Everyone has heard of arthritis, but did you know there's more than one type?
Arthritis is a general term that basically means irritation or breakdown of a joint, said Dr. Zachary Post, an orthopedic surgeon at Utah Orthopedics. There are several types of the affliction, each defined by what causes the irritation.
"By far, the most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, which essentially is wear-and-tear arthritis," Post said. "This commonly develops in the spine, as well as the hips and knees. It's more common the older you get. It's also associated with obesity. Most of the hip and knee replacements I do are because of this type of arthritis."
Dr. Grace O'Brien, a family physician in South Ogden, said osteoarthritis causes pain, inflammation, stiffness and swelling. It often results in degradation of the cartilage.
"An example of osteoarthritis is common in the knees of an obese person or long-term athlete," she said. "Osteoarthritis can be treated with gentle, consistent exercise; warmth, losing weight and avoiding those activities that make it worse."
According to the health and fitness website sparkpeople.com, osteoarthritis is a major health problem affecting an estimated 21 million adults in the United States alone. Joints in the fingers, as well as the spine, shoulders, elbows, wrists and ankles, can be affected.
Although people can control their risk factors, such as by losing weight, uncontrollable factors include family history, previous injuries, joint alignment, age and gender.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Another type of arthritis in which the inflammation actually leads to breakdown of the joint, said Post and O'Brien, is rheumatoid arthritis.
"It is an autoimmune condition in which the body's immune system attacks the membrane that lines the joints," Post said. "There are several other inflammatory types of arthritis that are closely related to rheumatoid arthritis, such as psoriatic arthritis and arthritis associated with lupus and other autoimmune diseases."
O'Brien said these types of arthritis are more systemic, and because they are autoimmune, the body often attacks its own tissues, which include joints, lungs and kidneys. These types of arthritis are also more crippling and deforming than wear-and-tear arthritis.
"Treatment often includes a disease-modifying agent that is given by rheumatologists to slow the progression of these diseases," she said.
Symptoms of these types of arthritis include red, hot, swollen and extremely tender joints, pain and stiffness. Lupus can also include chest pain when taking in a deep breath, fatigue, fever, mouth sores, hair loss, a butterfly rash across the face and sensitivity to light.
Diagnosis
Some arthritic conditions are diagnosed with a blood test.
"Osteoarthritis is diagnosed with an X-ray," Post said. "Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, is often diagnosed with a blood test. Your doctor will be looking for a special marker in the blood that is often present when patients have rheumatoid arthritis."
There is a catch, however. Not everyone who has this marker has rheumatoid arthritis, and not everyone who has rheumatoid arthritis will have the marker. Only about 80 percent will show up on the test, Post said.
That's because rheumatoid arthritis tends to be up and down in terms of how active it is. If your blood test is negative for the marker, it could mean you are in an inactive period of the disease.
"There are also arthritis conditions associated with injury, called post-traumatic arthritis; infections, called septic arthritis; and gout, or crystalline arthritis," Post said. "In fact, we are still learning to categorize the many conditions in the body that can result in arthritis. The more we learn, the more we understand that it is a very complicated disease."
O'Brien said arthritis can be caused by a virus, bacteria or Lyme disease.
Treatment
Having arthritis doesn't necessarily mean you must be confined to your bed.
According to a 14-year study published in Arthritis Research and Therapy, researchers found that exercise reduced pain. Inflammatory arthritis has also been shown to respond to moderate weight-bearing activity.
Stretching also helps, according to the study. Researchers found stretching improved range of motion, resulting in greater flexibility and less pain.
Treatment varies depending on the type of arthritis.
"Tylenol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen can be helpful. Glucosamine chondroitin may possibly slow the progression of osteoarthritis," O'Brien said. "If the conservative measures do not help, then an injection of the joint might help lubricate the joint and decrease the pain."
Cortisone injections may be used, O'Brien said. If that doesn't help, joint replacement may be the next step.
"If you do require surgery, there have been several advances in the way joint replacements are made and the way we put them in," Post said.
"Modern joint replacements last much much longer than they used to. In addition, the recovery and pain associated with the surgery has gotten much better. Most people who have had a joint replacement would say their biggest regret was that they waited so long to get their life back."
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