Most patients with arthritis present with symptoms of inflammation. The commonest presentation of arthritis is pain. Other symptoms include:

•  Swelling
•  Joint stiffness
•  Redness [6]

Other symptoms are peculiar to the type of arthritis.

• Difficulty Climbing Stairs

  Among adults with arthritis, six million are limited in social activities, eight million have difficulty climbing stairs, and 11 million have difficulty walking short distances. [arthritis.about.com]

  Among adults with arthritis, 6 million are limited in social activities, 8 million have difficulty climbing stairs, and 11 million have difficulty walking short distances. [verywellhealth.com]

• Joint Stiffness

  "Arthritis" describes many different diseases that cause tenderness, pain, swelling, and joint stiffness. [spine-health.com]

  Other symptoms include: Swelling Joint stiffness Redness Other symptoms are peculiar to the type of arthritis. [symptoma.com]

  Frequent symptoms include fatigue and joint stiffness, especially in the morning and after prolonged periods of rest. Without appropriate treatment, chronic pain, disability, and excess mortality are unfortunate outcomes of this disease. [hopkinsarthritis.org]

  Yet with this cute and friendly plush arthritis, you’re bound to keep your grip on reality and your sense of humor about joint stiffness and pain. FACTS: Arthritis is a disease of the joints and one of the leading causes of disability. [giantmicrobes.com]

  It is caused when the immune system malfunctions and attacks cells, making joints stiff and painful. The common “wear and tear” condition blights mainly, but not exclusively, the elderly. [express.co.uk]

• Joint Swelling

  Glucocorticoids can rapidly alleviate joint swelling and pain. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  […] cause of joint swelling is arthritis. [verywellhealth.com]

  This causes swelling (inflammation), and stiffness. [nlm.nih.gov]

• Back Pain

  Read More Is Arthritis Causing Your Back Pain? Spinal osteoarthritis is more common than you think. Find out if this condition is causing your back pain. [arthritis-health.com]

  The low back pain due to facet joint arthritis has a typical pattern: The pain is mostly — more than 80% — in the back, runs into the buttocks, and often really feels like it’s in the hip. [spine-health.com]

  Everything that we do is focused on taking the pain away and keeping people active. Our remit covers all conditions which affect the joints, bones and muscles, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, back pain and osteoporosis. [cloudywithachanceofpain.com]

  Become a friend of MSK and help represent the 7 million Australians who live with arthritis, back pain, osteoporosis and other painful musculoskeletal conditions. [msk.org.au]

• Joint Deformity

  Surgery is advised to correct joint deformities and supportive treatments like physiotherapy is offered to obtain maximum movement benefit from the joint. [news-medical.net]

  They are the most valuable additional test in diagnosing the severity of arthritis and noting any joint deformity associated with it. [orthoinfo.aaos.org]

  Severe RA can cause joint deformity if left untreated. Cartilage is a firm but flexible connective tissue in your joints. It protects the joints by absorbing the pressure and shock created when you move and put stress on them. [healthline.com]

  RA mainly attacks the joints, usually many joints at once. RA commonly affects joints in the hands, wrists, and knees. In a joint with RA, the lining of the joint becomes inflamed, causing damage to joint tissue. [cdc.gov]

• Arthralgia

  (Redirected from Joint pain) Arthralgia Specialty Rheumatology Arthralgia (from Greek arthro-, joint + -algos, pain) literally means joint pain.[1][2] Specifically, arthralgia is a symptom of injury, infection, illness (in particular arthritis), or an [en.wikipedia.org]

  The characteristics present are chronic synovitis, arthralgia, impaired joint mobility in at least one joint, and erosion with destruction of cartilage and subchondral bone, that could be associated or not with systemic involvement, according to each [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Joint torment is alluded to as arthralgia. In straightforward definition Arthritis is a typical condition that causes agony and aggravation in a joint. [omicsonline.org]

• Headache

  A 64-year-old man, with a history of Crohn's disease controlled on budesonide, presented to the emergency room in August 2017 with a week history of headache, sore throat, fever, myalgias, rash, and joint pain. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Pain-Safe Foods Pain-safe foods virtually never contribute to arthritis, headaches, or other painful conditions. [pcrm.org]

  The child also may develop flulike symptoms such as headache, fever, swollen glands, fatigue, and muscular aches and pain. Then arthritis may develop weeks to months after the skin rash. [healthychildren.org]

• Abnormal Gait

  This case report describes the findings of a previously healthy pediatric patient with acute onset of knee swelling and abnormal gait. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Despite the advent of better imaging techniques like CT scan and MRI, the plain radiograph remains the investigation of choice in suspected cases. This is because of its availability and cost effectiveness. The most common feature of arthritis on the plain radiograph is the loss of joint space. Other features are specific to the type of arthritis.

Laboratory studies are mainly used as an adjunct since diagnosis is mostly through clinical and radiological findings. Laboratory studies usually find their use in the rheumatoid type and are mainly used for monitoring the progression or remission of the disease [7].

There is no definite cure for most forms of arthritis. Treatment is mainly supportive and includes:

• Exercise
• Diet
• Massage
• Counseling
• Stress reduction 
• Physical therapy [8]

Patient with the rheumatoid type arthritis may benefit from corticosteroid use. Selected surgical procedures have also been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of this disease condition.

Arthritis is generally a chronic condition with the only exception being septic arthritis. The prognosis varies for patients with the different types of arthritis. The best prognosis is with septic arthritis if treated early while the rheumatoid type carries the worst prognosis. Other factors like age, lifestyle modification, obesity, other chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension can also greatly affect prognosis.

Arthritis, as defined earlier is an inflammation of the joint. Therefore anything that can cause pain, swelling and loss of function in a joint can be said to be a cause of arthritis. Some of these factors that may cause or predispose to arthritis are obesity, infections, age, allergies, autoimmune diseases, diet, physical activity, and genetics [2].

There are different forms of arthritis and the commonest is osteoarthritis. Arthritis in any of its forms is the leading cause of disability worldwide in individuals aged 18 years and older. The exact incidence is dependent on the type of arthritis.

The prevalence, according to age distribution is about 7.3% in individuals aged between 18 and 44, and 30.3% in individuals aged between 45 and 64. In individuals 65 years and older, the prevalence is as high as 49.7%[3]. Arthritis is generally more common in women.

To understand the pathophysiology of arthritis, we need to understand the anatomical makeup of joints. A joint is where two bones are come together. These bones are held together by ligaments. The bones are covered by cartilages which allow painless and smooth movement at the joints. There is a thin film of fluid, the synovial fluid, in the joint space and this provides nutrition for the joint and cartilage. The joint is covered by a capsule. If anything goes wrong with the components of a joint, it will lead to arthritis. Most types of arthritis involve more than one of the components. The individual pathophysiology depends on the type of arthritis.

For the most common one, osteoarthritis, there is initial cartilage damage due to some of the factors listed in etiology. The chondrocytes then attempt to repair this cartilage damage which causes an increased synthesis of proteoglycans which are responsible for the resilience of the cartilages. The increased synthesis leads to a hypertrophic repair of the cartilage which causes the visible swelling in patients with osteoarthritis. Eventually, due to a long term increase in chondrocyte metabolism, degradative enzymes associated with inflammation are released which results in a loss of proteoglycans which causes the cartilage, now increased in size, to soften and lose its elasticity leading to stiffer joints and loss of joint space.

Another common form of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis. The exact pathway that leads to the development of this condition is unclear. An external factor, like trauma, triggers an autoimmune response that leads to synovial hypertrophy and chronic joint inflammation. There are many cellular factors involved in this process like phagocytes, fibroblasts, and inflammatory mediators amongst others that eventually lead to inflammation and excess proliferation of the synovium resulting in the destruction of cartilage and many surrounding tissues [4].

Infectious arthritis is another common form of arthritis and is also known as septic arthritis. There are three ways in which the microorganism invades the joint. It could be via the blood stream, which is the most common form of infection. It could also be through contiguous spread from infectious tissues or by direct inoculation. Because the synovial fluid has adequate bactericidal activity, this condition is more commonly seen in more susceptible individuals. This susceptibility could be as a result of previous damage due to rheumatoid arthritis or an immunosuppressive state like systemic lupus erythematosus. Previously damaged joints are especially susceptible due to neovascularization which increases the chance of infection via the blood stream. Organisms responsible for this condition are mostly bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, although viruses like rubella have also been implicated. The main effect of bacteria invasion is damage to articular cartilage either due to the organism’s pathologic processes or the host’s response. As the damage progresses, pannus formation begins and eventually there is cartilage erosion at the lateral margins of affected joints. These processes can be seen very early into the course if an untreated disease [5].

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis affects patients aged 16 years and under. It is included because, even though the exact disease causing mechanism is not clearly understood, it remains one of the common chronic disease of childhood. It is however said that there is an overlap between the pathophysiology and this condition and other autoimmune diseases of childhood.

Many of the causes of arthritis are beyond human control and as such no clear preventive measures can be instituted. Some healthy diet and lifestyle choices could however help in preventing this condition [9].

Arthritis, by virtue of the origin of the Greek word athron (joint) and the Latin suffix -itis (inflammation), can simply be defined as an inflammation of joints. Arthritis is commonly viewed as a disease of the older age group. In industrialized countries, it has been reported to be the major cause of disability in those aged 55 years and over. However, it is important to note that there are other types of arthritis that can be seen in the younger age groups [1]. Arthritis can affect any joint in the body, from the larger hip joints to the smaller interphalangeal joints. There are numerous types of this condition.

Definition

Arthritis is a disease of the joints. It is mostly seen in the elderly but can also be present in children.

Cause

There is no specific cause of this disease. Many factors contribute to the development of arthritis. It however has a familial history.

Signs and symptoms

The main symptoms are pain at the joint, swelling of the joint, stiffness and inability to move the joint.

Treatment

There is no known cure for most types of arthritis. It would however be beneficial to eat healthy and have healthy lifestyle practises like regular exercise [10].

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2. Kraus VB, McDaniel G, Worrell TW, Feng S, Vail TP, Varju G, et al. Association of bone scintigraphic abnormalities with knee malalignment and pain. Ann Rheum Dis. Nov 2009;68(11):1673-9
3. Lee P, Rooney PJ, Sturrock RD, Kennedy AC, Dick WC. The etiology and pathogenesis of osteoarthrosis: a review. Semin Arthritis Rheum. Spring 1974;3(3):189-218. 
4. Radin ER, Paul IL, Rose RM. Pathogenesis of primary osteoarthritis. Lancet. Jun 24 1972;1(7765):1395-6.
5. Mankin HJ. The reaction of articular cartilage to injury and osteoarthritis (first of two parts). N Engl J Med. Dec 12 1974;291(24):1285-92. 
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8. de Boer TN, van Spil WE, Huisman AM, Polak AA, Bijlsma JW, Lafeber FP, et al. Serum adipokines in osteoarthritis; comparison with controls and relationship with local parameters of synovial inflammation and cartilage damage. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. Aug 2012;20(8):846-53.
9. Patra D, Sandell LJ. Recent advances in biomarkers in osteoarthritis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. Sep 2011;23(5):465-70.
10. Messier SP. Obesity and osteoarthritis: disease genesis and nonpharmacologic weight management. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. Aug 2008;34(3):713-29.