What Are the Most Common Arthritis Types People Can Have?

Doctor Loy

Updated on:

What Are the Most Common Arthritis Types People Can Have

Arthritis isn’t only a pain in the backside. It’s a painful inflammation that surrounds the joints in your body. Many people suffer from osteoarthritis, the most common arthritis type, but there are more than 100 other types of arthritis.

The first certainty about arthritis is that it’s misunderstood. The term ‘arthritis’ actually refers to a collection of diseased, degenerated, or painfully inflamed joints. The second certainty is that it reduces your quality of life.

Before you can learn how to manage arthritis naturally, you’ll need to learn about the seven arthritis variants that affect people globally.

Seven Main Arthritis Variants

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared the current statistics for Americans, and 54 million people suffer from some form of arthritis, while 24 million of these people have a lower quality of life.

Losing the ability to be active and fully functional is emotionally debilitating. Start understanding your variant of arthritis to manage it on your terms.

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS)

This type of arthritis doubles as a tongue twister. Ankylosing spondylitis is a debilitating type of arthritis that affects the spine. It most commonly affects the lower spinal vertebrae that connect to the pelvic area.

Spondylitis means inflammation, and ankylosing means fused joints. The tissues between your joints wear down, and the bones fuse into an immovable joint. The bones involved are the vertebrae, and the tissues between them are known as discs.

Over time, the inflammation surrounding the discs will wear them to a non-functioning state, which causes a condition referred to as bamboo spine. Men are more likely to suffer from AS, and it’s also genetically inherited with the human leukocyte antigen B27 protein.

Having the B27 protein doesn’t guarantee that you’ll develop AS, and some patients can develop AS even though they don’t have the B27 genetic marker. AS can also be caused by autoimmune dysfunction.

Gout

Gout is more common than AS, and it normally affects one joint at a time, often starting in the big toe. It’s caused by inflammation, crystallization of high levels of uric acid, or both. Unfortunately, it’s also extremely painful.

Repeated flares are a sign that the condition isn’t simply temporary but, instead, has evolved into inflammatory gouty arthritis.

It’s quite intriguing to think how common gout is in patients when you consider that it’s one of the easiest to manage and can often be prevented. It’s best to make use of nutritional and lifestyle changes and leave medication as a last resort.

Juvenile Arthritis

Juvenile arthritis is a broad-spectrum term used to cover arthritis in children. Yes, even children can suffer from arthritis. It’s either genetic, the result of an injury, or inflammation from a continuing autoimmune phenomenon.

Osteoarthritis (OA)

Osteoarthritis is called the degenerative type because it often comes with age and the wear and tear you experience in life. Its main targets are the hips, knees, and hands. Risk factors for developing this type are overusing joints, sedentary behavior, old injuries, and obesity.

Age and gender also play a role, and genetics and ethnicity are also determining risk factors. Asian cultures have a lower risk of developing it. Fortunately, OA can be easily managed with a proactive lifestyle.

Psoriatic Arthritis

This type of arthritis typically affects people with skin conditions like psoriasis. People often don’t realize how an infection in the body or on the skin can impact their bone and tissue health.

Reactive Arthritis

This is another type of arthritis that develops after having an infection, most commonly food poisoning or sexually transmitted infections. It affects the feet, hips, toes, ankles, and knees.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Rheumatoid arthritis is another common type. It normally develops when the body’s self-defense system becomes self-destructive, attacking the body instead of defending it.

RA is an autoimmune disorder that commonly affects the hands and feet, but it can also harm your organs. RA can be managed effectively with the same lifestyle changes as most arthritis variants.

Final Thoughts

Knowing more about the type of arthritis you’re experiencing is the starting point, but you must also learn about what causes it. With this knowledge, you can manage your condition much better.

Arthritis Variants Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the common questions people ask.

References

https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/about-arthritis/understanding-arthritis/what-is-arthritis#:~:text=Degenerative%20Arthritis,and%20pain%20may%20become%20chronic.

https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/arthritis.htm#:~:text=Fast%20Facts,arthritis%20report%20severe%20joint%20pain.

https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/gout.html

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/juvenile-arthritis#:~:text=Juvenile%20arthritis%20is%20the%20term,is%20usually%20an%20autoimmune%20disorder

https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/osteoarthritis.htm

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/psoriatic-arthritis/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/reactive-arthritis/

https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/rheumatoid-arthritis.html

https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/arthritis.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States%2C%2023%25%20of%20all%20adults%2C%20or,%2C%20rheumatoid%20arthritis%2C%20and%20lupus

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.