What is Arthritis

Arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the joints. There are several forms of arthritis: septic, aseptic or micro-crystalline.

Arthritis is a term that includes more than 100 diseases characterized by inflammation of the joints and other parts of the body. Inflammation is a medical term for pain, stiffness, redness and swelling. If left unchecked, inflammation can cause significant, often permanent, damage to affected areas, resulting in loss of function and disability.

Arthritis (from the roots “arthro”, which means joint, and “itis”, which means inflammation) can affect virtually any part of the body, but most often it attacks the hips, knees, spine or other bearing joints. The disease can, however, affect the fingers and other non-bearing joints.

Arthritis is a chronic disease, which means it affects people who have it continuously, permanently or recurrently for periods ranging from months to a lifetime.

Difference between Arthritis and osteoarthritis

Arthritis should not be confused with osteoarthritis Also See: What is Osteoporosis?. Their main difference is the nature of the pain. In the case of arthritis, the pain appears at rest and may decrease slightly during movement. Unlike osteoarthritis that causes pain during movement. It is mechanical and non-inflammatory.

Forms of Arthritis

There are many forms of arthritis. Aseptic arthritis is arthritis that does not have an infectious cause. The most common are rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

Conversely, septic arthritis is a result of contamination by a pathogen. It is always located on only one joint, where the infection took place. It is therefore a monoarthritis. Depending on the causative germ, this can be infectious arthritis, viral arthritis, juvenile arthritis or Lyme arthritis.

Microcrystalline arthritis is caused by the presence of microcrystals in the joint. They are uric acid crystals in the form of a needle in the case of gout and calcium pyrophosphate crystals of rectangular shape in the case of articular chondrocalcinosis.

Final Words

The symptoms of arthritis can be mild to severe. Most people with arthritis have to deal with chronic pain, fatigue, restricted mobility, moodiness and other symptoms that, together, erode their quality of life.

Many forms of arthritis can lead to episodic disability, which then prevents people from working for certain periods. Thus it is best to know what to do with it so that you can deal with this illness appropriately.