What Are Different Types of Arthritis?

While there are over a 100 distinct types of arthritis, there are common ones from which majority of people suffer.

The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative joint disorder that usually results from the natural decline of the body from old age. Other common causes of osteoarthritis are events that cause trauma to the joints, or the infection of a joint. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases estimates that one out of eight Americans aged 25 years and older suffer from osteoarthritis. The spread of the age group of people who suffer from osteoarthritis is attributed to the fact that it is caused both by injury and old age.

With osteoarthritis, pain results from the inflammation of the joints because of the wearing out of the cartilage, which cushions and protects joints. In the absence or lessening of this protective cartilage, pain results from simple and usual movements like walking, standing, or any activity that causes the joints to bear weight. As a result of the pain, many people who suffer from osteoarthritis lessen their physical activity, causing further degeneration of their muscles and ligaments.

While people who suffer from osteoarthritis feel general joint stiffness and joint pain, only a third of them complain from excessive pain and inflammation around the joints. The progression of osteoarthritis also vary greatly among people, with some acquiring osteoarthritis suddenly and some developing it gradually. The joints most usually affected with osteoarthritis are fingers, the neck, the lower back, the knees, and the hips.

Rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis occurs when the body attacks itself. These two types of arthritis are generally classified as auto-immune diseases precisely because it is caused by this bodily mechanism. Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful inflammatory systemic disease that can eventually lead to a loss of mobility because of excessive pain and joint destruction. It also can affect adjacent organs like the skin, blood vessels, lungs, heart, and even muscles. A good 60% of patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis lose their mobility and capacity to work some ten years after their initial diagnosis.

Another common form of arthritis is gout or metabolic arthritis. In this congenital disease, the uric acid metabolism breaks down, causing the deposition of uric acid crystals in the joints. The deposit of uric acid crystals in the joints causes an inflammatory reaction as uric acid concentration in the bloodstream rises. Because the uric acid crystal deposits continue to accrue in the joints, these eventually erupt out into the skin that discharge white, chalk-like material. Gout usually attacks the big foot first, but may attack a number of other joints like the heel, the ankle, the wrist, the instep, knee, elbows, and even the spine.