What is Arthritis? - Vista Winds Retirement

Arthritis is the swelling and sensitivity of one or more of your joints. The primary symptoms of this disease are inflexibility and joint pain, which usually gets worse as you grow older. The most general kinds of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the cause of cartilage breaking down. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which your immune system assaults the joints, starting with the joints lining.

Uric acid crystals, which develop when there is excessive uric acid in your blood, can be the cause of gout. Underlying diseases or infections, like psoriasis or lupus, can be the cause of other kinds of arthritis.

Treatments differ subject to the kind of arthritis. The primary objectives of arthritis treatments are to decrease symptoms and improve standard of living.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms and signs of arthritis involve the joints. Subject to the kind, symptoms and signs might include:

Pain
inflexibility
Redness
Reduced range of motion
Swelling

Causes

The two primary kinds of arthritis — osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis — cause damage to joints in various ways.

Osteoarthritis

The most general kind of arthritis, osteoarthritis, entails wear-and-tear damage to a joint’s cartilage. Cartilage pads the ends of your bones and allows almost non-friction joint motion; nevertheless, too much damage could result in bone grinding on bone, causing pain and limited movement. This wear and tear can happen over many years, or it can be hurried by a joint infection or injury.

Osteoarthritis can also cause changes in the bones and degeneration of the ligaments that attach muscle to bone and keep the joint together. When cartilage in a joint is seriously damaged, the lining of the joint might become swollen and inflamed.

Rheumatoid arthritis

With rheumatoid arthritis, the body’s immune system assaults the membrane of the joint capsule, a strong membrane that encompasses all the joint parts. The synovial membrane comes to be swollen and inflamed. The disease progression can ultimately devastate cartilage and bone inside the joint.

Risk factors

Risk factors for arthritis include:

Family history. Some kinds of arthritis run in families, so you might be more prone in developing arthritis when your parents or brothers/ sisters have the condition.

Age. The chance of many kinds of arthritis — including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout — increase as you get older.

Your gender. Women are more prone than men in developing rheumatoid arthritis, whereas most of the individuals that have gout, another kind of arthritis, are men.

Prior joint injury. Those that have injured a joint, maybe while participating in a sport, are more prone to ultimately develop arthritis in the injured joint.

Obesity. Carrying extra pounds places stress on your joints, specifically your knees, hips and spine. Those with obesity have a higher chance to develop arthritis.

Complications

Severe arthritis, specifically if it impacts your hands or arms, can make it demanding for you to carry out day-to-day tasks. Arthritis of weight-carrying joints could keep you from walking effortlessly or sitting upright. In many cases, joints may slowly lose their shape and alignment.

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