Causes Of Arthritis

Causes Of Arthritis

Causes of arthritis: Inflammation causes arthritis, and the inflammation is triggered by different factors. Arthritis means joint inflammation, and the term is used to describe over one hundred different types of arthritis.

Acute Inflammation is a protective process that heals the body against injury and disease. Normal acute inflammation is a process where the body increases blood flow, fluids, proteins, white blood cells, and pro-inflammatory cells to capillaries in an area of the body that has been injured or infected to heal that area.

Under normal circumstances the acute inflammation is turned off after the infected or injured area has been healed. With arthritis the inflammation is not turned off, becomes chronic inflammation, or recurrent acute inflammation, and is destructive to cells in the body.

Symptoms of Arthritis

Gout is the recurrent acute inflammatory response to a buildup of uric acid in the blood. The buildup then form into urate crytals in the joints and in most cases it affects the big toe. Symptoms of gout include pain, inflammation, and redness in the joint, which usually occurs overnight.

Osteoarthritis arthritis is a degenerative joint disease caused by wear and tear of the joint. The wear and tear causes a breakdown of the cartilage which results in the bones of a joint rubbing up against each other.

The breakdown of the cartilage was thought to be due to wear and tear, however recent studies have shown inflammation in the lining of the joint during the early stages of osteoarthritis even though the joint cartilage appeared to be normal. Inflammation and not wear and tear may be the cause of osteoarthritis.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis may include joint pain, gradually developing progressive stiffness, and inflammation in the joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory reaction in the joints when the body’s immune system attacks the synovial membrane that protects and lubricates joints. This lining becomes inflamed and swollen, and the disease can eventually destroy cartilage and bone within the joint.

Infectious arthritis is also known as bacterial, purulent, septic, and suppurative arthritis. It is caused by infection in a joint by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. Symptoms often include fever, chills, general weakness, and headaches, followed by inflammation and painful swelling in a joint or joints of the body.

Treatment for arthritis ranges from rest, to occupational or physical therapy, exercise, drugs, and sometimes surgery to correct joint damage.

Antibiotics are used to treat infections which cause arthritis, while anti-inflammatory drugs are used to reduce pain and inflammation. Studies show that a low-fat plant based diet is a form of an arthritis treatment by eliminating many substances from the diet that are found in meat, which cause inflammatory reactions in the body. It also reduces infections caused by diseases, proteins, and toxins found abundantly in factory farmed animals.

References:
Osteoarthritis results from inflammatory process
Osteoarthritis as an inflammatory disease
Joint inflammation

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