In-Depth Guide on Arthritis Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

Nick Jackson
10 min readSep 14, 2021

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Here’s every detail you need to know about Arthritis and what to do when you get caught such a disorder affecting the joints.

Arthritis is the most commonly found disorder that affects the joints. It is a sort of joint inflammation, but the term can describe 100+ conditions that affect the joints, tissues, and other connectivity issues.

When a patient has Arthritis, it creates swelling and a sort of tenderness in the joints. One of the most common and painful Arthritis causes is stiffness. The health problem escalates and worsens with age, leading to bed rest and a lot more.

When talking about it, Arthritis is a broad term since it is a group that carries a list of diseases under it. The inflammation results for a long time. It also comes back and leads to severe tissue damages.

When you hear the word Arthritis, you will think about pain, swelling, joint discomfort, and stiffness. And, there are millions of people dealing with the complications of this disease. It can affect people of all ages and not just older adults; even teenagers are prone to it.

When you are going through serious Arthritis causes and complications, you may have many questions in your mind. What should and shouldn’t be done in your daily routine is also your concern. Can you perform physical exercises?

Will it increase your pain? Will it cause permanent bed rest when you get older? A lot of myths associated with Arthritis causes can impact your physical and mental state. Here is a guide that briefs you about the disease in detail.

What is Arthritis?

It is a severe disease affecting the joint, the area where your bones meet and moves! It usually results in inflammation or degeneration of the joint bones. The joint pain related to this specific disease gets referred to as arthralgia. The sudden changes in your joint functioning can result in severe pain and problems that need a doctor’s assistance.

Arthritis causes commonly affecting different areas of the body like;

  • Feet
  • Hips
  • Lower back
  • Knees
  • Hands

Now that you know the commonly affected area let us move forward. Let us learn in detail about the type of disease, its causes, and how to get rid of it. You may be wondering if there is any treatment plan for the same?

The guide speaks about everything in detail for you to get better and safer joints. It is essential to know that you have the right to live a healthy, happy, pain-free life.

You do not deserve to go through such a complicated mess. Seeking help from the doctor will only do good to you! Arthritis causes can be many, and treatments are many too! Let’s see which one of them will be worth it for you. To know more about Arthritis causes, visit injured care.

What are the different types of Arthritis?

As said earlier, Arthritis is an umbrella term that describes more than 1oo different joint condition. And, there are a lot of different types in it that people may be suffering from.

Knowing the exact condition and type of arthritis causes will help a doctor give the proper treatment. Let us discuss the most common type of disease, which includes:

  • Inflammatory arthritis:

Inflammation is a normal body’s healing process. It occurs as a defensive mechanism to deal with bacteria and viruses or response to burn and injuries. However, the inflammation of Arthritis occurs for no good reason.

The problem damages inflammation and affects join that results in pain, stiffness, and swelling. So, the inflammation damages the surface of your joint, along with the bone.

The most common type includes:

  • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
  • Reactive arthritis
  • Ankylosing spondylitis: Damaging the spine (usually your lower back).
  • Arthritis associated with colitis or psoriasis
  • Degenerative or mechanical arthritis

It refers to a group of conditions that usually damage the cartilage covering the bones’ ends. The normal bodily of the smooth, slippery cartilage is to let the joint slide smoothly.

When Degenerative arthritis occurs, it causes the cartilage to become thinner and rougher. When such a condition occurs, the body remodels the bone with cartilage and joint function changes.

It is an attempt to restore the strength and stability of your bone. The more it attempts to do it, it causes unwanted bony growths to develop, called osteophytes.

One of the most common Arthritis causes is:

Osteoarthritis: In simpler words, it’s wear and tear arthritis. It gets developed with the joint cartilage is breaking and pressured due to stress on it. It is the most common form of the disease and can trouble you from daily movement and maneuvering.

  • Soft tissue musculoskeletal pain

It is a pain associated with the tissues and not the joint or the bones. It is precisely in the affected part of your body, posts the injuries or overstrains on it. The strain can be due to the tennis elbow that you are already suffering from.

It is originated from a prolonged condition and gets worsen with musculoskeletal pain. The pain that can spread a lot and also affect another part of your body is fibromyalgia.

  • Back Pain

Back pain is pretty joint in many individuals; this is majorly due to lifestyle changes. And, it can be a bit tricky to differentiate between normal back pain and ones that are Arthritis causes. Back pain can occur from nerves, ligaments, bones, even muscles, discs, and joints.

The back pain can get severe due to the already existing problem with organs inside the body. There may be severe Arthritis causes by it, like osteoarthritis. Furthermore, patients can also suffer from slip disc problems, termed as osteoporosis, or thinning of the bones.

  • Connectivity Tissue Disease

Connective tissue is responsible for supporting, binding together, and even separating other body effects and organs. The connective tissues involve tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. CTD affects problems related to joint pain and inflammation as well.

The inflammation can also occur from other tissues in your body from the skin, lungs, kidneys, and muscles. There are various symptoms related to it that can cause troubles like painful joints and may require immediate consultation.

CTD can cause various conditions like;

  • SLE, or lupus
  • scleroderma, or systemic sclerosis
  • dermatomyositis.
  • Infectious arthritis:

It is not a common form of Arthritis and occurs in the form of bacterium, virus, or fungus. The bacteria enter a joint resulting in severe inflammation issues. Wondering what the organism that can affect and infect joints is?

  • Salmonella and Shigella get spread through food poisoning or contamination
  • chlamydia and gonorrhea usually occurs due to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
  • hepatitis C, a blood-to-blood infection, may also occur through shared needles or transfusions

The type of joint infection can get treated with antibiotics or other antimicrobial medication. However, there are cases where Arthritis causes can go chronic, damaging the joint and a lifetime of pain.

Want to know about Arthritis causes? Click here

  • Metabolic arthritis

Uric acid is a chemical treatment that occurs when the body breaks down purines (found in human cells and several foods).

Some people have high uric acid levels, and they get produced naturally. In contrast, some people’s bodies can not clear the uric acid quickly. The acid builds up and accumulates in some people, and the results can be troublesome. People may experience sudden or extreme joint pain or even a gout attack.

What’s a gout attack?

It is a disease-causing hard crystal of uric acid in your joints.

Common Arthritis Causes and Symptoms

The most common signs and symptoms of arthritis are more or less involved with the joints. Also, these symptoms can vary from week to week and even day to day. Depending on the type of arthritis you may be going through, one or more than one Arthritis causes.

However, with the right approach and treatment, you can handle and manage your symptoms. Here is the list of common Arthritis symptoms you might be going through:

  1. Pain
  2. Stiffness
  3. Swelling
  4. joint redness,
  5. joint tenderness,
  6. joint warmth,
  7. Limping,
  8. weakness
  9. locking of the joint,
  10. loss of range of motion of the joint,
  11. Weight loss
  12. Fever
  13. abnormalities of organs
  14. Even gland swelling

Ask yourself, are you dealing with any of the Arthritis symptoms mentioned above? Do you or someone you know going through the arthritis causes listed? If yes, you have to take serious action by consulting a medical professional. Their knowledge will let you live a peaceful life; You deserve to roam pain-free; you need the proper treatment. Do not suffer in pain. Take the right action now!

What Causes Arthritis?

Arthritis causes can be due to many reasons, but it can remain unknown. Researchers are trying to look into the matter and to know the cause of it. Some suffer from it generically, some due to the lifestyle. The development of Arthritis can be due to various reasons like:

Age: Over time, the joints lose strength, worn down, and result in weaker bones. That’s when the risk of dealing with arthritis causes occurs. And, the disease can significantly result in problems of osteoarthritis, which goes up with age.

Sex: Most types of arthritis get common in women, and they are the ones suffering the most. However, one of which is an exception, namely gout.

Genes: Certain types of arthritis are present in the family and run in the blood. Even though you are fit and fine, it may still occur genetically.

Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and ankylosing spondylitis, are the ones linked with genes. If anyone in your family is going through it, you need to take precautions. Seek help from healthcare experts to live a healthy life.

How is arthritis diagnosed?

You may believe that you are going through some severe condition of Arthritis. If you have doubts, reaching your healthcare provider can be a good option. These health care professionals will detect Arthritis symptoms and learn about your joint.

The professional will also ask you about your everyday life and how it is affecting you. Furthermore, physical exams get conducted to check the medical condition. The top three things you can expect them to do is:

  1. Assessing the range of motion in your joints along with Joint mobility.
  2. Checking the areas of tenderness or swelling present in your joints.
  3. Conducting an overall health check to know if a different condition is causing you the symptom.

Learn how a doctor can help you with Arthritis treatment

  • Can a Blood test or Imaging Exam Detect Arthritis causes?

Imaging exams help your doctor get an accurate picture of your bones when talking about imaging exams. Not just the bones, it can also get a good picture of joints and soft tissues. An X-ray, even MRI, and ultrasound can help reveal the detail of;

  1. Bone fracture, dislocation in the bone which may be causing joint pain
  2. Also, clarity on cartilage breakdown around your joints.
  3. If there is any soft tissue inflammation
  4. and muscles, ligament, or tendon injuries near your joints.

With that, blood tests are not the ideal choice that can directly detect arthritis. But, in case if the healthcare provider suspects gout or rheumatoid arthritis, then they may recommend a blood test. It will help the healthcare expect understands about uric acid or inflammatory proteins.

Treatment for Arthritis causes:

Of course, there are no reasonable causes of arthritis. However, there are proper treatments for the same. It can help you manage the condition and get you on the right track.

Your treatment plan will be dependent on the arthritis causes, severity, and overall health. Let us have a look at all sorts of Arthritis treatment plans.

  • Medication:

Anti-inflammatory, as well as pain medication, will be the best options to relieve your pain.

All the symptoms that you are going through can get handled with care. Some of the medications are also said to be biologics. It directly targets the immune system’s inflammatory response.

Your healthcare provider may recommend you to consume biologics. It is for those dealing with rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis, specifically.

  • Physical therapy:

Usually, rehabilitation can bring back strength and much-needed mobility. It will allow your body to heal with physical exercise, leading to a range of motion. Your physical therapist will assist you with the same. They can brief you on how to adjust your daily activities. Also, the exercise can result in lessening your arthritic pain.

  • Therapeutic injections:

You may not consider it a treatment option, which is best if you are going through Arthritis causes.

Cortisone shots are a sort of temporary pain relief and inflammation in your joints. The injections work to reduce your pain and also reduce inflammation problems too. You will be able to move around comfortably and do your daily activities yet again.

Although, the number of infections depends upon the condition you are going through. It may be a costly treatment to pick

  • Is surgery the last resort?

Not all Arthritis causes lead to surgery. You will have to talk to your doctor to know if you need surgery. Usually, healthcare providers recommend surgery in severe disease cases, which is not improvised even with medication, objection, and other treatment.

Yes, the surgical option can be the last resort if you are undergoing some extreme unbearable pain. Do not let Arthritis cause you more trouble than you are already dealing with.

In case arthritis causes fusion:

It is when two or more bones get fused permanently. The fusion increases joint pain and also reduces mobility.

Joint replacement:

When your joint gets severely damaged due to arthritic pain, the joint needs to get replaced with an artificial joint. Joint replacement can help you have a smooth movement yet again.

CONCLUSION

You should understand that Arthritis causes can be long-term. It will not only impact you now but result in more in the future. You need to take the right step and seek help from the doctor on time. They will be able to assist you and give you excellent treatment. They will learn what you are exactly going through.

Based on that, you will have a treatment that suits your specific condition well. Make sure you do your research at Injured Care. A directory that will help you land to the proper healthcare professional. You should know that the problems can escalate if not treated on time.

Arthritis causes can be many. Find your type and know how to get rid of it. It is best to make the treatment quick not to suffer from surgeries. Your healthcare professional will assist you with the best treatment plan.

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