Osteoarthritis, or degenerative arthritis, is typically seen in older individuals, and affects the cartilage in your joints. Over time, osteoarthritis results in the wearing away of the cartilage between your bones. Without this cartilage, pain results whenever joints rub against each other.

Knee osteoarthritis is one of the more common types of degenerative arthritis.

Causes of Knee Osteoarthritis

Many different factors can make you susceptible to knee osteoarthritis:

Heredity plays a role in predisposing you to knee osteoarthritis.
Trauma to the knee joint can result in knee osteoarthritis.
Obesity can cause knee osteoarthritis.

Bony changes such as spurring, cartilage destruction, cystic changes and joint space narrowing are also associated with knee osteoarthritis.

Preventing Knee Osteoarthritis

Since there is no cure for knee osteoarthritis, prevention is key. They best ways to avoid developing knee osteoarthritis include the following:

Exercise to improve joint range of motion and prevent knee osteoarthritis. If pain sets in after a workout, be sure to use heat or cold therapy to ease symptoms.
Keep your weight at a healthy level to help decrease the amount of weight on your knee joints, thus reducing your risk for knee osteoarthritis.
Protect your joints from any trauma that can result in knee osteoarthritis. Use knee supports and other protective devices.

Products for Knee Osteoarthritis Relief

FootSmart sells a variety of products to help ease the pain, aches and swelling attributed to knee osteoarthritis:

Angora Wool Knee Supports for Knee Osteoarthritis: These angora wool knee warmers help ease pain from knee osteoarthritis and aching knee joints. The brace slips on and remains securely in place without bunching or rolling, giving you the best relief from knee osteoarthritis pain.

ArthriStep Insoles for Knee Osteoarthritis: The pounding foot shock associated with walking can aggravate knee osteoarthritis and arthritis pain in other lower body joints. Constructed of two layers of advanced Enduron™ foam, these specially padded insoles give feet superior protection and mold to the contours of your foot for maximum comfort.

FootSmart® Nighttime Sleeve for Knee Osteoarthritis: Slide on this sleeve at bedtime and ease the pain of knee osteoarthritis. A soft donut-shaped pad is stitched into this knee osteoarthritis sleeve to disperse pressure on sensitive areas over the medial knee. The knee osteoarthritis sleeve holds the knees in proper alignment throughout the night, so you awake with noticeably less pain. The cushiony brace also stabilizes the knee joint, reducing pain and inflammation due to knee osteoarthritis.

Information on foot, leg and lower body health conditions like knee osteoarthritis provided by The Podiatry Institute, dedicated to advancing the standard of care in podiatric medicine and its effects on musculoskeletal health.