March 2nd Edition: Arthritis

Arthritis

By: Manisha Asrani

Arthritis is an informal way of referring to joint pain or joint disease. There are more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions. People of all ages, sexes, and races can have arthritis. In fact, it is the leading cause of disability in America. Nearly 60 million adults and 300,000 children have some form of arthritis. It is most common among women and occurs more frequently as people get older. Arthritis is a chronic disease, which means that it is a condition that lasts one year or more and requires ongoing medical attention or limits activities of daily living. Chronic diseases are also leading drivers of the nation’s $3.8 trillion in annual health care costs.

The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis involves wear-and-tear damage to a joint’s cartilage, which is the hard, slick coating on the ends of bones where they form a joint. Cartilage cushions the ends of the bones and allows nearly frictionless joint motion, but 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 a joint injury or infection can hasten it. 

Osteoarthritis also causes bone changes and deterioration of the connective tissues that attach muscle to bone and hold the joint together. If the cartilage in a joint is severely damaged, the joint lining may become inflamed and swollen. 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 (synovial membrane) becomes inflamed and swollen. The disease process can eventually destroy cartilage and bone within the joint.

There are multiple risk factors for arthritis. Some types of arthritis run in families, so an individual may be more likely to develop arthritis if their parents or siblings have the disorder. The risk of many types of arthritis increases with age. Women are more likely than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis, while most people with gout, a different kind of arthritis, are men. People who have injured a joint, perhaps while playing a sport, are more likely to develop arthritis in that joint eventually. Carrying excess pounds puts stress on joints, mainly your knees, hips, and spine. People with obesity have a higher risk of developing arthritis.

Works Cited

“About Chronic Diseases.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Apr. 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm.

“What Is Arthritis?: Arthritis Foundation.” What Is Arthritis? | Arthritis Foundation, https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/about-arthritis/understanding-arthritis/what-is-arthritis.