Joint inflammation, accompanied by swelling, pain, and often changes in physical structure. The etiologies (causes) behind arthritis are many and varied, although more recent studies suggest that pathogenic microbials (bacteria and viral) may play a more central role than previously thought. Although there are more than a dozen broad categories of arthritis (i.e. acute suppurative, allergic, bacterial, generative, gonorrheal, gouty, hypertrophic, juvenile rheumatoid, neurotrophic, palindromic, psoriatic, and rheumatoid), two broader categories are, by general usage, the mostly commonly referred: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis,
probably the most common, is marked by progressive
cartilage deterioration in synovial joints and in
the vertebrae. Risk factors include aging,
obesity, overuse or abuse of joints as in sports
or strenuous occupations, and trauma. Traditional
treatment includes some combination of exercise,
heat, rest, weight reduction if needed, and
pain management (most commonly a class of analgesis,
known as NSAIDS, non-steroidal anti-flammatory
drugs, such as iboprofen). Rheumatoid
arthritis, usually more serious, is chronic,
systemic, and involves changes to joints and
related structures that result in crippling
deformities. Rheumatoidism usually begins in
middle age and is believed to be caused by
autoimmune disease. Risk factors include
environmental insult and genetic predisposition.
Orthodox therapy is normally more aggressive: in
addition to enteric-coated aspirin, and NSAIDS,
temporary use of corticosteroids is often
employed, which can lead to serious side
effects and requires frequent monitoring
for adverse effects.