Post by Your Home Companion on Feb 15, 2015 14:23:14 GMT
Types of Arthritis
Arthritis comes from the Greek words "arthos," which means joint and "itis," which means inflammation. There are many types of arthritis. The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is related to the wear and tear of the cartilage between the joints. Cartilage is basically a cushion between our joints, so our bones do not rub together, thus causing the pain that arthritic patients must contend with. Almost half of all people over the age of 65 have osteoarthritis. Hands, neck, lower back, and weight bearing joints, such as knees and hips, are the joints most commonly affected.
Another type of arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, occurs when your body's immune system attacks the joint lining (as if it is protecting itself from injury). This attacking of the joint lining, damages the joint capsule and causes inflammation and tenderness. It eventually results in deformity of the joint. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease and is extremely painful. This type of arthritis is not just limited to the senior population, but it is found to affect women more. Rheumatoid arthritis can also affect such organs as your heart, blood vessels, muscles, eyes and nervous system.
Gout is another painful type of arthritis. Yes, I said gout. And yes, I was just as surprised to find out gout was a form of arthritis as well. Gout occurs when an excess amount of uric acid is found in the joints. Gout attacks can occur after certain foods have been digested. These foods include shellfish, such as shrimp, anchovies, peas, liver and dried beans. Joints commonly affected by gout include the big toe and ankle, as well as the knee, wrist, or hands.
There are many other types of arthritis that affect us, to include psoriatic and or reactive types of arthritis and arthritis in the jaw bone (TMJ). These other types of arthritis will be discussed another time. Please remember, if someone you know suffers from any type of arthritis it can be extremely painful. Check back in a couple of days and we will have a post on common treatments of arthritis.