Healthy Living and Fitness

Illness Care: Arthritis

Types of arthritis

Arthritis means swelling of the joints, but by inflammation or damage coming from the inside of the joint, not swelling caused by trauma, for example during sport. There are different types of the disease - many inflammatory, for example rheumatoid arthritis and others more degenerative in nature, such as osteoarthritis

Examples of Inflammatory arthritis include:

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are types of inflammatory arthritis. RA is an auto-immune disorder - a "self-attacking-self" disease - in which the body's immune system improperly identifies the synovial membranes that secrete the lubricating fluid in the joints as foreign. Inflammation results, and the cartilage and tissues in and around the joints are damaged or destroyed. Often the bone surfaces are destroyed as well. The body replaces this damaged tissue with scar tissue, causing the normal spaces within the joints to become narrow and the bones to fuse together. Rheumatoid arthritis creates stiffness, swelling, fatigue, anaemia, weight loss, fever, and often, crippling pain.

While osteoarthritis affects individual joints, rheumatoid arthritis affects all of the body's synovial joints. Joints afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis tend to make a sound like crinkling cellophane, whereas osteoarthritic joints make popping, clicking and banging noises.

Causes of inflammatory reaction include genetic susceptibility, lifestyle factors, nutritional factors, food allergies and micro-organisms. One of the most recent theories is abnormal permeability of the intestinal wall which allows incompletely digested foods to pass through into the blood stream. These large food particles in the blood cause an immune disturbance in which the body's own immune system attacks tissues around the joints.

Gout

Is a type of arthritis caused by increased levels of uric acid in the body's fluids. This uric acid helps to form crystals which become deposited in the joints and other tissues, including kidneys, causing considerable damage that results in inflammation. Gout is often referred to as "the rich man's disease" and historically was associated with affluence. This traditional picture does have basis in reality, as meats, particularly organ meats, cause increased uric acid and alcohol slows down the elimination of uric acid by the kidneys.

Ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is one of the most common types of inflammatory arthritis to affect the spine. In this disorder, certain joints of the spine become inflamed, stiffen, become rigid, and then fuse together. If confined to the lower back, AS causes virtually no limitation of movement. In some cases, however, the entire spine may become rigid and bent. If the joints between the ribs and spine are affected, breathing problems may result as the chest wall's ability to expand becomes limited. Postural deformities are common.

Septic or infectious arthritis

Septic arthritis occurs when a bug, often Staphylococcus aureus, manages to get inside the joint from the blood. In theory any joint can be infected, the hip joint is only infected in infants under 1 year of age because of a change in blood supply to the hip joint after that. Common joints to be infected are the finger joints, knees, ankles and shoulders. Normally only one joint is infected. The joint becomes hot, red, swollen and intensely painful, so the child may refuse to move the affected limb (pseudoparalysis). Diagnosis is made by removing some fluid from the joint to grow the bug, followed by several weeks of the appropriate antibiotics. It is important to clear the infection completely; otherwise ongoing infection can damage the joint.

The most common example of degenerative arthritis is:

Osteoarthritis- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD)

Osteoarthritis is related to the wear and tear of aging and involves deterioration of the cartilage at the ends of the bones. The cartilage then becomes rough and the tendons, muscles, and ligament holding the joint together become weakened. The body's attempt to stabilize the joint results in the formation of bony spurs or osteophytes. This process can be accelerated by being overweight, joint injuries, inadequate diet and improper or no exercise.

Osteoarthritis rarely develops before the age of forty, but it affects nearly everyone past the age of sixty. However, it may be so mild that a person is unaware of it until it shows upon an x-ray. It typically runs in families, and afflicts almost three times as many women as men.

 

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