Types, causes and symptoms

Understanding what arthritis is, where it comes from and how it affects you is your first step towards managing your arthritis and helping you to live your life in the best possible health.

Types of arthritis
There are over 200 different forms of arthritis. Some of the most common include:

Osteoarthritis occurs when cartilage between the bones wastes away causing the bones to rub together. In most cases, it affects the hands, spine, knees and hips of people aged 40 and above.

Rheumatoid arthritis is the inflammation of the joints, resulting in pain, swelling, movement difficulty and cartilage degeneration. It can start as early as 30 and is more prevalent in women than men.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a stiffening of the spine, which is more likely to affect men than women.

Other common forms of arthritis include gout, polymyalgia rheumatica and systemic lupus erythematosis.

Causes of arthritis
There are a number of causes of arthritic joint inflammation. For example, osteoarthritis can be caused by a broken bone or general 'wear and tear', due to injury or over-use, on your joints. However, rheumatoid arthritis can be the result of infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria and fungi or an auto-immune reaction (when your immune system malfunctions and attacks healthy cells).

Symptoms of arthritis
The signs of arthritis include joint pain and swelling and the reduced ability to move the joint(s). You may also experience stiffness, especially in the morning – as well as a feeling of warmth and redness of the skin around the affected joint(s).

View graphic depictions of arthritis

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