Genetics, for one, is a risk factor but it is not certain how much it is a part of the occurrence of arthritis in a person. However, doctors know that some variations in a person’s genes can be causes of arthritis. Age can also bring about arthritis because as people grow older, the cartilage becomes frail and brittle. It also can no longer repair itself, which is why many types of arthritis develop in older people.

Excess weight can also cause arthritis because the joints support body weight so joint damage is more likely in heavy persons. This is often the case with hip and knee arthritis because these parts of the body help carry the person’s weight. Injuries are also common causes of arthritis. Trauma to the joint can cause joint irregularities affecting the joint’s smooth surface, which makes bones grind against each other causing painful movement. For instance, a fracture in the tibial plateau wherein the part of the bone enters a knee cartilage can result to arthritis.

Some jobs also put workers at a higher risk of arthritis. Usually, these are physically demanding jobs such as constructions workers and factory workers. There are also some sports that can contribute to the causes of arthritis, especially rough contact sports where athletes are always at a risk of getting an injury and, subsequent, arthritis. Illnesses or Infections can also be causes of arthritis. The disease can develop in people who suffer from joint infections or multiple gout attacks, among other conditions.

Stress can also cause some types of arthritis. Stress disturbs the balance of the body. Cortisone deficiency induced by stress weakens the body’s immune systems, resulting to the spread of harmful organisms such as bacteria throughout the body.

The causes of arthritis certainly differ with the specific form of the disease. For example, osteoarthritis is usually a result of old age or the normal wear and tear of joints, cartilages and bones. Osteoarthritis is very common in people over the age of sixty. Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, has no specific cause or causes but some studies show that genetic makeup and immunological disorders can lead to the disease.

Visit your doctor if symptoms such as joint pain and inflammation persist. Just as there are several causes of arthritis, there are also more than a hundred forms of this disease so it is important that you receive proper diagnosis from a physician before starting with any treatment.

People may think that there’s only one kind of arthritis — only attacking the joints, which is not always the case.  There have already been several types of arthritis known.  Its degree of disorder vary depending on who is affected by the malady and how a person is affected by it.  Knowing the different types of arthritis would surely guide people on the proper ways to manage, control, and handle it.  Since there are several types of arthritis, one should know which of those, has affected him or else he wouldn’t be able to address the problem directly and effectively.  Different types of arthritis are caused by different factors and must be given different treatments as well.  Some types of arthritis may be progressive and will always be felt by the person for his whole lifetime, while there are some types of arthritis that may be treated after an intake of medicines or surgery.

To mention some types of arthritis, there are the primary forms, which are directly affecting the joints and its surrounding areas, and the secondary groups, which occur when preceded by other types of illnesses.  The most common primary types of arthritis are: rheumatoid arthritis, Juvenile arthritis, Still’s Disease, ankylosing spondylitis, septic arthritis, gouty arthritis, osteoarthritis; and those secondary to other diseases are: systemic lupus erythematosus, Henoch-Schonlein Purpura, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, hemachromatosis, etc.  There are also some disorders that are mistakenly thought as arthritis, but which in actuality just mimic arthritis.  These types of arthritis are caused by different causative agents but there are also several of these types that until now, despite all the research conducted, have unknown causes, which makes these even harder to diagnose and to treat. 

People face life with a certain amount of anticipation or anxiety, not because they are afraid of what they’ll see, but of the unknown that will meet them.  It differs on what the person perceives as a threat to his future life — but most often than not, people are afraid of impairing their health.  And in most cases, the most common illness that occur when people tend to get older or weaker is arthritis.