About arthritis

What is arthritis?

Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis causes cartilage — the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint — to break down. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints.

Uric acid crystals, which form when there's too much uric acid in your blood, can cause gout. Infections or underlying disease, such as psoriasis or lupus, can cause other types of arthritis.

Treatments vary depending on the type of arthritis. The main goals of arthritis treatments are to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.

What are the symptoms for arthritis?

The most common signs and symptoms of Arthritis involve the joints. Depending on the type of Arthritis you have, your signs and symptoms may include:

  • Pain
  • Stiffness
  • Swelling
  • Redness
  • Decreased range of motion

What are the causes for arthritis?

The two main types of arthritis — osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis — damage joints in different ways.

Osteoarthritis

The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis involves wear-and-tear damage to your joint's cartilage — the hard, slick coating on the ends of bones. Enough damage can result in bone grinding directly on bone, which causes pain and restricted movement. This wear and tear can occur over many years, or it can be hastened by a joint injury or infection.

Rheumatoid arthritis

In rheumatoid arthritis, the body's immune system attacks the lining of the joint capsule, a tough membrane that encloses all the joint parts. This lining, known as the synovial membrane, becomes inflamed and swollen. The disease process can eventually destroy cartilage and bone within the joint.

What are the treatments for arthritis?

Arthritis treatment focuses on relieving symptoms and improving joint function. You may need to try several different treatments, or combinations of treatments, before you determine what works best for you.

Medications

The medications used to treat arthritis vary depending on the type of arthritis. Commonly used arthritis medications include:

  • NSAIDs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Examples include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve). Stronger NSAIDs can cause stomach irritation and may increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. NSAIDs are also available as creams or gels, which can be rubbed on joints.
  • Counterirritants. Some varieties of creams and ointments contain menthol or capsaicin, the ingredient that makes hot peppers spicy. Rubbing these preparations on the skin over your aching joint may interfere with the transmission of pain signals from the joint itself.
  • Steroids. Corticosteroid medications, such as prednisone, reduce inflammation and pain and slow joint damage. Corticosteroids may be given as a pill or as an injection into the painful joint. Side effects may include thinning of bones, weight gain and diabetes.
  • Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). These drugs can slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis and save the joints and other tissues from permanent damage. In addition to conventional DMARDs, there are also biologic agents and targeted synthetic DMARDs. Side effects vary but most DMARDs increase your risk of infections.

Therapy

Physical therapy can be helpful for some types of arthritis. Exercises can improve range of motion and strengthen the muscles surrounding joints. In some cases, splints or braces may be warranted.

Surgery

If conservative measures don't help, doctors may suggest surgery, such as:

  • Joint repair. In some instances, joint surfaces can be smoothed or realigned to reduce pain and improve function. These types of procedures can often be performed arthroscopically — through small incisions over the joint.
  • Joint replacement. This procedure removes the damaged joint and replaces it with an artificial one. Joints most commonly replaced are hips and knees.
  • Joint fusion. This procedure is more often used for smaller joints, such as those in the wrist, ankle and fingers. It removes the ends of the two bones in the joint and then locks those ends together until they heal into one rigid unit.

What are the risk factors for arthritis?

Risk factors for arthritis include:

  • Family history. Some types of arthritis run in families, so you may be more likely to develop arthritis if your parents or siblings have the disorder. Your genes can make you more susceptible to environmental factors that may trigger arthritis.
  • Age. The risk of many types of arthritis — including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout — increases with age.
  • Your sex. Women are more likely than are men to develop rheumatoid arthritis, while most of the people who have gout, another type of arthritis, are men.
  • Previous joint injury. People who have injured a joint, perhaps while playing a sport, are more likely to eventually develop arthritis in that joint.
  • Obesity. Carrying excess pounds puts stress on joints, particularly your knees, hips and spine. Obese people have a higher risk of developing arthritis.

Is there a cure/medications for arthritis?

There are treatments that can help manage the symptoms of arthritis, but there is no cure. However, with advances in medical research, it looks like scientists might be able to find a cure sometime in the next few years. But there are many things you can do to help you manage your symptoms, including:

1. Taking anti-inflammatory medications, like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen (Aleve). These can help reduce swelling and pain. Check with your doctor before taking these medicines if you have other health conditions or take other medications.

2. Using heat and cold therapy to reduce pain and stiffness in the affected joints. Heat therapy involves using an electric heating pad or hot water bottle wrapped in a towel to warm up stiff muscles. Cold therapy involves icing the area with an ice pack or bag of frozen vegetables on top of the joint for 15 minutes at a time several times throughout the day. This can help reduce inflammation and pain related to arthritis in your joints.

3. Exercising regularly, even if it means only doing so for short periods of time at first until your body gets used to moving again after being stationary for so long because of joint pain/stiffness from arthritis symptoms such as inflammation caused by inflammation from having rheumatoid

Below is a list of common medications used to treat arthritis:

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): These drugs work by blocking the activity of enzymes that cause inflammation and swelling in your body. They include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen sodium (Aleve), celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac sodium (Voltaren), etodolac sodium (Lodine-M), indomethacin (Indocin), ketoprofen (Orudis KT), meloxicam (Mobic), nabumetone (Relafen), piroxicam (Feldene) and sulindac sulfone.

Symptoms
Pain,Swelling and stiffness,Redness and warmth of the joint,Stiffness that is worse in the morning or after rest,Loss of motion in a joint,Joints that feel loose, making it easier for them to dislocate
Conditions
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA),Osteoarthritis (OA),Gout,Psoriatic arthritis,Ankylosing spondylitis
Drugs
Corticosteroids,NSAIDs,DMARDs/biologics,Antibiotics

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