What Is Arthritis Of The Knee?

For details of what is arthritis of the knee? as well as the latest news about arthritis generally please continue reading.

While people occasionally talk about ‘true’ arthritis there is really no such thing and when we use this term we are talking about various conditions in which arthritis is the primary disease present. The best known conditions under this group are both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

The commonest form of arthritis right now is osteoarthritis which is an extremely painful condition characterized by stiffness and a loss of movement in the joints that many people find severely lowers the quality of their. Commonly found in the spine, ankles, knees and hips, osteoarthritis is caused by the break down of the cartilage that protects the bones so that the bones lose their cushioning and are free to rub against one another. This condition is normally caused by some type of trauma or a metabolic condition.

Rheumatoid arthritis is the second commonest form of arthritis and is evidenced when the immune system starts to attack the body. Rheumatoid arthritis begins with inflammation and swelling in the lining of the joints which then moves on into the cartilage and bone. It is quite normal for rheumatoid arthritis to be seen in the same joint on either side of the body (for example, both knees) in which case it is called ‘symmetrical’.

While examining what is arthritis of the knee? it is worth taking a moment to think about one or two of the many types of arthritis.

There are various ailments that can be said to be ‘true’ arthritis including:

Gout. A perhaps ‘historical’ disease usually thought of as being common within the royal families of Europe, gout is a painful condition which affects the knees, wrists and the ‘bunion’ joint in the big toe. The condition is caused by the formation of uric acid crystals in the joints frequently arising out of the use of several drugs and by following a particular type of diet. Inheritance is also believed to have a role to play in causing gout.

Juvenile Arthritis. There are many kinds of arthritis which can be found in childhood and, if one of these is found in a child below 16 years of age, it is often referred to as

Juvenile Arthritis. One common kind of childhood arthritis is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) which is usually accompanied by chills, a fever which has a tendency to come and go and by pain generally in the knees, toes, ankles, shoulders and elbows.

There are also various conditions where arthritis is not the principal element but it is nevertheless a main contributory factor. These include:

Lyme Disease. Lyme disease is caused by the transmission of bacteria after you are bitten by a tick. Lyme disease results in fever, distinctive bull’s eye shaped red skin lesions, various problems with both the heart and the nerves and arthritis.

Arthritis plays a minor part in quite a few ailments including:

Raynaud’s Disease. In its principle form Raynaud’s disease affects the smaller blood vessels of the fingers and toes leading to discoloration, tingling, pain, burning and from time to time numbness. The condition is caused by exposure to the cold or by stress. A not so common, but nonetheless more serious, form of the condition referred to as Raynaud’s phenomenon usually appears alongside scleroderma or lupus.

Lastly, we need to acquaint ourselves with some of the suggestions that can help in dealing with arthritis before going forward to look in some detail at what is arthritis of the knee?.

Conserve your energy by doing important jobs first and before your energy runs out.

Be sure to get a sound night’s sleep by relaxing for an hour before going to bed.

Try adapting your house to make things easier by wrapping rubber bands around doorknobs that are difficult to turn, thus improving their grip.

Make house cleaning a lot easier by spraying foam pipe insulation onto the handles of things that you find difficult to hold like knives, screwdrivers, mops, potato peelers and anything that has a tendency to slip in your hands.

Considerably more on the subject of what is arthritis of the knee?: