Language: English
Health News
- Glimmer of hope for people with spinal cord injuries
Published 20 November 2012 - Breastfeeding boom among older, affluent mothers
Published 20 November 2012 - Nose Cells Help Paralyzed Dogs Walk
Published 20 November 2012 - Wasteful NHS procurement costing £500m a year
Published 20 November 2012
Please note that these news articles link to external websites.
Your Vote
There is currently no poll for this section.
Find Out More About
This service contains links to third party websites. EPG Patient Direct is not in a position to verify this information and cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the content contained.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis & pain
There are over 200 diseases that come under the term arthritis. Looking at symptoms such as joint pain, swelling and inflammation allows doctors to classify the condition into one of the following broad groups:
- Conditions due to mechanical wear and tear or damage to a joint
- Conditions due to inflammation of the joints
- Conditions caused by a bone disorder
- Conditions that are not really rheumatic (related to joints, tendons, muscles etc) but cause musculoskeletal symptoms.
The two most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis (OA), which is in the first group (wear and tear) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which is in the second group (inflammation of the joints).
Osteoarthritis
OA affects about 15 people in 100, and after age 55 is more common in women than men. It is a degenerative disease, resulting from wear on the joint lining (cartilage), which can then affect the underlying bone.
OA may arise without an apparent cause or may occur after damage to a joint from inflammation (which might be a result of infection), too much stress on the joint or traumatic injury. OA commonly affects joints that support the weight of the body, such as the spine, hips or knees. OA may only affect one side of the body.
read more...
Rheumatoid Arthritis
RA occurs in approx. 1 person in 100 and most commonly affects women between the ages of approx. 40-50 years of age. It is an important cause of disability. RA causes early joint damage which limits movement, both of which progress slowly with time.
The causes of RA are unclear, but there is evidence to show that there is a predisposition for this condition to run in families.
Last Updated 13-03-2009