Health Finds: Looking toward Better Health

Arthritis – the Two Main Types and Four Minor Types

By Bobby Blueblood

There are certain diseases in this world, the names of which make us cringe; one of such names in the recent times is arthritis. It is quite surprising to know that this disease is not new – it goes back to prehistoric times (as has been researched out from the skeletons excavated out).

Arthritis is associated with aging but it does not mean you have it because you are aging. It is an inflammation of the joints, that is, the wearing and tearing of joints, and can happen at a much younger age also if your body does not get proper nutrients for normal working of the joints.

Arthritis does not attack all the joints in the body; instead it attacks certain specific joints like spine, knees and feet for men, and spine, hands, fingers and knees for women.

There are quite a few types of arthritis out of which the most known are Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis. The others are much lesser known and not so much the cause of worry.

Let us now find out what are these two types of arthritis.

1. Rheumatoid Arthritis – the word rheumatoid means ‘similar to flowing pain’. It is a much recent disease compared to osteoarthritis. In this type, the immune system attacks the good cell and tissues in our body and as such, it falls under the category of autoimmune disease. The joint membranes get affected first followed by its effect on the bone structure at the joint. In the extreme, it can leave a person cripple for life. People of all ages can fall prey to this disease.
2. Osteoarthritis – in this type, the bony part of the joints get inflamed causing great pain. As the joint moves, the membranes, cartilages and oil sacs that protects and surrounds the joints, start wearing out because of extreme activities.

The other types of arthritis are:

1. Fibrositis – this type occurs before your spine gets affected by arthritis – the connective tissues become inflamed lumbago.
2. Bursitis – in this type, the shoulder muscles and joints get inflamed.
3. Neuritis – or rheumatism of the nerves, is nothing but the drying out of the nerve sheaths.
4. Myositis – in this type, there are tremendous fictions between the muscles that cause pain when you tend to work very hard.

While on the topic of arthritis, we should not forget ‘gout’; it is the relative of arthritis! Gout means ‘drop’ and as such, the early Romans believed that this disease was caused by poisonous crystals coming through the blood and getting deposited in the toes!

Gout takes place when uric acid starts depositing on the joints of legs and feet. This deposit is due to the body’s failure to eliminate uric acid through kidneys – the normal channels of uric acid elimination.

Men suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, alcoholism and obesity are more prone to be affected by gout. For an alcoholic, the liver slowly fails to detoxify the food and wine together and the result is, in most of the cases, gout.

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