Joints allow our bodies to move by connecting individual bones. To allow the bones that abut each other to slide smoothly, the ends are covered with cartilage and enclosed in a capsule.
Between the two cartilage surfaces there is a viscous joint fluid for “lubrication”. This must be constantly renewed. To put it simply: just as the hinges of a door need to be oiled so that it does not squeak, human joints also need sufficient lubrication so that they remain mobile.
In addition to this lubricating function, the synovial fluid also has the task of supplying the joint cartilage with important nutrients and removing degradation products.
What affects synovial fluid?
Various factors, such as obesity or joint malpositions, overload the joint and disturb the metabolism, so that the composition of the synovial fluid changes adversely. For example, the “lubricating” main components of the synovial fluid are reduced in quantity and quality. The result: the smooth surface becomes rough, tiny pieces of cartilage splinter off, and – like sand in a gearbox – splintering pieces of cartilage increase the wear and tear of the cartilage. The synovial membrane reacts to this with inflammation and produces even less synovial fluid – the joint begins to ache. Osteoarthritis is the result.
Arthrosis
Osteoarthritis, a painful, chronic joint disease, leads in the worst case to the fact that no pain-free movements are possible any more. While the disease is not curable, you can do a lot yourself to stay mobile.
After the age of 60, at least one in two people is affected by joint wear and tear. Beginning signs of wear and tear, especially in the heavily loaded knee joints, can often be detected even around the age of forty. In the initial stage, however, there are no complaints, but the pain comes only with increasing wear. Osteoarthritis often runs for years without symptoms before it suddenly becomes noticeable through pain and restricted movement. Typical of the complaints is that they worsen in wet and cold weather.
