Overview

Arthritis is not a disease but its a joint disorder featuring inflammation. Arthritis is a long term which describes around 100 different types of conditions. The most prominent are affected in joints, ligaments, muscles and cartilage.

Symptoms

Arthritis shows various different types of symptoms. Common symptoms includes swelling, joint pain, limited movement of joints, stiffness, redness and warmth over the joints. While the rheumatic form of arthritis is categorized by swollen glands, fatigue, weight loss and other general symptoms. Sometime serious problems like kidney failure are also seen in systemic forms of arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis.

Causes

The cause of arthritis generally depends on the type of arthritis. Aged and injured person are more prone to osteoarthritis while there is no cause yet found for systemic diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis are seen in both children and adults while the osteoarthritis are most likely seen in aged persons.

Types

Arthritis is the most common type of chronic disease found all over the world. There are more than 100 types of arthritis, some of the common types found are :

Osteoarthritis : This occur due to break down of joints due to wear and tear

Rheumatoid Arthritis: This form occurs when the body attack its own joints causing pain and swelling.

Gout: It is caused due to excess uric acid in blood. This type causes sudden and severe attack causing pain and swelling in joints.

Ankylosing Spondylitis: It occurs in spine causing pain, stiffness and swelling.

Psoriatic Arthritis: It mostly affect finger or spring and is accompanied with swelling.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: It mainly effect skin, joints. It is also known as lupus.

Test

Arthritis is mainly diagnosed by detailed examination of joints. X-Ray may show the damaged joint due to osteoarthritis and chronic gout. Blood and urine test are done to crosscheck whether arthritis has affected other bodily systems.

Treatment

The treatment of arthritis depend on the types of arthritis the patient is having. Some form of arthritis are treated with physical therapy.Some common treatments include anti-inflammatory drugs to lessen swelling, drugs to suppress the body’s immune response, paraffin wax dips, cold backs and surgery.