| Osteoarthritis | | | | - heart |
| Osteoarthritis develops from the wearing away of | | | | - joints |
| joint cartilage. It is degenerative in nature and the | | | | - kidneys |
| substantial damage caused by excessive strain on | | | | - nervous system |
| the joints and its bordering tissues is characterized | | | | - internal organs |
| by: | | | | - surrounding skin |
| - pain | | | | Carpal Tunnel Syndrome |
| - soreness | | | | Carpal tunnel syndrome begins with tingling and |
| - swelling | | | | numbness in the fingers caused by stress on the |
| - difficulty of movement | | | | wrists median nerve. This condition can set in slowly |
| In its early stages, osteoarthritis is rarely | | | | or with unexpected abruptness. While it is dissimilar to |
| symptomatic and mostly non-inflammatory. It | | | | other types of arthritis, it sometimes linked to other |
| develops slowly and is difficult to detect because it | | | | forms of the disease, like rheumatoid arthritis. |
| affects only a minimum number of joints. More often | | | | Ankylosing Spondylitis |
| than not, osteoarthritis strikes the: | | | | This chronic inflammatory condition of the spine can |
| - hands | | | | cause fusion of the vertebrae, resulting in rigidity of |
| - hips | | | | the spinal column. The disease starts by settling into |
| - knees | | | | the tissue surrounding the joint, causing lingering |
| - spine | | | | stiffness and pain in the lower back. |
| Advancing age increases the risk of acquiring | | | | Medical science has yet to discover the exact cause |
| osteoarthritis. Trauma to the joints, obesity and | | | | of this disease, which affects other joints in addition |
| repetitive joint use comprise the other risk factors of | | | | to the spine. It has been noted, however, that |
| the disease. | | | | spondylitis sufferers all have HLA-B27, a genetic |
| Rheumatoid Arthritis | | | | marker setting apart people who have the highest |
| Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the synovium, the | | | | risk of acquiring the disorder. Men aged between 16 |
| cell lining within the joint, is mistakenly damaged by | | | | to 35 are the ones usually affected, although the |
| the bodys' own immune system. This type of arthritis | | | | disease can also strike women. |
| is a chronic autoimmune syndrome which is potentially | | | | Bursitis / Tendonitis |
| disabling. It is often marked by: | | | | These types of arthritis are recognized by their |
| - joint pain | | | | chiefly inflammatory symptoms. Bursitis is |
| - joint incapacity | | | | characterized by inflamed bursa sacs, fluid-filled sacs |
| - swelling | | | | that help muscles and tendons move smoothly |
| - stiffness | | | | across the bones. Tendonitis, or tendinitis is an |
| Rheumatoid arthritis is difficult to pin down at its | | | | inflammation of the tendons, connective elastic tissue |
| onset due to the minimal number of symptoms. The | | | | found between the bones and muscles. The tendon |
| causes of this type of arthritis are still unknown, but | | | | sheath is also susceptible to inflammation, leading to a |
| physicians are pointing to heredity as one of its chief | | | | disorder known as tenosynovitis. In all cases, the |
| causes. | | | | inflammation results in stiff and painful movement. |
| Juvenile Arthritis | | | | - Guide to Bursitis |
| Children can also be afflicted by a type of arthritis | | | | - Guide to Tendinitis |
| known as juvenile arthritis. It is the most common | | | | Infectious Arthritis |
| form of arthritis that besets children. The three | | | | Bacteria, virus and fungi are the culprits involved in |
| major kinds of juvenile arthritis are: | | | | Infectious arthritis. To diagnose this type of arthritis, |
| - pauciarticular (affecting only a minimum number of | | | | culturing a tissue sample from the infected joint |
| joints) | | | | determines the existence of these microorganisms. |
| - polyarticular (involving more than several joints) | | | | Infectious arthritis comes in several forms, namely: |
| - systematic (impacting the whole body) | | | | - Septic arthritis caused by a bacterial invasion. |
| Indicators of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are | | | | - Tuberculous arthritis common in tuberculosis |
| different for each child, and a variety of tests are | | | | sufferers. |
| needed to determine the appropriate diagnosis. | | | | - Fungal arthritis stemming from fungal infection. |
| Children suffering from juvenile arthritis have to | | | | - Gonococcal arthritis occurring with those infected |
| ascertain the presence of the disease for over a | | | | with gonorrhoea. |
| month before it can be correctly identified. | | | | - Viral arthritis resulting from viral infections. |
| Psoriatic Arthritis | | | | Lyme Disease |
| Five percent of people with psoriasis (a chronic skin | | | | Lyme disease is often caused by the bite of an |
| disorder) are affected by psoriatic arthritis. Like | | | | infected deer tick. This disorder usually targets: |
| rheumatoid arthritis, the joints, and in some cases the | | | | - eyes |
| spine, are subjected to inflammation. | | | | - heart |
| Fibromyalgia | | | | - joints |
| Although this disorder does not involve joint | | | | - nervous system |
| deformity, this soft tissue and muscular rheumatism | | | | - skin |
| leads to muscle, ligament and tendon pain, and is | | | | Reactive Arthritis |
| indicated by: | | | | Also known as Reiter's syndrome, Reactive arthritis |
| - chronic tiredness | | | | causes inflammation of the joints, particularly in the |
| - inferior sleep | | | | areas of ligament and tendon connection. Sufferers |
| - muscle soreness | | | | of this type of arthritis experience other illnesses like: |
| - Fibromyalgia Screening Test | | | | - cervicitis |
| - Fibromyalgia Fast Facts | | | | - conjuctivitis |
| - Test Your Knowledge of Fibromyalgia | | | | - cystitis |
| - 10 Things You Should Know About Fibromyalgia | | | | - skin sores |
| - Signs and Symptoms: Recognizing Fibromyalgia | | | | - prostatitis |
| Gout | | | | - urethritis |
| Another painful type of arthritis is Gout. This form of | | | | Sjogren's Syndrome |
| the disease is characterized by unexpected bursts of | | | | Sjorgren's Syndrome causes irregularity in the |
| intense pain, soreness, warmth and reddening of the | | | | functions of the moisture-producing glands of the |
| affected areas, and joint swelling, particularly in the | | | | body, resulting in dryness in the salivary and lacrimal |
| big toe. Gout is believed to be the result of excess | | | | (tear-producing) glands. This disorder is also |
| uric acid crystals which are leached out of the blood | | | | characterized by other physical indicators. |
| and settle within the joint. | | | | Osteoporosis |
| Pseudogout / CPPD | | | | This degenerative bone disease leads to weak, brittle |
| Calcium phosphate crystals which form in the joints | | | | bones and loss of bone tissue, increasing the risk of |
| can cause Calcium Pyrophosphate Dihydrate | | | | breaks and fractures. It is a preventive |
| Deposition Disease (CPPD), or Psuedogout. The | | | | non-symptomatic disorder creeps up slowly and |
| symptoms of Psuedogout are very similar to Gout, | | | | becomes apparent in advanced age, particularly in |
| and as a result, it is often misdiagnosed as gouty | | | | women. |
| arthritis. Management and treatment of CPPD is | | | | Other Forms of Rheumatic Diseases |
| different, as well. | | | | - Avascular Necrosis - also recognized by the medical |
| Scleroderma | | | | term, osteonecrosis |
| Hardening and thickening of the surrounding skin | | | | - Behcet's Disease - characterized by chronic |
| characterizes Scleroderma, a disorder affecting the | | | | inflammation. |
| connective tissues of the body. Two types of this | | | | - Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - CRPS, or reflex |
| disease, both the localized and generalized forms, also | | | | sympathetic dystrophy. |
| impair other parts of the body like the: | | | | - Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis - causes |
| - blood vessels | | | | calcification in the spinal disks. |
| - joints | | | | - Inflammatory Bowel Disease - commonly |
| - internal organs | | | | accompanied by complications of arthritis and |
| Lupus / Systemic Lupus Erythematosus | | | | osteoporosis. |
| Another autoimmune disease, Systemic lupus | | | | - Mixed Connective Tissue Diseases - a combination |
| erythematosus causes anaemia, arthritis, chronic | | | | of several rheumatic diseases. |
| tiredness, fever, hair loss, kidney complications, | | | | - Polymyalgia Rheumatica - caused by giant cell |
| mouth ulcers and skin eruptions. Nearly 90 percent of | | | | arteritis. |
| sufferers are women, particularly those of | | | | - Raynaud's Phenomenon - primarily affects the blood |
| childbearing age. However, children and older adults | | | | vessels, causing them to constrict. |
| can also contract the disease. Lupus affects the: | | | | - Vasculitides - a disease characterized by inflamed |
| - blood vessels | | | | blood vessels. |