Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. There are several types of arthritis. Early treatment for arthritis commonly includes resting the affected joint and conservative measures such as heating or icing. With severe cases of arthritis, joint replacement surgery may be necessary. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis affecting more than 3. There are several diseases where joint pain is the most prominent symptom.
Generally when a person has "arthritis" it means that they have one of the following diseases:. Joint pain can also be a symptom of other diseases. In this case, the person may not have arthritis and instead have one of the following diseases:. An undifferentiated arthritis is an arthritis that does not fit into well-known clinical disease categories, possibly being an early stage of a definite rheumatic disease.
Pain in varying severity is a common symptom in most types of arthritis. Several factors contribute to the development of arthritis, differing on the type of arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs from damage to joint cartilage from prior injury or long-term wear-and-tear, resulting in bone-to-bone contact and grinding.
In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system itself, which normally serves to protect against infection and diseases, attacks the lining of the joint capsule , causing inflammation and swelling. Gout is a form of arthritis caused by excessive uric acid production, resulting in urate crystals depositing in joints, particularly in extremities, such as toes. Arthritis types may also include ankylosing spondylitis , juvenile idiopathic arthritis , psoriatic arthritis , and reactive arthritis , among others.
There are common risk factors that increase a person's chance of developing arthritis later in adulthood. Some of these are modifiable while others are not. Some common risk factors that can increase the chances of developing osteoarthritis include obesity, prior injury to the joint, type of joint, and muscle strength. The risk factors with the strongest association for developing inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus arthritis are the female sex, a family history, age, obesity, joint damage from a previous injury, and exposure to tobacco smoke.
