Arthritis

Last Updated: July 1, 2003

Arthritis is one of the most common diseases in this country. It affects millions of adults and half of all people age 65 and older.

Arthritis causes pain and loss of movement. It can affect joints in any part of the body. It often is a chronic disease, which means that it can affect you over a long period of time. There are more than 100 different kinds of arthritis and many different symptoms and treatments.

Warning signs of arthritis:

• Swelling in one or more joints
• Stiffness around the joints that lasts for at least one hour in the early morning
• Constant or recurring pain or tenderness in a joint
• Difficulty using or moving a joint normally
• Warmth and redness in a joint

If any one of these symptoms lasts longer than two weeks, see your regular doctor or a doctor who specializes in arthritis (a rheumatologist).

Common Forms of Arthritis
The three most common kinds of arthritis in older people are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis in older people. It mostly affects cartilage – the tissue that cushions the ends of bones within the joint. OA often affects the hands and the large weight-bearing joints of the body, such as knees and hips.

OA occurs when cartilage begins to fray, wear and decay. In some cases, all of the cartilage may wear away between the bones of the joint, leaving bones that rub against each other. Symptoms can range from stiffness and mild pain that comes and goes, to severe joint pain.

Scientists think there may be several causes for OA in different joints. OA in the hands or hips may run in families. OA in the knees is linked with being overweight. Injuries or overuse may cause OA in joints such as knees, hips or hands.

Rest, exercise, a healthy, well-balanced diet, and learning the right way to use your joints are key parts of any arthritis treatment program. Treatment is different for each kind of arthritis. Right now there are no treatments that cure OA, except surgery to replace joints.

There are some drugs that help people manage OA pain. They are called COX-2 inhibitors and NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen). These drugs reduce swelling without the use of stronger drugs like cortisone or other steroids. COX-2 inhibitors are a newer type of drug. They work like NSAIDs but may cause fewer side effects.

Another new treatment involves shots of hyaluronic acid to the area around the knee joint. The treatment adds fluid to replace natural fluids that the body has lost. It can help people with arthritis keep movement in the knee without pain.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that causes pain, swelling, stiffness and loss of function in the joints. People with RA often have a wide range of other symptoms such as feeling tired, running a fever or generally not feeling well.

RA may occur in a balanced pattern throughout the body. For example, if one knee or hand is involved, the other one is too. The disease often affects wrist and finger joints closest to the hand.

RA treatments can help relieve your pain, reduce swelling, slow down or stop joint damage, increase your ability to function, and improve your sense of well being. Treatment may include DMARDs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs), which can slow the disease. Doctors will sometimes have you take other drugs, called corticosteroids to relieve swelling while you wait for DMARDs to take effect. Other drugs called biologic response modifiers sometimes work for people with mild-to-moderate RA who have not been helped by other treatment.

Gout is one of the most painful rheumatic diseases. It is caused by deposits of needle-like crystals of uric acid in the connective tissue, joint spaces or both. These deposits lead to inflammatory arthritis, which causes swelling, redness, heat, pain and stiffness in the joints.

Gout affects the toes, ankles, elbows, wrists, and hands. Swelling may cause the skin to pull tightly around the joint and make the area red or purple and very tender. Medicines can stop gout attacks and prevent further attacks and joint damage.

With the right treatment, most people with gout feel better. Treatment can help ease the pain that comes with acute attacks, prevent future attacks, and keep new uric acid deposits and kidney stones from forming.

The most common treatment for an acute attack of gout uses high doses of NSAIDs and shots of glucocorticoids drugs into the affected joint to lessen swelling. You may start to feel better within a few hours of treatment. The attack usually goes away fully within a few days.

What else can you do?
Along with taking the right medicines, exercise is key to managing arthritis symptoms. Daily exercise, such as walking or swimming, helps keep joints moving, reduces pain, and strengthens muscles. Rest also is important for joints affected by arthritis.

Along with exercise, some people find other ways to help ease the pain around joints. These include applying heat or cold, soaking in a warm bath, swimming in a heated pool, and controlling or losing weight. Weight control is key for people who have arthritis because extra weight puts extra pressure on many joints.

Learn about the benefits of shoulder replacements in “Shoulder Arthritis” with Dr. R. Sean Churchill.

Source: National Institute on Aging

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