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The Effects of Arthritis on the Body

Arthritis is a joint disorder, which is usually characterized by swelling and inflammation of the joints, although there are over a hundred types of arthritis that can affect the body in different ways. Having arthritis can greatly impact the life of an individual, who often are forced to find ways of living with arthritis.

Typically, there are three reasons that arthritis affects the lives of those infected, specifically, pain, damage to joints, and the effects of arthritis ultimately force the individual to change the overall quality of life. In regards to arthritis pain, it is not uncommon for it to result in continual pain, called chronic pain, which greatly limits what and how you interact and live.

Who Can Get Arthritis

Arthritis is often considered to only affect the elderly, which is true to an extent, because it is much more common among those over 65. However, arthritis can affect people of any age, even children.

The exact causes are not known, but it is possible to pinpoint some risk factors, which are more common among those with the disease. Often, the risk factors are genetic, although those who have been injured are also more likely to develop arthritis.

It is important to note that there are many different types of arthritis, which also affect different groups, races, and genders of people.

Arthritis and Inflammation

One of the most common characteristics of arthritis is joint inflammation. Inflammation is actually a normal response that occurs in the body when it is trying to fight infection or remove an irritation. In fact, inflammation is responsible for keeping us healthy, repairing the body, and destroying bacteria. Usually, the inflammation goes away after it has finished fighting the infection.

Inflammation occurs when white blood cells begin to accumulate around an area in the body, with the blood vessels before the area swelling and the blood vessels after the area narrowing. This allows white blood cells to accumulate around the area, which subsequently release a payload designed to fight infection. The combination of swelling and materials that are released from the white blood cells usually causes some pain.

Some common symptoms of inflammation include swelling, heat, redness, and heat. However, in arthritis, inflammation is typically only characterized of swelling and pain, which greatly limits ones ability to function.

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