We all know that our body changes as we grow older. Some of the changes that take place in our body are obvious such as wrinkles on the face or gray hair. Certain changes that occur are more subtle and they place inside the body. They can be experienced but are not obvious enough to be noticed.

A stiff or painful hand joint is one of the effects of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a disorder that affects the joints. Growing age can also be regarded as one of the important causes of osteoarthritis. This disease is neither race specific nor gender specific. Occurrences of osteoarthritis are found all over the world. Generally the effects of the disease are on the rise significantly after age of 50. Though the exact causes of osteoarthritis is not known aging is one of them. Because of osteoarthritis the abilities of the aging people slowly diminishes.

As aging process starts the muscles begin to shrink. This is a natural process. Content of water in tendons decreases. The result is the tissues become stiff and they are unable to tolerate stress. Content of minerals in bones also diminishes. Cartilage that provides cushioning to the bone also starts to disintegrate. Cartilage is made up by 65 to 80% water, proteoglycans, collagen and chondrocytes.

Aging changes are responsible for the changes in collagen. Collagen is fibrous proteins. They are the building blocks of tendon, skin, bone and other connective tissues. Changes in collagen are one of the causes of osteoarthritis. The mobility of the joints becomes restricted because of the aging changes.

The disintegration of cartilage allows bones to rub together. This rubbing causes swelling and pain. Naturally person does not use the joint due to the pain. Over the time the bone spurs may grow at the end of the bone thus the joint becomes deformed. If the broken cartilage floats inside the joint space it can damage the joint more.

The joints that can be affected by osteoarthritis are hips, spine, fingers, feet and knees. Theses joints take more pressure while we use it, May that be for walking, standing or cooking. The wear and tear of the joints leads to other complications as we age.

Exact cause of osteoarthritis is not known yet but there is enough evidence to indicate that aging process of our body certainly contributes to the development of osteoarthritis in some people.