Osteoarthritis (OA) is a form of joint disease in which the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones in the joint is damaged, causing pain and loss of movement. In additions, osteoarthritis is associated with changes in the bones including thickening and outgrowths from the bone surface called ‘spurs’. It can affect any joint, but most commonly occurs in the hips, knees, spine and hands. This disease is much more common in people age 45 and older; women in particular are at increased risk. Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread and disabling pain. It is commonly associated with loss of sleep and profound fatigue. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a form of arthritis in which the joint lining (synovium) becomes inflamed. The inflammation is associated with pain and swelling, and can cause damage to the bone (called erosions), loss of joint cartilage, and the supporting structures of the joint leading to deformities and limited movement. It affects both small and large joints, most commonly in a symmetrical (both sides of the body) pattern. RA affects two to three times more women than men. Researchers believe that genetic factors and abnormalities of the immune system are important in RA. Gout is caused by an accumulation of a chemical called uric acid in the blood, which deposits as crystals in joints and other tissues causing inflammation. This painful condition most often attacks lower extremity joints, especially the big toe, causing pain and tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling. Ankylosing Spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the spine. As a result of the inflammation, the bones of the spine (the vertebrae) can grow together. Early symptoms of spondylitis are low back pain and stiffness. Peripheral joints, such as the shoulder, hip and knee may also be affected. Spondylitis affects more men than women, starting between the ages of 16 and 24. Scleroderma is a disease of the body’s connective tissue that causes a thickening and hardening of the skin. Similar changes can occur in internal organs, particularly the esophagus, intestinal tract, heart, lungs and kidneys. It affects women more than men and usually starts between ages 40 and 50. Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) affects children under the age of 18 and varies in its severity. There are at least three forms of JRA, each beginning in a different way and having different signs and symptoms. Three forms are: · Polyarticular JRA – Symptoms include inflammation in the small joints of the fingers and hands. This form affects five or more joints, including the weight-bearing joints. · Pauciarticular JRA – Symptoms include inflammation in the large joints, affecting four or fewer joints. Frequently there is also eye inflammation. · Systemic JRA – This form affects a child’s internal organs as well as the joints, and is associated with high fevers. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is an autoimmune disease that can be associated with arthritis as well as skin rashes, systemic symptoms such as fever and fatigue, and serious involvement of internal organs such as the kidneys and central nervous system. Lupus affects women about eight to ten times as often as men. Some lesser-known forms are described below: Bursitis/Tendinitis/Myofascial Pain causes pain that localizes to a joint or related structure. Bursitis means inflammation of a bursa, a small sac present between the structures within a joint. Tendinitis is inflammation of a tendon, a pulley that attaches a muscle to a bone. Myofascial pain is a condition that results in a localized muscle pain, often from overuse of the muscle. These conditions may start suddenly, but almost all episodes gradually improve with time. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a condition in which there is pressure on the median nerve at the wrist, causing tingling and numbness in the hand and fingers. Infectious Arthritis is a form of joint inflammation caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. Most forms of infectious arthritis can be cured by antibiotic medications. Lyme Disease is a type of infectious arthritis caused by the bite of a tick infected with an organism called Borrelia Burgdorferi. Symptoms include spreading rash at the site of the tick bite, arthritis, and in some patients neurologic or cardiac complication. Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) causes severe stiffness, aching and pain in areas of the body, including the neck, shoulders, upper arms, lower back, hips or thighs. PMR may cause fatigue, lack of appetite, a slight fever and/or depression. Polymyositis/Dermatomyositis are illnesses that result in inflammation of the muscles and in dermatomyositis, the skin. The major result of these diseases is weakness, particularly in the shoulders and hips. Psoriatic Arthritis is an inflammatory arthritis that occurs in a person with psoriasis, a chronic skin disease. Psoriatic arthritis may involve either peripheral joints (hands, knees, ankles, etc) as well as joints of the spine. Reactive Arthritis is a form of arthritis that develops following an intestinal or a genital or urinary tract infection. People with reactive arthritis have arthritis and one or more of the following: urethritis, prostatitis, cervicitis, cystitis, eye problems or skin sores. The forms described in this section are only a few of the more than 100 forms of arthritis. More than 100 forms of arthritis and related diseases exist, affecting nearly 70 million Americans today. A complete listing of known diseases follows: Achilles tendinitis, Achondroplasia, Acromegalic arthropathy, Adhesive capsulitis, Adult onset Still’s disease, Amyloidosis, Ankylosing spondylitis, Anserine bursitis, Avascular necrosis, Behcet’s syndrome, Bicipital tendinitis, Blount’s disease, Brucellar spondylitis, Bursitis, Calcaneal bursitis, Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal deposition disease, Caplan’s syndrome, Carpal tunnel syndrome, Chondrocalcinosis, Chondromalacia patellae, Chronic synovitis, Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis, Churg-Strauss syndrome, Cogan’s syndrome, Corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis, Costosternal syndrome, CREST syndrome, Cryoglobulinemia, Degenerative joint disease, Dermatomyositis, Diabetic finger sclerosis, Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), Discitis, Discoid lupus erythematosus, Drug-induced lupus, Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, Dupuytren’s contracture, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Enteropathic arthritis, Epicondylitis, Erosive inflammatory osteoarthritis, Exercise-induced compartment syndrome, Fabry’s disease, Familial Mediterranean fever, Farber’s lipogranulomatosis, Felty’s syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Fifths’s disease, Flat feet, Foreign body synovitis, Freiberg’s disease, Fungal arthritis, Gaucher’s disease, Giant cell arteritis, Gonococcal arthritis, Goodpasture’s syndrome, Gout, Granulomatous arteritis, Hemarthrosis, Hemochromatosis, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, Hepatitis B surface antigen disease, Hip dysplasia, Hurler syndrome, Hypermobility syndrome, Hypersensitivity vasculitis, Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, Immune complex disease, Impingement syndrome, Jaccoud’s arthropathy, Juvenile ankylosing spondylitis, Juevenile dermatomyositis, Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Kawasaki disease, Kienbock’s disease, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, Linear scleroderma, Lipoid dermatoarthritis, Lofgren’s syndrome, Lyme disease, Malignant synovioma, Marfan’s syndrome, Medial plica syndrome, Metastatic carcinomatous arthritis, Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), Mixed cryoglobulinemia, Mucopolysaccharidosis, Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis, Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, Mycoplasmal arthritis, Myofascial pain syndrome, Neonatal lupus, Neuropathic arthropathy, Nodular panniculitis, Ochronisis, Olecranon bursitis, Osgood-Schlatter’s disease, Osteoarthritis, Osteochondromatosis, Osteogenesis imperfecta, Osteomalacia, Osteomyelitis, Osteonecrosis, Osteoporosis, Overlap syndrome, Pachydermoperiostosis, Paget’s disease of bone, Palindromic rheumatism, Patellofemoral pain syndrome, Pellegrini-Stieda syndrome, Pigmented villonodular synovitis, Piriformis syndrome, Plantar fasciitis, Polyarteritis nodosa, Polymyalgia rheumatica, Polymyositis, Popliteal cysts, Posterior tibial tendinitis, Pott’s disease, Prepatellar bursitis, Prosthetic joint infection, Pseudoxanthoma elasticum, Psoriatic arthritis, Raynaud’s Phenomenon, Reactive arthritis/Reiter’s syndrome, Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, Relapsing polychondritis, Retrocalcaneal bursitis, Rheumatic fever, Rheumatoid arthritis, Rheumatoid vasculitis, Rotator cuff tendinitis, Sacroiliitis, Salmonella osteomyelitis, Sarcoidosis, Satumine gout, Scheuermann’s osteochondritis Scleroderma, Septic arthritis, Seronegative arthritis, Shigella arthritis, Shoulder-hand syndrome, Sickle cell arthropathy, Sjogren’s syndrome, Slipped capital femoral epiphysis, Spinal stenosis, Spondylolysis, Staphylococcus arthritis, Stickler syndrome, Subacute cutaneous lupus, Sweet’s syndrome, Sydenham’s chorea, Syphilitic arthritis, Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Takayasu’s arteritis, Tarsal tunnel syndrome, Tennis elbow, Tietse’s syndrome, Transient osteoporosis, Traumatic arthritis, Trochanteric bursitis, Tuberculosis arthritis, Arthritis of Ulcerative colitis, Undifferentiated connective tissue syndrome (UCTS), Urtircarial vasculitis, Viral arthritis, Wegener’s granulomatosis, Whipple’s disease, Wilson’s disease, Yersinial arthritis. Provided 11/21/07 by: Arthritis Foundation Eastern Missouri Chapter 9433 Olive Blvd, Ste 100 St. Louis, MO 63132
