What is Arthritis?
Arthritis means literally "joint damage and inflammation".
While there are over 400 types of arthritis, here we deal with Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis refers to a degenerative condition of joint cartilage due to wear and tear. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the joints and is associated with more severe pain.
Osteoarthritis (Os-tee-oh-are-thry-tis)
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the commonest form of joint disease in which there is damage to the surface of the joint and an abnormal reaction in the underlying bone. 'Osteo' means bone. Osteoarthritis is generally considered to be due to "wear and tear" of the joint cartilage.
Various other terms also describe this disease, including 'osteoarthrosis', 'arthrosis' and 'degenerative joint disease'.
They all refer to the same condition which chiefly affects:
- knees, hips and hands (the most common),
- as well as the foot and the neck & back (spondylosis), but does not affect other body tissues.
Osteoarthritis (OA) causes pain, stiffness and disability. However, symptoms get worse with activity so joint pain is worse at the end of the day.
Osteoarthritis is sometimes referred to as 'joint failure', analogous to kidney or heart failure. Osteoarthritis causes wearing away of the cartilage in the joint, making it rough and the joint difficult to move. Osteoarthritis causes painful limitation of joint movement with bony swelling and crepitus (creaking) on movement.
Many cases are 'idiopathic' (disease or condition of unknown cause or which arises spontaneously) but Osteoarthritis can also be the end result of several other conditions or due to the combination of several other factors. Some of these factors include:
- age
- joint damage by injury
- heredity
- other types of joint disease
Rheumatoid arthritis (Rue-ma-toyd)
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common inflammatory disease of the joints. It's a very variable disease. The number and type of joints involved differs between individual patients, as does the severity and duration of the inflammation.
Rheumatoid arthritis is the one rheumatic disease most associated with severe physical handicap. It's three times more common amongst females than amongst males.
Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation of the lining membrane of the joint (synovium). This results in more swelling, since the inflamed lining can invade the bone and cartilage. Rheumatoid arthritis leads to more signs of inflammation than is usual in osteoarthritis and can lead to severe damage of the joints, and ultimately to loss of joint function.
The exact cause of Rheumatoid arthritis is unknown but it's understood that it may be widespread where diets are high in fat and high in cholesterol. So countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and those in Western Europe, where diets are rich, see a greater incidence. Gluten and wheat may also contribute in individuals with these particular allergies.
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