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Arthritis means pain and this could be anywhere in the muscles or the bones which the disease affects; the joints especially bear the brunt and are very painful. Cartilage is a dense, living, tissue covering the ends of bones, protecting them from abrasion as the joint bones rub against each other. Cartilage as a living tissue behaves very much like other organs and glands and these cells are termed as chondrocytes. The chondrocytes die, they are replaced with new ones and the life cycle goes on.

However, over time inflammation can kill more cartilage cells than the body can replace. This is more so if the body is undernourished and lacks the required nutrients to repair or the joint has suffered an injury. Lack of sufficient cartilage, can cause instability, joint weakness, pain and deformity, all of which affect and interrupt regular activities. Generally, arthritis can be treated with physical therapy, medication, and changes to the lifestyle the individual is used to living. Health care providers use joint replacement surgery as their last resort, once they have tried all of the less intrusive interventions, to try and relieve the discomfort.

Arthritis has two main categories which is based on the areas of the body affected, ‘localized’ or ‘generalized’; this is further divided in to sub categories. The two localized conditions are bursitis and tendonitis; they affect the soft tissues surrounding the bones and joints. A sub-category of this affects one or some of the joints like hip or knee joints. A generalized arthritis condition is a condition where the muscles and the soft tissues get damaged, in this condition there is no swelling or any kind of inflammation on the joints. Fibromyalgia, even though it isn’t associated with joint damage, is a very common form which can be placed under this particular category.

The second sub category is one where there is inflammation and the whole body is affected. Rheumatoid arthritis, gout and psortiatis arthritis are examples of the next conditions in this subcategory. Other generalized conditions are polymyositis (muscles); systemic lupus erythematosus (skin, kidneys, or other organs); and vasculitis (any organ).

An individual is capable of having more than just one arthritis type and it includes over one hundred different medical conditions that are known to affect roughly forty six million adults and three hundred thousand children within the United States. As early on as infancy, this condition can begin, even though it is most commonly seen in adults that are over the age of sixty, in the primary form of osteoarthritis. As the American population ages, the number of people suffering with it is increasing.

Medical care and indirect expenses costs over 124 billion dollars in the US where arthritis and related problems are the main cause of disability. Individuals can help prevent osteoarthritis by following a few simple steps: Maintaining appropriate weight and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables as a good source of vitamins c and d. By taking the time to make sure that you are consuming enough calcium, participate in regular exercise and avoiding injuries that are brought about due to sports activities, you can also help with prevention of this condition.