Most people find osteoarthritis to be a nuisance that eventually becomes significant enough to impact their daily activities, but sometimes there are more serious complications.

Possible complications of osteoarthritis include:

• Rapid, complete breakdown of cartilage resulting in loose tissue material in the joint (chondrolysis).
• Bone death (osteonecrosis).
• Stress fractures (hairline crack in the bone that develops gradually in response to repeated injury or stress).
• Bleeding inside the joint.
• Infection in the joint.
• Deterioration or rupture of the tendons and ligaments around the joint, leading to loss of stability.
• Pinched nerve (in osteoarthritis of the spine).