Pain in Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) has been described “as a condition characterized by userelated joint pain experienced on most days in any given month, for which no other cause is apparent”. The primary problem in OA is the damage to the articular cartilage which triggers a series of other events that culminate in pain and loss/limitation of function in the affected joint. OA is estimated to affect 70% to 80% of people older than 55 years. There is a vast body of evidence to suggest that OA is a heterogenous condition that involved not only the articular cartilage but also an adaptive response of the bone and the synovium to a variety of environmental, genetic and biomechanical stresses. Undoubtedly, pain which is the most prominent and disabling presentation of OA is an increasingly important public health problem especially with an increasing aging population. (Afr. J. Biomed. Res. 11: 119 - 128) Key Words; arthritis, pain, economic impart, nociception, hyperalgesia