Degenerative joint disease, usually after 50 years, causes mechanical pain (during activity) and varying stiffness.
Most often, osteoarthritis is primitive (for no known reason), and more rarely secondary (to a bone architectural defect, or post-traumatism).
At the joint level, the cartilage becomes thinner until it disappears, and osteophytes (bony growths) “grow” around the joint.
The treatment of osteoarthritis is primarily medical.
At the stage resistant to medical treatment, surgery is mentioned: at the level of large joints (hip, knee, etc.) it is mostly prosthetic surgery; at the level of the foot, the techniques are considered in the chapter “hallux rigidus”.
