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Types of Arthritis
There are more than 100 conditions that fall under the general term of ‘arthritis’. These include:
Osteoarthritis
OA is a chronic condition that causes the cartilage in joints to break down, resulting in pain, stiffness and swelling. A degenerative disease that worsens over time, affecting a person’s ability to move freely.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
RA is an autoimmune disease that causes pain and swelling of the joints. The immune systems role is to fight infection to keep you healthy, but sometimes your immune system can attack your own healthy tissues by mistake.
Ankylosing Spondylitis
AS is a disease which causes inflammation and pain in your spine. AS is an inflammatory disease that, over time, can cause some of the bones in the spine, called vertebrae, to fuse. This fusing makes the spine less flexible and can result in a hunched posture.
Psoriatic Arthritis
PsA is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks its own tissues and causes inflammation of the joints. The joints become painful, stiff and often swollen.
Gout
Gout is a common and complex form of arthritis that can affect anyone. It’s characterised by sudden, severe attacks of pain, swelling, redness and tenderness in one or more joints, most often in the big toe. Other joints can also be affected, such as ankles, knees, hands, wrists and elbows.
Lupus
Lupus is also known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack healthy tissues. It affects each person differently with symptoms that are sometimes hard to detect and differ from person to person.
For further information on other forms of Arthritis click here