The word arthritis means "joint inflammation." Inflammation is one of the body's natural reactions to disease or injury, and includes swelling, pain and stiffness. Inflammation that lasts for a very long time or recurs, as in arthritis, can lead to tissue damage.

With arthritis, an area in or around a joint becomes inflamed, causing pain, stiffness and, sometimes, difficulty moving. Some types of arthritis also affect other parts of the body, such as the skin and internal organs.

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. It occurs when the cartilage covering the end of the bones gradually wears away. Osteoarthritis can affect large joints such as the hip, knee, shoulder and spine; it can also affect the smaller joints such as the elbow, ankles, hands or feet. Osteoarthritis often occurs as the cartilage breaks down, or degenerates, with age. For this reason, osteoarthritis is sometimes called degenerative joint disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-lasting disease that can affect joints in any part of the body but most commonly the hands, wrists and knees. With rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system mistakenly attacks itself and causes the joint lining to swell. The inflammation then spreads to the surrounding tissues, and can eventually damage cartilage and bone.

Gout is a painful condition that occurs when the body cannot eliminate a natural substance called uric acid. The excess uric acid forms needle-like crystals in the joints that cause swelling and severe pain. Gout most often affects the big toe, knee and wrist joints.

Symptoms of arthritis may include fatigue, fever, a rash and the signs of joint inflammation: swelling, stiffness, tenderness, redness and warmth.

There are three basic categories of treatments, and your plan may involve one, two, or all three:

Medication

Many drugs, both prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, are used to treat arthritis. Common medications are aspirin-free pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, disease modifiers and sleep medications.

Exercise

Regular exercise is important to keep the body moving and flexible. It may lessen pain, increase movement, reduce fatigue and helps you look and feel better.

• Use of heat or cold over joints may provide short-term relief from pain and stiffness
• Pacing helps protect your joints by alternating periods of activity with periods of rest so that your joints don't tire from the stress of repeated tasks
• Joint and muscle exercises help to improve strength and flexibility
• Joints can be protected by learning to use them in ways that avoid excess stress. One way of doing this is to avoid using sore and weak joints. Unless larger joints are sore, for example, it is best to use them when carrying heavy items. The second method is walking with assistive devices like a cane. Lastly, weight control helps ease pain by reducing stress on your joints

Emotional Support

You can learn ways to better manage how arthritis affects you emotionally by talking about your feelings with family members and friends, doing mental exercises and by joining your local arthritis support group.

Arthritis Surgery

• Osteotomy (restructuring of the bones to shift stresses from diseased to more healthy tissue)
• Partial joint replacement (replaces only diseased portion of the joint)
• Total joint replacement (used when severe osteoarthritis is present)
• Many advances have been made recently allowing surgical procedures that are much less invasive. Such minimally invasive procedures are revolutionizing the way patients experience and recover from arthritis surgery
• New procedures may allow for less postoperative pain, a faster recovery period and a shorter hospital stay