Arthritis is essentially the umbrella term for any condition that causes pain, stiffness, and inflammation of your joints. There are literally hundreds of different kinds of arthritis, each of which has its own specific causes, symptoms, and treatment. So, while the majority of the 40 million Americans who have arthritis permanently end up with one of the more common types, many of those same people end up suffering from one or more of a number of less common types of arthritis. Here are some of these less common forms of arthritis.
Gout is one of the most painful forms of arthritis. When you have gout, you have crystallized uric acid crystals building up in and around your joints. These crystallized urates produce great amounts of uric acid, which is the result of high blood uric acid levels in your blood stream. This results in the uric acid crystals hardening and sticking together, forming tiny needle like pockets called plaques in the joint. These plaques are extremely painful, and if you have gout you’ll definitely want to take very good care of it.
Rheumatoid arthritis is also one of the main types of arthritis. When you have rheumatoid arthritis, your body produces a certain amount of a certain white blood cell, called an antibody called gamma glucagon, in your blood. This antibody attacks the myelin in your brain, which is the substance that helps conduct nerve signals throughout your body. As myelin is damaged, the signals cannot properly get from one part of your body to another. This can lead to serious discomfort, including severe limitations in your dexterity. One of the main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis is stiffness and painful muscles.
Osteoarthritis is also one of the main types of arthritis. It is most commonly caused by wear on the cartilage in your joint, which leads to inflammation. This inflammation then causes the cartilage to breakdown, and the bone to become very brittle. As well as being very painful, osteoarthritis can be a very long term problem and can even cause some degree of disability. Symptoms of osteoarthritis include bone spurs, which are sharp white growths that occur on the surface of your joints, along with joint pain.
Juvenile arthritis is also a major cause of joint pain in millions of adults, in both children and adults. Joint pain in a child is usually caused by infectious diseases such as herpes, shingles, and chicken pox. In a healthy adult, however, the disease is caused by the arthritis condition. The symptoms of juvenile arthritis include swelling, deformity and frequent infections. In some cases the disease can cause extreme joint pain, as well as weakness and decreased endurance.
The other three types of arthritis are degenerative, inflammatory and resistant arthritis. Degenerative arthritis is the most common form of arthritis, and symptoms include joint pains, stiffness and swelling. Inflammatory arthritis is caused by excessive inflammation within your joints, and the symptoms include redness, swelling, and inflammation. Finally, resistant arthritis is an extremely rare form of arthritis, but the symptoms are extreme pain and swelling within your joints. The last type of arthritis is quite rare, but it does occur – it’s referred to as rheumatoid arthritis.