in black Africans and Chinese and most common amongst Caucasians. Women over 55
years are more commonly affected than men.
Predisposing factors for spinal osteoarthritis are:
a. Age – possibly related to heredity
b. Obesity
c. Gender – more common in women
d. Previous injury to spinal joints
e. Previous disease involving joints
f. Intervertebral disc lesions
g. Occupation – jobs involving heavy lifting, digging etc.Osteoarthritis of the spineWhen osteoarthritis develops, the body may respond by growing new bone (bone spurs)
in the facet joints to help support the vertebrae. The bone spurs that occur in
osteoarthritis of the spine may compress spinal nerve roots as discussed
earlier. Osteoarthritis can also cause the ligaments that connect vertebrae to thicken,
which can narrow the spinal canal.
Spinal osteoarthritis can affect different areas of the spine. The locations can vary from
person to person. The lower back (lumbar region) is the most common location. This is
not surprising since the lower back carries most of the weight of the body and is the area