Osteoarthritis is the reason people stop doing things. Not dramatically — they simply take the elevator, park closer, decline the hike. At Remix Medical in Houston, our pain management physicians treat osteoarthritis as a joint problem with real interventional options, not an inevitability to be endured.
What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is the progressive breakdown of articular cartilage, the smooth tissue capping the ends of bones inside a joint. As cartilage thins, the underlying bone remodels, the joint lining inflames, and bone spurs form at the margins.
It was long described as "wear and tear." That framing is incomplete. Osteoarthritis involves active inflammation and metabolic change within the joint, which is precisely why anti-inflammatory injections work.
It is the most common form of arthritis and one of the leading causes of disability in adults.
Common Causes and Risk Factors
1. Age
Cartilage repairs itself poorly, and the deficit accumulates.
2. Prior Joint Injury
A torn meniscus, a ligament rupture, or an intra-articular fracture substantially raises lifetime risk in that joint, often decades later.
3. Mechanical Load
Excess body weight multiplies force across the knee and hip with every step. Occupational kneeling, squatting, and lifting concentrate it further.
4. Joint Alignment
Bowed or knock-kneed alignment loads one compartment preferentially.
5. Genetics and Sex
Family history matters. Women are affected more often, particularly after menopause.
How Remix Medical Can Help
Diagnosis is clinical, supported by weight-bearing X-rays. Notably, radiographic severity correlates only loosely with pain — some patients with dramatic X-rays have modest symptoms, and vice versa. We treat the patient, not the film.
Treatment builds on the guideline core — education, weight management, and exercise — with interventional options for joints that pain still limits.
| Approach | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Weight management + physical therapy | Periarticular strengthening and activity, with weight change able to modify the disease rather than just the symptoms |
| Medication management | NSAIDs and topical agents, with attention to kidney and cardiovascular safety, coordinated with your Remix nephrologist or internist where relevant |
| Image-guided joint injections | Corticosteroid delivered directly into the affected joint for flares |
| Viscosupplementation | Hyaluronic acid to restore lubricating properties — best established in the knee |
| Radiofrequency ablation | Of the sensory nerves supplying the knee or hip, for durable relief in patients who aren't surgical candidates or wish to delay replacement |
| Chiropractic and exercise therapy | Through our in-house team |
| Arthroplasty referral | When joint replacement is the right next step |