Arthritis: Types, Symptoms & Treatment

Arthritis is, unfortunately, a very common illness that affects some or all the joints in your body. This condition causes pain and inflammation in the affected joint and can only get treated with medicine. A lot of people – both men and women – suffer from this illness every day, and almost every case is different because there are many types of arthritis and all these types have different symptoms and different treatments. You might not believe it, but 1 in 4 Americans – that’s 58.7 million Americans, including 300,000 children – are diagnosed with the disease. This makes it a nationwide problem, and that’s why it’s so important to recognize its types and their symptoms and treatments.

Types & Causes of Arthritis

Arthritis is a collective term for about 100 different joint problems. Of these, the following types are the common types:

• Osteoarthritis; is the most common type and develops when your joint cartilage breaks down from repeated stress.
• Rheumatoid arthritis; causes the immune system to attack synovial membranes in the joint
• Psoriatic arthritis; is a joint inflammation that develops in people who suffer from Psoriasis
• Gout; which causes hard crystals of uric acid to form in the joints
• Juvenile arthritis (JA); causes the immune system attacks tissue around the joints, and affects mostly children younger than 16
• Ankylosing spondylitis; arthritis that specifically attacks the spine/lower back

How Is It Caused?

Arthritis is a very common illness in the United States, which sounds quite logical when you now know that it’s a collective term for 100+ joint conditions. There are a number of causes that make you more likely to develop it. The first reason is that the condition runs in the family, or in other words, it can be hereditary. It may also be that you play a sport or have a labor-intensive job so that your joints are under stress every day for longer periods. The last reason is that you suffer from an autoimmune disease or viral infection, for example, Psoriasis. These are the most common causes of arthritis, do you not fall into one of these groups, you are still at risk. Continue reading on the next page and discover how you can recognize arthritis.