Health and Fitness Oasis

 The prefix “arth” refers to joints and ‘itis’ refers to inflammation.  The term “arthritis” is a generic term meaning painful joints.  Are there different types of this condition? – true and false. 

Although different types are common in adults who reach that ‘certain age’ it also affects children still in diapers and young people in the prime of their lives.  Over 100 different types  range from the relatively mild cases of tendonitis or bursitis to crippling systemic forms such as rheumatoid or Lupus.

Types of arthritis can include disease processes that you wouldn’t normally associate with arthritis such as Lupus and gout.  In Lupus the immune system attacks healthy tissue and causes inflammation, including joints. 

Gout results from too much uric acid in the body.  This is a natural waste product that is flushed from the kidneys.  The body either makes too much, or doesn’t excrete enough.  The crystals deposit in the joints and cause irritation and pain.

Most people think that Osteoarthritis is the only type of arthritis that affects people.  The real common denominator in this disease is inflammation and pain in the joints and musculoskeletal system.   There are medications that help to decrease the distress, decrease the advancement and help patients to be more comfortable and functional in their lives. 

For this reason it is very important to get an accurate diagnosis from your physician. If the diagnosis is not correct then the medications and prescribed treatments will not make a difference in the quality of the patient’s life.  For instance, certain exercises will help with some diseases and make others worse.

 There are over 100 joints connecting 206 bones in the human body.  Each of the major joints have cartilage that makes the connection from joint to joint smooth.  Cartilage gives the joints a smooth surface over which to travel. The loss of cartilage in Osteoarthritis is what causes the sometimes intense pain during movement.

The cavity where these bones meet is protected by synovium.  This is the fluid that gives cushion to the joints and allows them to move smoothly.  In some people, the synovial fluid is thickened, inflamed and increases in amount.  This inflamed fluid will damage the joints.

There are many different types of arthritis but many exhibit several of the same symptoms.  Don’t let the same symptoms fool you into thinking the treatment is also the same.  You can improve your comfort level  by  getting the right diagnosis and the right treatment the type of problem you have.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 11:11 pm and is filed under Health Tips, arthritis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.