Arthritis is inflammation in one or more of your joints, and it tends to cause pain, swelling, and stiffness. It can interfere with your range of motion and flexibility in the affected joints.
The suffix “-itis” means inflammation, and the root word “arthro-” means joint – and there are more than 100 different types of arthritis. The most common type is osteoarthritis, which is also called wear-and-tear arthritis as it occurs in young athletes and active adults alike.
Let’s talk about a few key types of inflammatory arthritis and where you can go to receive treatment for your joint pain.
Types of Inflammatory Arthritis
Arthritis always involves inflammation, but it differs in how the inflammatory effects affect the body. Let’s go over some main forms of arthritis:
Osteoarthritis
This is the most common type of arthritis, as it develops due to the wearing-down of the protective cartilage in a joint. Every joint involves multiple bones articulating together in order to enable you to move, and the ends of the bones are covered in cartilage so that the bones do not rub against each other and cause joint pain during movement.
However, over time or with a lot of repetitive movement in a joint, the cartilage can become thin and unable to protect your bones as well as it used to. This causes osteoarthritis, often just called “arthritis.”
Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Some types of arthritis are caused by an autoimmune response, as is the case with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Typically, your immune system properly identifies and attacks foreign invaders. Its response is inflammation which works to create a hostile environment for the invader so it is eliminated and removed from the body. The inflammation stems from chemicals – prostaglandins, histamine, and bradykinin – being released, which also cause swelling. The inflammation and swelling subside when there’s no longer an infection present.
In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system mistakenly attacks your joint lining. It tends to start in your hands, toes, and wrists, but it can target your other joints as well. A problem with RA is that it can affect other parts of your body as swell, such as your heart, eyes, lungs, and skin.
Gout
Gout is inflammatory arthritis that’s very common and can affect anyone. It stems from high levels of uric acid that crystallizes and then enters your joints, usually affecting your big toe first.
It can also affect the joints in your foot, ankle, or knee. As a result, you have severe pain, redness, and inflammation. The solution is to drink plenty of water in order to dilute the uric acid in your system. Your doctor will give you a recommendation if drinking water isn’t enough to tamp down your gout.
Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis occurs in people who have psoriasis – a condition where your skin cells develop more quickly than normal, resulting in patches of white or red skin. Sometimes, the skin will have silvery scales. Psoriasis is believed to occur because of your body’s immune system targeting the skin cells.
Psoriatic arthritis doesn’t occur in all people with psoriasis, but for those who do develop it, their immune systems begin targeting the joints, resulting in inflammation.
Pain Clinic in Austin, TX for Arthritis Treatment
At Balcones Pain Consultants, our practitioners know pain; we see it every day. We witness just how common arthritis is in general, and we are here to help those in the Austin area who suffer with arthritis pain and stiffness.
We understand that treatment can be different for the various causes of inflammatory arthritis, and we understand how to target the underlying cause in order to help you find pain relief.
Schedule an appointment for your arthritis symptoms by calling Balcones Pain Consultants today at (512) 834-4141 or by filling out our convenient online form now. We look forward to helping you achieve relief from arthritis pain so you can get back to enjoying life to the fullest!