Arthritis means joint cartilage worn until bone grinds
Pain and stiffness follow; swelling, warmth, and lost motion often join. Osteoarthritis tops the list at over 3.8 percent of people, rheumatoid arthritis about 0.24 percent—yet in the United States more than one in five adults report some arthritis type.
Arthritis is a general term for disorders in which the smooth cartilage lining a joint is lost so bone rubs on bone in motion. Symptoms usually include joint pain and stiffness; redness, warmth, swelling, and reduced range of motion may appear, and some forms also involve organs such as skin. Onset can be gradual or abrupt. The word itself joins arthr- (joint) with -itis (inflammation).
Osteoarthritis, most often in weight-bearing joints and tied to aging, commonly hits hips, knees, shoulders, and fingers and is the most frequent form, affecting more than 3.8 percent of people. Rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease often focused on hands and feet, is second at about 0.24 percent. Other inflammatory types include gout, lupus, spondyloarthritis, and septic arthritis. National snapshots differ: about 15 percent of Australians and more than 20 percent of people in the United States have some arthritis. Prevalence rises with age, and arthritis is a common reason people cannot work or manage daily activities.
Early care often rests the joint, uses heat or ice, and leans on weight loss and exercise to unload bearing surfaces. Symptom medicines include anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen and paracetamol; severe disease may need joint-replacement surgery. Systemic rheumatic diseases can spill beyond joints into wider symptoms, and undifferentiated arthritis may be an early, not-yet-classifiable rheumatic stage. Joint pain alone does not always equal arthritis—inflammatory bowel disease and several fever syndromes can mimic the complaint—so pattern and exam still matter.
Source: Arthritis
