Arthritis

Osteoarthritis can be caused by a sudden injury to the joint, or it can develop after a previous injury has fully healed.

Let’s say you played football and received a rough blow to your knee. You probably received treatment, recovered, and returned to the game thinking all was well again with your body.

Although the injury healed, there is a possibility that the damage that occurred to the cartilage or surrounding muscles has resulted in a decrease of support to the joint. The motion of the joint may also have slightly been altered. Therefore, it is still possible for you to develop osteoarthritis from that injury later in life.

Osteoarthritis is typically easy to diagnose, as it is the most commonly experienced form of arthritis. It occurs when the cartilage of the joint wears down, either due to age or overuse.

The cartilage no longer acts as the substantial cushion that it once did, causing pain in the joint. The bones grind together without a cushion, causing an inflammatory response in the joint.

This is also true for people who work in vocations that require repetitive motion or usage of specific body parts. Let’s pretend you’re a construction worker. You may develop osteoarthritis in the joints of your elbows or hands if you swing a hammer in repetitive motions as part of your employment.

Being overweight may also put you at a higher risk for developing osteoarthritis, as it adds additional strain to your knee and hip joints.

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may notice that pain can get worse when you move, for example, bending over at the knees to pick something up may be uncomfortable for you. Rheumatoid arthritis is also referred to as “inflammatory arthritis,” and is also fairly common.

This condition is typically more prevalent in females than males as well. Those living from arthritis typically report soreness around joints, which is worse after prolonged sitting, standing, or inactivity.

Rheumatoid arthritis develops as an autoimmune response, meaning that the immune system sees the joints as a threat and decides to attack them.

Researchers have come to believe that a person’s medical history, environment, and hormones could all be contributing factors toward the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Because it is an autoimmune condition, it is common for it to affect the same joints on different sides of the body.

You may notice popping or clicking sounds in the affected joint(s) with movement, and the joint may be sensitive or painful to the touch. Arthritis can also cause pain when you exercise or work, and the pain may go away after you stop doing that activity.