Arthritis Is Not A Single Disease:
There Are More Than 100 Different Types

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Arthritis is not a single disease and there are more than 100 types that trouble humans. Quite literally, the term refers to joint inflammation. There are certain conditions in which damage is caused to the joints of the body and such a group of conditions is commonly referred to as Arthritis, which is a leading cause of disability in the elderly. It can affect younger people as well. The disease can take many different forms with each type having its own cause.

The common thread that runs through all forms of arthritis are that there is much pain, though patterns of pain may differ among arthritics (people suffering from arthritis) and their location. Some of the common warning signs of this disease include pain, swelling, stiffness, and difficulty in moving one or more joints. When some or any one of these symptoms persist for two weeks or more, it is necessary to consult a doctor for diagnosis and early treatment.

Osteoarthritis, for example, can feature pain that is worst at night, or following a period of rest. Rheumatoid arthritis will generally cause most pain in the morning and in its early stages. In the elderly as well as in children, pain may not be most pronounced; rather, there is inhibited movement or affected limbs may refuse to function.

Among the different types of arthritis are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, septic, gout as well as psedudogout, juvenile arthritis and Still's disease as well as Ankylosing spondylitis. The options for treating arthritis vary. Depending on the type of arthritis this can include medications as well as arthroplasty (the surgical repair of a joint or the fashioning of a movable joint, using the patient's own tissue or an artificial replacement). As a last resort, doctors may even try out prosthetic joint replacement, which is highly effective and almost all patients are satisfied with its results.

The three basic types of arthritis that may cause hip and knee pain are: osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis (most commonly rheumatoid arthritis), and traumatic arthritis:

	Osteoarthritis	Rheumatoid arthritis	Traumatic arthritis
Number affected in the U.S.	about 16 million (most common type of arthritis)	over 2 million (most common type of inflammatory arthritis)	not known
Who is likely to get condition	usually middle-aged and older people	75 percent are women; most often begins between 30 and 60, but can develop at any age	people who have experienced a hip injury or fracture
Definition	joint disease that gets worse over time; does not cause swelling in joints (not inflammatory)	inflammatory condition (causes joint swelling) in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the tissue that lines and cushions the joints	from an injury which leads to a condition called avascular necrosis: blood supply to the ball portion (the femoral head) of the thighbone is cut off
Why it causes pain	cartilage that cushions the bones of the hip starts to erode, eventually allows the bones of the joint to grind or rub together	cartilage wears away and the cushioning fluid in the joint (the synovium) becomes inflamed (swollen) inflammation causes chemicals to be released that damage the cartilage and bone of the affected joint	lack of blood supply causes the ball portion (the femoral head) of the thighbone to wither and surrounding cartilage deteriorates and bones grind or rub together
Symptoms	pain and stiffness	pain and swelling	pain and other symptoms

The history of arthritis goes back to about 4,500 BC when the first known traces of it were noticed in humans, though there is evidence that ankle osteoarthritis had affected even dinosaurs. It has been also noted in the skeletal remains of Native Americans of Tennessee and some parts of what is now Olathe, Kansas.

The first popular remedy seems to be the willow bark which was supposed to provide relief, and dates to around 500 BC. And, in modern times, it is believed that more than a trillion tablets of aspirin have been sold throughout the world to provide relief.

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