Understanding Arthritis: Types and Symptoms
by Premier Hospitals | July 2, 2018 |
What is it that brings stability, flexibility, and a defined structure of the body? What makes you look they way you are? It’s quite simple an answer. Bones. Now think about what helps you bend, sit, stand, twist and run. It’s a simple answer again. Your joints. Now imagine this. How does it feel like to have your joints stiff? You can’t move, you can’t hold anything and it feels like the bones inside have caught rust. Do you feel this way? Well, if you do, then you most definitely are suffering from a degenerative disorder called arthritis. Knowing about arthritis can help you manage it with the best possible treatments that suit you. Here’s a brief introduction to what arthritis is. Arthritis - An Outline Arthritis is the inflammation of joints which usually affects the major joints of the body such as the hip, knee and also other minor joints that include the wrist and the fingers. Along with affecting multiple joints of the body, arthritis also causes various other complications. There are over 200 types of arthritis which usually develop over a period of time and in some cases might also show up at a very early age. However, here we’ve listed down the top 4 common types of arthritis that can affect anyone at any age. Read on. Osteoarthritis - Osteoarthritis is the most common of all arthritic conditions. It occurs when the joints start wearing off due to over usage of the joints. It is commonly noticed in older adults, athletes and obese people as result of lot of pressure and stress being put on the joints. The cartilage of the joints become weak and diminishes. This as a result causes the drying of the bursa which produces the lubricating fluid for the joints to function normally. Over a period the bones start rubbing over each other, causing excruciating pain and immobility. Osteoporosis - Osteoporosis is a type of arthritis that causes the bones to become extremely porous and fragile. It occurs when the body loses too much of bone density an contain an abnormal tissue structure. It causes the bones to break even with the most minor injury. Osteoporosis most commonly affects the hips, wrist and the spinal cord. Another important fact about osteoporosis is that it leads to a hunched posture when the bones in the spine or vertebrae are affected, resulting in loss of height. Rheumatoid Arthritis - Rheumatism is an autoimmune condition, which occurs when the defensive cells in the body attacks the healthy cells and disturbs the regeneration of new healthy cells in the body. Rheumatism can affect any part of the body and the most commonly affected are the skin and the bones. Rheumatoid arthritis is seen in 1 out of 5 people and these people usually notice lumps on their skin on the affected joint areas such as knuckles and elbows called rheumatoid nodules which is one of the major symptoms of this condition. Psoriatic Arthritis - Psoriatic arthritis is another common arthritis form that appears with reddish and whitish scaly patches on the skin. It basically causes inflammation of the skin and the joints. It usually affects certain specific areas of the body such as the tip of the elbows, the scalp, knees, navel and the genitals. So how do you know if you have arthritis? As mentioned in the beginning of this article, that the bones becoming stiff makes you feel discomforted and make you immobile, that’s actually the first and the most common symptoms of developing an arthritic condition. However, there are other symptoms and not always does arthritis start with stiffness in the joints. Take a quick glance at the symptoms of arthritis and check if you’re facing the same painful symptoms. If you relate to any of them, it’s always better to get yourself checked and screened for arthritis.
- Joint pain and stiffness.
- Swelling and redness of the skin on the joints.
- Loss or reduced range of motion.
- Fatigue even in the mornings.
- Anemia.
- Frequent fever and chills
- Loss of appetite.
- Reduced red blood cell (RBC) count.
- If you have frequent fractures due to weak and brittle bones.