Arthritis - What Types Of Arthritis Are There?

By editor | July 5, 2007

There are over 100 forms of arthritis. Doctors tell them apart by determining which joints or structures of the body are affected. In some types of arthritis, other parts of the body also come into play. Osteoarthritis, for example, damages only the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis, however, affects not only the joints but also other systems of thebody (particularly the immune system). And at the extreme end of the arthritis spectrum, the disease called lupus affects multiple organs, with the joints happening to be one.

Of all the types of arthritis and related ailments, two affect us the most: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Many people confuse the two, possibly because our grandparents used to refer to their aches and pains as rheumatism, while often they actually had osteoarthritis. While osteoarthritis is far more common, rheumatoid arthritis is more difficult to treat and can have a far greater impact on your life, so it’s crucial to know the difference. Some other types of arthritis affect the joint in similar ways. Many other arthritic conditions, however, affect the joint indirectly by damaging nearby body parts, such as the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support the joint, or by causing swelling of the bursae, fluid filled sacs that cushion the joint. While some of these conditions aren’t technically arthritis because they don’t involve swelling of the joint itself, they’re often lumped together with it because they all affect the joint in one way or another.

The most common types of arthritis and related conditions, which are covered in this book, include lupus, gout, Lyme arthritis, bursitis, fibromyalgia, polymyalgia rheumatica, and giant cell arteritis. We’ll also discuss psoriatic arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, arthritis of inflammatory bowel disease, ankylosing spondylitis, and Reiter’s syndrome.


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