A key to past occupations: Activity related osteoarthritis in human remains from the Medieval and Post-Medieval period of North-West Europe

Osteoarthritis is the most common degenerative joint disease in both modern and past populations. It is a disease caused by several factors such as age, sex, and genetics. Activity is a factor which possibly causes osteoarthritis. By using clinical literature, it is examined if activity is truly a cause of osteoarthritis in modern populations. Archaeological literature is then examined, to determine the relationship between activity and osteoarthritis in past populations. The clinical literature is assessed for knee, hip, and spinal column osteoarthritis. In the archaeological literature spinal and hand osteoarthritis were particularly common. In this research, a number of movements were found to be associated with osteoarthritis, such as the link between kneeling and knee osteoarthritis. Many movements were found to be in need of more research. In the archaeological literature no distinct conclusion was found. While there are some promising studies which show that activity is...Show moreOsteoarthritis is the most common degenerative joint disease in both modern and past populations. It is a disease caused by several factors such as age, sex, and genetics. Activity is a factor which possibly causes osteoarthritis. By using clinical literature, it is examined if activity is truly a cause of osteoarthritis in modern populations. Archaeological literature is then examined, to determine the relationship between activity and osteoarthritis in past populations. The clinical literature is assessed for knee, hip, and spinal column osteoarthritis. In the archaeological literature spinal and hand osteoarthritis were particularly common. In this research, a number of movements were found to be associated with osteoarthritis, such as the link between kneeling and knee osteoarthritis. Many movements were found to be in need of more research. In the archaeological literature no distinct conclusion was found. While there are some promising studies which show that activity is related to osteoarthritis, there are also studies which contradict this. Finally, a number of problems are discussed on comparing clinical and archaeological literature, among others the osteological paradox. Concluding, some sorts of osteoarthritis in the clinical setting are caused by activity but finding this in the archaeological record is difficult. There is more research needed on standards for research on the link between activity and OA.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

A key to past occupations: Activity related osteoarthritis in human remains from the Medieval and Post-Medieval period of North-West Europe