There are many different forms of arthritis. The most common types are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Together they are responsible for over 90 percent of all the cases of arthritis.
Osteoarthritis is usually believed to be the result of “wear and tear” on the joints during a long life. It usually affects people past middle age. It is characterized by degenerative processes in the joints, softening and erosion of the cartilage enlargement of the affected joints. The weight-bearing joints are usually affected first, but any joint of the body is vulunerable to osteoarthritis.
The most serious form of arthritis is, however, rheumatoid arthritis. It is an extremely painful and crippling disease which affects people of all ages, but particularly young adults who are in their most active and productive period of life. Women are afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis three time as often as men. Rheumatoid arthritis usually starts with an inflammation of the synovial membrane which’ eventually leads to deposits in the joints, bone degeneration, deformity, and a subsequent invalidity if proper treatments are not instituted in time.
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