06/11/2025
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, degenerative inflammatory process in the joints involving damage to cartilage and abnormal bone growth. It is a major cause of lameness in horses; in some studies, 60% of lameness’s could be related to OA.
Several causes are known, in which overuse and conformational inadequacies leading to improper loading of the joint play a major role.
OA can occur suddenly due to trauma, for example, but can also develop over a longer period of time. Inflammation often starts in the synovium, cartilage, joint capsule or subchondral bone. From this initial process, an inflammatory cascade starts, leading to the inflammation of secondary tissues from which new inflammatory mediators are released.
This vicious cycle eventually leads to a dysregulation between the catabolic and anabolic processes in the joint causing cartilage degeneration. The inflammatory response in the joint is a key component in the development of OA.
Treatment of osteoarthritis often aims to reduce inflammation and control pain. In recent years, an increasing focus has been on orthobiologics, which are biological substances used to treat orthopaedic conditions.
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