Arthritis Causes And Symptoms

Main Category: Arthritis / Rheumatology
Article Date: 24 Apr 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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The literal meaning of arthritis is "joint inflammation" and it can affect joints in any part of the body. Joints are the places in the body where two bones meet. When you have arthritis, damage is caused to a lesser or greater degree to the joints and mostly occurs in the hands, arms and legs. The inflammation in one or more of the joints results in pain, swelling and limited movement. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in those over the age of 65 and it generally affects people from the age of 60. However, arthritis can occur in people of all ages including children. About 37 million people in the US alone have some form of arthritis - that is almost 1 out of every 7 people. There are many different forms of arthritis, each of which has a different cause but unfortunately, they all feature pain.

Some of the symptoms you may experience with Arthritis are:

-- Joint pain and swelling
-- Stiffness particularly in the mornings
-- The feeling of warmth around a joint
-- Redness of skin around a joint
-- Inability to move the joint easily

Arthritis involves the breakdown of cartilage. This cartilage normally protects the joint thereby allowing for smooth movement. Cartilage is also useful for absorbing shock when you put pressure on the particular joint - for example when you are walking. With the breakdown of the cartilage, the bones lose their protection and start to rub together thus causing the pain, swelling and stiffness.

Some of the causes for the breakdown of the cartilage, and the subsequent inflammation of the joints can be:

-- Broken bone
-- Infection in the area (usually caused by either bacteria or viruses)
-- An autoimmune disease (this is where the body attacks itself because the immune system perceives a certain body part to be foreign)
-- General wear and tear on joints (possibly from old age, over exercise etc.)

The early stages of any of these causes are vitally important for treatment to be commenced immediately so that the sufferer from arthritis is given the best possible chance for the inflammation to go away and it often does. If the inflammation does not go away, there may be destruction resulting in long-term pain and deformity. This is called chronic arthritis.

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