For now, however, the only definitive treatment for OA is surgical. Such treatment on OA joints should be attempted only if all the non-operative options have been exhausted, and the goal should be to decrease pain and improve mobility. The least extensive treatment is tidal irrigation. It is mostly performed on knee and shoulder joint [...]

The general complications of OA include loss of range of motion, extremity deformity due to asymmetric loss of joint space, subluxation, ankylosis or complete bony fusion of a joint, and intraarticular loose bodies related to subchondral fractures.

The reasons for formation of the osteophytes, that are at least partially responsible for the joint deformity and pain in OA, are unclear. Some possibilities include increase in vascularity of the basal layers of the degenerating cartilage, improperly healing stress fractures in subchondral trabculae near subchondral margins, or venous congestion in the bone. In animal [...]

Risk factors for primary OA include increasing age, history of injury to the joint (trauma, repetitive stress, inflammation, etc.), and obesity. Secondary OA can develop as a result of any physical, metabolic, or chemical injury to the joint such as congenital or developmental bone malformations (Legg-Calve-Perthes disease or SCFE), metabolic diseases (alcaptonuria, hemochromatosis, Wilson’s disease), [...]