There are many forms of arthritis but the most common, the most frequently disabling, and often the most painful is osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease.  Osteo (meaning bone) arthritis mostly affects the weight bearing joints (hips and knees) plus the hands, feet and spine.

Normal joints are hinges at the ends of bones usually covered by cartilage and lubricated inside a closed sack by synovial fluid.  Normally joints have remarkably little friction and move easily.  With degeneration of the joint, the cartilage becomes rough and worn out, causing the joint halves to rub against each other creating inflammation with pain and the formation of bone spurs.  The fluid lubricant may become thin and the joint lining swollen and inflamed.

Osteoarthritis is also sometimes confused, or may be associated with degenerative disc disease; a gradual deterioration of the disc(s) between the vertebrae of the spine.  This is because osteoarthritis and degenerated discs are commonly found together.  However, they are separate conditions.  

Another type of spinal arthritis occurs in the facet joints.  The facet joints are the joints that connect two vertebrae together.  These joints are located in the posterior aspect of the spine.  The facet joints can commonly develop thickening and hardening with age which can lead to arthritis.  Arthritis in the facet joints can cause slight to severe pain, sometimes radiating into the buttocks or upper thighs if found in the lumbar spine.

Spinal arthritis breaks down the cartilage between the aligning facet joints in the back portion of the spine and quite often leads to pain.  The facet joints (also called vertebral joints) become inflamed and progressive joint degeneration creates more frictional pain.  Back motion and flexibility decrease in proportion to the progression of back pain induced while standing, sitting and even walking.