jennie garth, the actress best known for her role as kelly taylor on “beverly hills: 90210,” has been living with early-onset arthritis for years now.
three years ago, when she was in her late 40s, garth started experiencing stiffness in her fingers and hands and pain in her knees,
she told insider
on may 5. she knew something was wrong, and doctors ordered an mri and x-rays. but she said was shocked by her diagnosis.
“i was like, ‘i’m too young for arthritis,'” garth said. she just turned 50 in april.
what is osteoarthritis?
osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis,
according to the mayo clinic
. almost 14 per cent of canadians over the age of 20 live with the illness — that’s
3.9 million people
.
this specific form of arthritis is a degenerative disease that occurs when the protective cartilage on the end of our bones gradually wears down. cartilage is a “shock absorber,”
webmd explains
, reducing friction in the joints and changing shape to cushion the bones. when it starts to deteriorate, it stretches out the tendons and ligaments, which causes pain. eventually, cartilage can wear down so severely that bones start to rub up against each other.
cartilage is the first point of contact for osteoarthritis, but it can progress to affect the entire joint. it can also cause the tissue that connects muscle to bone to deteriorate, and inflame the joint lining. osteoarthritis can affect any joint, but is usually a problem largely contained to the hands, knees, hips and spine.
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