Although it is often referred to by just a single term – Arthritis – there are actually over 100 variations of the disease, although they do all have one thing in common; the disease can cause severe and irreparable damage to the joints. The joints, especially in the hands, of those most severely afflicted can become permanently deformed, making daily activities almost impossible to complete without assistance.

The most commonly diagnosed form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, also sometimes known as degenerative joint disease. The main cause is simply that the joints deteriorate with age but it can also be caused by a trauma injury or an infection. Arthritis caused by a joint infection is also sometimes referred to as septic arthritis.

Two other forms of arthritis – rheumatoid and psoriatic – are actually autoimmune diseases, meaning that the body is literally trying to destroy itself.

Arthritis is by no means confined to the older population, contrary to popular myth. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is a particularly painful and often debilitating condition that occurs in children under the age of sixteen, often occurring with no specific symptoms or warning signs. The disease often affects the spines of these young victims, leaving them wheelchair bound in many cases.

The treatments available for all forms of arthritis have improved greatly in recent decades. Steroidal medications can prove quite effective for reducing painful inflammation and a number of pain relievers have been developed that are designed to more specifically target arthritis pain.

In addition to medication many patients benefit from both diet modification and physical therapy. In fact many studies have demonstrated how effective regular exercise can be in terms of providing long term pain relief and most doctors encourage it, if only to maintain the actual health of the affected joint and the patients overall physical condition.

Arthritis is not a curable disease, but modern treatments have made life for those afflicted far easier. Research is ongoing all over the world to further improve the situation especially urgent since at the moment it is estimated that In the USA, Canada, UK, France and Australia the annual cost of treating musculoskeletal conditions is estimated at between 1% and 2.4% of the countries’ gross national product..

Strangely enough arthritis is one of the oldest known diseases on the planet. Archeologists have even found evidence of arthritis in the ankles of dinosaur skeletons. The first documented occurrence in man dates back to as far as 4,500 and archeologists and historians believe it was a major cause of death amongst prehistoric people. Its effects have been observed in the ancient mummies of Egypt as well as in the skeletal remains of ancient Native American peoples whose bodies were unearthed in rural Kansas.