Today is World Arthritis Day,

a rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease,

it can cause problems to any joint in the body,

mainly causing pain in hands, feet and knees.

There are two main types of arthritis, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms and usually develops in adults over 40 years of age. It is caused by normal wear and tear to a joint cartilage, enough damage can lead to bone grinding directly onto bone, causing movement restrictions and pain, an injury to a joint can increase the onset of this. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the body's immune system attacks the lining of a joint capsule, known as the synovial membrane, this then becomes swollen and inflamed, each time this happens to a joint it causes damage to it. Although the swelling may have gone down the joint capsule remains stretched so it can't be held in its proper position, this can lead to an unstable joint in an unusual position, this condition is three times more likely to affect women than men.  These flare ups are very infrequent at first but can increase rapidly with time. There isn't any cure for this although some medication can suppress the disease process in your joints, the earlier you start treatment the better outlook. There are numerous medications to try however some of these can be harmful to the body so regular blood tests must be done to make sure no damage is being caused.

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