Arthritis

What is arthritis?

There are many types of arthritis, or joint disease, but most cases fall under the following:

• Degenerative arthritis or osteoarthritis
• Inflammatory arthritis, which includes rheumatoid arthritis
• Infectious arthritis
• Metabolic arthritis, or gout

Osteoarthritis is by far the most common form of arthritis and is defined by the degeneration of the cartilage in between your bones, causing them to rub together painfully.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a malfunction in your immune system that causes it to attack your joints, causing them to erode. This type of arthritis can damage other parts of your body, such as your internal organs or eyes.

Infectious arthritis occurs when a virus or fungus enters your joints, causing them to become inflamed. This type of infection has been tied to food poisoning, sexually transmitted diseases, and hepatitis C.

Metabolic arthritis, or gout, occurs when you have high levels of uric acid that builds up and forms painful needle-like crystals in your joints.

What are the symptoms of arthritis?

The most common symptoms for arthritis include the following problems, which mainly affect your joints:

• Swelling
• Pain
• Stiffness
• Decreased range of motion

These symptoms vary in severity and progression -- you may feel mild symptoms from time to time for years, or you may experience moderate to severe symptoms that grow progressively worse over time.

In severe cases, arthritis can result in chronic pain and disability, and cause permanent changes in your joints. You may be able to detect these changes on the outside, such as knobby fingers, but often the changes are only seen after you’ve had X-rays taken.

How is arthritis treated?

Arthritis is treated in a variety of ways and treatment largely depends on which type you have. When it comes to osteoarthritis, you can do a lot to prevent or slow its progress, such as:

• Physical activity
• Stretching and strength training
• Aerobics
• Losing weight
• Taking certain medications -- the medications that are available largely treat your symptoms and are not curative.

For rheumatoid arthritis, the treatment is far more aggressive in order to stop its progression and involves what are known as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. If you have infectious arthritis, the doctor will treat the infection, which should clear up your symptoms.

The first step in treatment is setting up an appointment with Dr. Ahad-Daman so that he can diagnose the problem and recommend treatment.