Understanding Pain Perception in Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA)is a painful and disabling disease, predicted to be the fourth largest cause of disability worldwide by 2020. It commonly affects the hip or knee ultimately resulting in total joint replacement. In order to assess disease progression and plan surgery, x-rays are taken as part of routine practice. However x-rays provide limited information about formation of substructures and changes occurring during progression of disease. The proposed study aims to invite patients with OA of the hip or knee to participate in detailed examinations of their pain and their painful joint through interviews, blood and urine samples taken, MRI magnetic resonance imaging)and donating their waste tissue after joint surgery (all of old joint). Informed patient consent will be sought in all cases.