Arthritis is a disease of joints. Basically it means "inflammation of the joint" . Maybe one or more. The commonest complain in a patient of arthritis is joint pain.

Arthritis is not a single disease - it is a term that covers over 100 medical conditions.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and generally affects elderly patients. This disease affects cartilage, the tissue that cushions and protects the ends of bones in a joint.

Another common form of arthritis is Rheumatoid Arthritis. This is an auto-immune disease in which the body's immune system (the body's way of fighting infection) attacks healthy joints, tissues, and organs. Occurring most often in women of childbearing age (18-44), this disease inflames the lining (or synovium) of joints.

Some forms of arthritis can affect people at a very early age e.g. Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

No matter what the type of arthritis it is, it always causes discomfort.

Some of the common types of arthritis are listed below:

Osteoarthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Gout and Pseudo-gout

Psoriatic Arthritis

Juvenile Arthritis

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Septic arthritis

Systemic Lupus Erythematous

Post Traumatic Arthritis