Arthritis refers to an entire group of diseases [Many different health problems all are called Arthritis]

 What does arthritis mean?

Arthritis literally means joint inflammation. You also have to understand that arthritis is not a single disease. Arthritis refers to an entire group of diseases.

Today there are many rheumatic diseases and other conditions that are called arthritis. In fact, there are over 100 and all of them will cause pain, stiffness, and swelling of the joints.

When one of these conditions damages the joints of the body this is when it is referred to as arthritis. Arthritis effect and disables our seniors and people 65 and older. There are many different forms of arthritis and they each have their own cause.

What is the common theme of arthritis?

The 100 forms of arthritis do have something very much in common. Pain is common, far and away from the number one answer. This pain is going to be different for each of the sufferers and where the pain is located is also going to be different.

Warning signs and some symptoms of arthritis: Stiffness swelling pain difficulty in moving one or more joints

If you have one or more of the above symptoms for two weeks or more, you need to go and talk to your doctor. You need to go and have these warning signs and/or symptoms diagnosed and treated.

I am not going to go into all of the different types of arthritis and their symptoms. What I am going to do is list a few for you, and I will do another article that will list many others. So here are a few types of arthritis and the symptoms that are associated with them.

Ankle Tendonitis

Osteoarthritis - this disease happens to be a degenerative joint disease. You are going to feel the worst pain at night time or after rest. This happens from wear and tear on the body, but there are other reasons. Here are some symptoms of osteoarthritis:

  Decreased function in the affected joint tenderness to the touch pain in the affected area swelling around the joint where the pain is being felt. The onset of osteoarthritis is very subtle and gradual, usually involving one or only a few joints. Some of the joints most affected by this are:

  tough on the knees sore hands hips become sore and stiff spine area is affected

  Rheumatoid - pain is felt in the morning. Sometimes in the elderly and children, the pain may not be as pronounced, but some limbs may not want to function.

  Rheumatoid arthritis can be a potentially disabling disease. The body is attacking itself. This is how Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease.

Problems can be:

Some of these symptoms are similar to other types of arthritis. you can have stiffness pain in the affected joint swelling of the joint you can lose function of the joint

The cause of rheumatoid arthritis remains elusive. Doctors believe that there could be something genetic involved with this. Rheumatoid arthritis in the beginning stages can be difficult to diagnose because again this is gradual and has subtle symptoms.

Some of the other types of arthritis and by no means is this a complete list are the following. Gout and pseudogout, you have a septic, as mentioned rheumatoid arthritis and don't forget juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and also mentioned osteoarthritis, bursitis and there are many others that have not been mentioned.

Today there are many different ways to treat arthritis depending on the type of arthritis you have. Medications can be prescribed as well as arthroplasty.

When joint pain is so severe that there may come a time when a prosthetic joint replacement may become necessary. The people who have had this done are very satisfied with the results.

You have to understand that arthritis has been around for a long time. Arthritis dates back to 4500 B.C. It was then the first traces were noticed in humans.

Ankle osteoarthritis was found in dinosaurs. Even the native Americans of Tennessee, it was noticed that they suffered from a form of arthritis.

There may be a time in the future when a cure for arthritis will be found. But today we can just treat the symptoms of arthritis the best we can. To help the person have a better form of life is what the goal is today, by using drugs and other treatments. Time will tell if something happens out on the horizon, but for now, there is no cure for arthritis but there are natural arthritis treatments that are available.

There are other treatments besides the couple listed above and I will talk about them in another article.