Arthritis is a common disorder, but this fact doesn't make it any less painful for those who suffer from it. Arthritis affects a person's joints, causing pain and inflammation. Someone with this condition can find it hard to continue with the normal routine they had before they began experiencing symptoms. You can learn more about arthritis and some of the treatment options there are here: 

There are different types of arthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common and it is caused by the cartilage in your joints breaking down. The cartilage in your joints is what helps to prevent your bones from grinding on one another. Once this cartilage has broken down, then the results will be painful and include sharp pains, grinding pains, and throbbing pains. You may also feel or even be able to hear the grinding or popping that takes place when you move your joints. 

Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of arthritis that is caused by an autoimmune disorder. This type of arthritis causes your joints to experience a lot of pain, but that pain is not caused from bone on bone grinding like with osteoarthritis. In many cases, someone will be affected with RA in a way that causes one entire side of the body to be affected, but you may have it throughout both sides of your body as well. RA can cause our joints to seize up and develop into a deformity. For example, someone with RA may be to the point where their fingers are curled and they can barely use them.

There are other types of arthritis conditions as well. These include fibromyalgia, which is a painful condition a good number of those with RA also experience. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia is done by ruling other conditions out and by noting a specific number of symptoms. There is also gout arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and other types that are all painful and hard to deal with. 

Some of the treatments for arthritis

While there is no cure for arthritis, there are many types of treatments that can help you with the symptoms that you are experiencing. The type of treatment your doctor presents to you as a good option will depend on many things including the type of arthritis you have, the severity of your symptoms, other medical conditions you may have, and more. 

Some of the available treatments include different types of medications, including anti-inflammatory medications to reduce painful inflammation and biologics that can help calm the body's inflammatory response. Also, injections can help to help relieve inflammation and pain to help you feel much better. 

The doctor may also suggest you go to physical therapy. In physical therapy, you can learn different ways to move that hurt less and you can also work on strengthening specific muscles that will take some of the stress off your joints. 

In some cases, surgery may be suggested. There are different types of surgeries that can be done for different parts of the body. Surgery can help in many ways, including everything from fusing a joint to immobilize it to replacing a joint to make it possible to use it painlessly again.