Osteoarthritis or prednisone side effect?

Guess what? I got injured and started having hip pain in my hip joint (where the leg bone meets the hip). So I went to see a chiropractor and had an x-ray taken. It turns out that I have very slight cartilage loss at the hip joint. Do I have osteoarthritis? Or is the loss in cartilage due to having taken prednisone, the medicine that eats up connective tissue. Since I have no plans to ever take prednisone again, I guess only time will tell.

Related information:
http://www.prolonews.com/prolotherapy_e-newsletters_cortisone_shots.htm

I have OA, too..... in my lower back, and then hips of course (had one replaced last spring.) I did my 2 years of pred early on, and then I've used the steroid enemas plenty, also....

But my mom was in agony with OA since she was much younger than I am now, so... I think in my case it's heredity, compounded by obesity, and an old injury or two.

For sure lots of us on the forum have hip problems off & on. My left hip bothered me pretty constantly about 5 yrs back, and my gastro worried about it being the after-effect of steroid use for UC in 1980s-90s. Plus I had gained a significant amount of weight after a 3-month course of Pred in 1993, which obviously put more stress on that joint, and I'm small-boned to begin with. Gastro gave me green light to take 1 glucosamine500/chondroitin400 pill daily. My left hip has generally been pain-free over the past 3 yrs, but my right hip has acted up a bit since last May-- this despite my losing ca. 12 lbs. due to UC flare in spring, 2009. As middle-aged people tend to shrug: "Go figure!" Whether or not Pred caused it, we might just as well have gotten it as part of the aging process. The trick is to keep moving and maintain as much balance and flexibility as you can. An 86 yr-old female neighbor of mine recently confided that she is bothered by bursitis in one hip, for which her doctor recommends physical therapy-- so she's giving it a try. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

49 is pretty typical for getting OA. My husband began to get OA in his knees when he was 35..he's 43 now and has severe OA with spurs. My OA began in my hands when I was 37, I'm now almost 41.

OA is not a fun thing to have, but Old Hat mentioned the Glucosamine. Both my primary, my hubby's Ortho and my physical therapist all mentioned starting on this to help "rebuild" or maintain the current cartilage.