However, please remember that we cannot address individual patient cases; we can only answer general questions about the disease and related topics.
During the summer and upcoming fall, response times to our contact email may be longer than usual. Perhaps you’ll find the answer to your question or a similar one among our frequently asked questions. Click here to go directly there.
You'll find answers to questions such as:
Why do more women than men develop osteoarthritis?
It is still unclear why women after a certain age (45+) are a lot more likely to develop OA than men, but researchers believe that women’s hormonal changes during menopause may contribute to the increased risk. However, there is yet no exact explanation as to why this is the case.
And:
I have osteoarthritis. Will I need surgery?
No, not necessarily. Only a small proportion of all OA patients require surgery (around 10% of all knee and hip OA patients). It is not until later stages of the disease when the patient is suffering from severe pain including pain at rest, that surgery is considered. When the disease has reached this stage, loss of joint space due to loss of articular cartilage and bone spurs tend to be very visible on an X-ray.
