Do you know that "arthritis" is a general term describing hundreds of different diseases that afflict millions upon millions of people worldwide?
The term 'arthritis describes the problems of inflammation of a joint, and symptoms of the condition include swelling, stiffness, and pain in the affected area(s).
The most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease, and is thought to be brought on by the everyday wear and tear that all of our bodies go through in our daily lives.
As such, osteoarthritis is developed as you age and once you have it, the arthritis progresses as you continue to age.
The bones experience excessive calcium loss, resulting in decreased bone density. Loss of calcium and reduced bone density can result in brittle bones and fractures.
As a result, women, especially after menopause, are more prone to develop this form of arthritis.
Osteoarthritis suffers experience problems with their knees, hips, hands, or the spine, and those with the osteoarthritis are forced to endure pain, tenderness of the area, and decreased functionality of the area, swelling, and of course ... general discomfort.
Diagnosis and treatment of this is tricky because many people don't realize they have the condition until they suffer from some kind of injury and it may takes a bone fracture for broken hip or wrist before receiving a diagnosis.
While rheumatoid arthritis is similar, in that suffers have aches and pains, stiffness and swelling in joints, and it is also progressive.
However it is also quite a different form of arthritis; it is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to produce cells that attack its own tissues.
This results in inflammation that damages the joints and surrounding muscle. It's a chronic disease that can cause a complete disability of the affected joint(s), and those with rheumatoid arthritis often face symptoms of joint pain, stiffness, loss of function and a swelling of the afflicted area, as well as fatigue and lack of energy.
This last symptom, fatigue and lack of energy, make each and everyday very difficult, and unless you suffer from this, you will have a hard time understanding how debilitating this is.
Somebody suffering from this is likely to have severe difficulties even getting their body going each day, until 12:00.
In addition to these problems, suffers may potentially have problems, via fluid retention, with their lungs as well as heart problems. Doctors are aware of this and will continually watch this.
Anyone can develop rheumatoid arthritis, there are no known causes, race and ethnicity appear to have no effect, however age does seem to play a part in its development and diagnoses tend occur between the ages of 35 to 50.
More than two million people in the United States, and many more millions worldwide, are believed to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. About 1.5 million of all rheumatoid arthritis patients in the United States are women. Statistics tell us that women appear to be two to three times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than the male population.
If you are diagnosed, early and aggressive treatment is important in order to prevent complications and permanent damage to the tissues.
Read everything you can about your condition, including all the available treatment options.
Join "rheumatoid arthritis forums" and talk with other suffers of this disease. Via the other members of the forum, you will learn far more than you will from any other source.
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