* What exactly is arthritis? Arthritis is a group of conditions that affect the health of the bone joints in the body. A painful inflammation of a joint or joints usually produces heat and redness. The condition can be brought about by nerve impairment, increased or decreased function of the endocrine glands or degeneration due to age. * What are the symptoms of arthritis? The symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited function of joints. The inflammation in the joints is characterized by stiffness of the joint, swelling, redness and warm. Tenderness of the inflamed joints can be present. The many forms of arthritis can involve symptoms affecting various organs of the body that do not directly involve the joints. Symptoms in some patients can also include non-specific fever, weight loss, fatigue and feeling unwell. * Are there different kinds of arthritis? Yes, there are different types of arthritis. These include the following: • fibromyalgia • infectious arthritis • osteoarthritis • polymyalgia rheumatica • lupus, Lyme disease • carpal tunnel syndrome • childhood arthritis Other common types of arthritis include cervical arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lumbosacral arthritis, osteonecrosis, osteoporosis, psoriatic arthritis, and others. * What is osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis caused by the breakdown of cartilage. Bits of cartilage may break off and cause pain and swelling in the joints between bones. Osteoarthritis is a disease that affects joints in the body. It can involve any joint, but usually concerns hands and weight-bearing joints such as hips, knees, feet and spine. * What is rheumatoid arthritis? Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. Normally, the cells called antibodies being produced by the body’s immune system, attack the foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses. With autoimmune diseases, the immune system mistakes the person’s own tissue as foreign and attacks it. With rheumatoid arthritis, the antibodies attack the membranes around the joints that cause swelling, pain and stiffness. In some cases, rheumatoid arthritis can cause deformity. Rheumatoid arthritis also causes inflammation of the sheaths around the tendons, the one that join muscles to bones. * What is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis? Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is the type of arthritis that causes joint inflammation and stiffness for more than six weeks in a child of sixteen years of age or less. There are three types of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, the polyarticular, pauciarticular and systematic. Polyarticular involves more than five joints and may be associated with a low-grade fever. The pauciarticular involves fewer joints and the systematic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can affect the entire body. * Is arthritis hereditary? There have been studies that are concentrated on finding the causes of arthritis. These studies show that a genetic component can affect in the arthritis symptoms. Some types of arthritis have a strong link with genetics. These are arthritis in the spine and gouty arthritis. The others have a weak link in genetics. On the other hand, the study explains that arthritis attacks more in older people. However, patients commonly get arthritis in several ways. Doctors have implied that a hereditary issue has a lesser percentage of risk when it comes to triggering arthritis. Most causes of arthritis include things like sports injuries, old age, joint overuse, and other personal risks.