Arthritis

Information on Arthritis

Arthritis

            Arthritis is a condition that involves damage or inflammation to a joint or joints in the body.  There are more than 100 different types of arthritis, so there are a lot of different signs and symptoms and also a lot of different treatments.

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis.  People get it when the cartilage that covers the ends of their bones wears away gradually. With no protection, the bones start rubbing together and the result leads to swelling and pain.  Osteoarthritis can happen to any joint, but normally happens in weight-bearing joints.  Another common type of arthritis is Rheumatoid arthritis. This type of arthritis lasts a long time and can affect any part of the body except the lower back. With Rheumatoid arthritis the immune system accidently attacks itself and that causes the lining of the joint to swell.  This inflammation spreads to the surrounding tissues after this and it can even damage the bone and the cartilage.  The skin, eyes, nerves, and lungs could be affected with more severe cases of Rheumatoid arthritis.

People with arthritis have some or all of these symptoms - not able to use something or walk, fever, loss of weight, bad sleep, aches and pains, tenderness, hard time moving joint, and there’s more than that, too.  Lupus and Rheumatoid arthritis have tons of symptoms. Someone who has limited their physical activity could have these symptoms - muscle weakness, loss of flexibility, and decreased aerobic fitness.  These problems could affect their whole lives because they wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things they want to do.

There is no cure for Rheumatoid or Osteoarthritis arthritis.  Depending on which type of arthritis you have depends on what type of treatment you will get.  In some forms of arthritis it involves surgery.  Some people take medications to help relieve the type of pain that they have.  By decreasing the inflammation the joint damage could be slowed down. 

Arthritis is a bad disease that nobody would choose to have. Thankfully researchers are looking for treatments for all types of arthritis. Hopefully someday they will find a way to prevent this disease before happening, like the flu shot people get every year.