| Arthritis means pain and this could be anywhere in | | | | swelling or inflammation. Fibromyalgia, even though it |
| the muscles or the bones which the disease affects; | | | | isn't associated with joint damage, is a very common |
| the joints especially bear the brunt and are very | | | | type of arthritis which can be placed under this |
| painful. The bones in the joints don't rib against each | | | | particular category. |
| other if there is enough of cartilage to protect them. | | | | In the second sub-group is a condition in which the |
| Therefore, because of this, cartilage has the exact | | | | person suffering from arthritis may have swelling on |
| same needs as the other glands and organs; cartilage | | | | the whole body. Under this category, rheumatoid |
| cells are referred to as Chondrocytes. New cartilage | | | | arthritis would be an example of a condition you |
| cells or chondrocytes are replaced with new ones as | | | | would see, along with psoriatic arthritis and gout. |
| they die. | | | | Erythematosus or involvement of skin, kidney and |
| The body can handle only a certain amount of | | | | other organs, vasculitis or any organ and polymyositis |
| cartilage cell replacement when there is inflammation | | | | involving the muscles are other generalized conditions. |
| the cartilage cells need much faster replacement | | | | There are about a 100 medical conditions that have |
| which sometimes cannot be handled by the body. | | | | affected about 46 million adults and 300,000 children |
| This is especially true if there has been an injury or | | | | in the US; a person can have more than one type of |
| there is not enough proper nutrients in the body to | | | | arthritis. Arthritis may affect people in infancy and its |
| repair the joint. Damage from this condition can also | | | | effects are more prominent in adulthood and are |
| cause joint weakness, instability and deformities and | | | | most common in the form of osteoarthritis. The |
| interrupt daily activities. A typical treatment of | | | | numbers are increasing as the American population |
| arthritis includes lifestyle changes and physical | | | | ages and more and more people are beginning to |
| therapy. The last option left for the physicians to | | | | suffer from arthritis. |
| relieve the patients from discomfort is joint | | | | The prime cause of disability in the United States of |
| replacement surgery. | | | | America is caused because of arthritis; the American |
| Arthritis is divided into two main categories, i.e. | | | | population spends over one hundred and twenty four |
| localized and generalized depending on areas | | | | billion dollars on medical care and other related |
| affected; it is further subdivided into sub-categories. | | | | expenses for treating arthritis. One could avoid |
| One of the sub-categories is localized conditions | | | | osteoarthritis by keeping a check on the weight and |
| which only affect the soft tissue that surrounds the | | | | by eating fresh vegetables and fruits that contain |
| bones or joints, and is used to relate to conditions | | | | vitamin C and Vitamin D. Consumption of calcium is |
| like tendonitis or bursitis. One of the localized | | | | very important, adults must consume about |
| conditions could affect just the hip or the knee joints. | | | | 1000-1500mg calcium every day, exercising daily is a |
| Generalized Conditions: The first sub-category for | | | | must and one must avoid injuries that may damage |
| generalized conditions is for those that affect the | | | | the joints. |
| muscle and soft tissue where there is no evidence of | | | | |