Arthritis
Arthritis is a painful condition that affects the joints in the body. The word itself means inflamed ("itis") joint ("arth"). Arthritis is often caused by wear and tear associated with age, but there are many different forms of the disease—even types of childhood arthritis. Early identification of the sort of arthritis a patient has is important for successful treatment. After diagnosis, patients with arthritis should discuss with their provider about the non-surgical and surgical treatments available.The following four kinds of arthritis are some of the more common ones:
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Infectious Arthritis
Post-Traumatic Arthritis
Osteoarthritis (AH-stee-oh-ar-THREYE-tis)
This is the most common type of arthritis, especially among older people. Sometimes it is called degenerative joint disease or osteoarthrosis. Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that mostly affects the cartilage (KAR-til-uj). Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over one another. It also softens the shock of physical movement. In osteoarthritis, the surface layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away. This allows bones under the cartilage to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and stiffening of the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also, bone spurs—small growths called osteophytes—may grow on the edges of the joint. Bits of bone or cartilage can break off and float inside the joint space. This causes more pain, catching, and damage.
Find out more about osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RU-muh-toyed ar-THREYE-tis)
This is less common than osteoarthritis and can affect people at any age, but mostly it occurs in people over 40. It is an inflammatory disease that causes pain, swelling, stiffness, and loss of function in the joint. It is caused by a fault in the immune system and can often run in families.
Find out more about rheumatoid arthritis
Infectious Arthritis
This type of arthritis causes pain and swelling in the joints—the places where two or more bones come together. The pain and swelling is referred to as inflammation. The inflammation is caused by a germ, which is usually either a bacterium (back-teer-e-um), a virus, or a fungus. Infectious arthritis normally affects only one joint, but sometimes it affects more. It does not usually last a long time if it is treated early.
Find out more about infectious arthritis
Post-Traumatic Arthritis This kind of arthritis develops after an injury such as a break or a dislocation, or after some surgeries. Post-traumatic arthritis is a form of osteoarthritis or osteonecrosis.
Find out more about osteoarthritis
Find out more about osteonecrosis
| Disclaimer |
Information on the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) website:
- is not provided as medical advice
- does not establish a doctor-patient or other relationship
- is not intended nor should be assumed to guarantee a specific result
Our goals are to provide people with meaningful information to make informed decisions about their health and health care.
DHMC and its affiliated component organizations aspire to deliver consistent high quality medical care to all patients and to continually improve its quality of care as evolving technology and medical knowledge permits.
Please call 911 in the case of any medical emergency. |
|
