Types of Arthritis

There are an amazing 100 or so variations of the arthritic condition. From the mild tennis elbow (tendonitis) to systemic lupus, which has crippling consequences that touch nearly every part of the patient’s body. Arthritis can manifest in many different forms and affect us in so many dramatic ways. That is why arthritis is the number two most debilitating disease in the world today.

Osteoarthritis, being the most common form of the disease, has been nicknamed the wear and tear disease. It affects men and women equally – and they generally develop the disease by the time they reach age 45, although it can occur later (or earlier) in life.

Joints start out healthy, but with time, and through constant use and injury over the years, fluids break down and when the cartilage wears away, bones begin to rub together and cause pain due to swelling and inflammation. As a result of this degeneration, osteoarthritis commonly develops.

Other common types of arthritis include:

• Ankylosing Spondylitis – arthritis of the spine
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – a condition that affects the nerve traveling from the arm to the hand
• Childhood Arthritis – affecting children under the age of 16
• Chronic Back Injury – a disease that causes back pain for long periods of time
• Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH – or sometimes known as Forestier’s disease) – arthritis caused by excessive bone growth along the vertebrate of the spine
• Fibromyalgia – marked by widespread pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons and causes severe sleeping discomfort
• Gout – excessive uric acid in the body that deposits in the joints and crystallizes
• Infectious Arthritis – joint inflammation due to the presence of a germ in the joint area
• Lupus – a group of diseases which causes healthy tissues to be attacked, resulting in pain and swelling of the joints
• Lyme Disease – inflammation in the joints and other parts of the body caused by the bite of a tick
• Osteoporosis – a disease where the bone breaks down after becoming brittle and thin
• Paget’s Disease – a disease that causes normal bone growth to break down and be replaced by softer bones
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica – an arthritic condition affecting the muscles
• Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis – a muscle-weakening condition that sometimes causes skin rashes
• Pseudogout – similar to gout, this disease deposits excess calcium in the joint area
• Psoriatic Arthritis – joint pain and swelling combined with a scaly rash on the skin
• Raynaud’s Phenomenon – prohibits normal blood flow to all areas of the body, therefore causing tissue damage
• Reactive Arthritis – bacterial arthritis that causes pain and swelling in the joints as the disease travels through the body
• Reiter’s Syndrome – a form of reactive arthritis that also affects the skin, eyes, and muscles
• Repetitive Stress Injury – arthritis caused by repeated stress on a joint
• Rheumatoid Arthritis – caused by the body’s immune system that turns and attacks healthy joints, this disease results in pain and feelings of heat within the joints
• Scleroderma – a condition that hardens the skin but can also affect muscles and joints
• Sjögren’s – a condition that initially causes dry eyes and mouth, but can also affect joints and muscles as well

It’s important to be aware of the various types of arthritis since it’s been shown that those who suffer from one form of the disease often begin developing complications of another form concurrently. For example, many people with rheumatoid arthritis are much more at risk for developing osteoarthritis.

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