Patient/caregiver was educated on the pathophysiology of arthritis as follows:
- Arthritis is inflammation of a joint. This can involve bigger joints, such as, hip, knee, ankle and also smaller joints, such as, joints in the fingers and toes.
- Depending on the cause of inflammation, arthritis can be of various types, as follows:
- Osteoarthritis – osteoarthritis is secondary to wear and tear of the joints. It mainly happens in the weight bearing joints, with obesity, overweight, and excessive use of joints playing a significant role.
- Immune arthritis – Immune arthritis is secondary to autoimmune disorders, such as, psoriasis and lupus. The protective immune system in your body sometimes can go into overdrive and mistakenly affect your own body tissues. In this arthritis, the immune system attacks and damages the lining of many big and small joints, which eventually lead to erosion and damage to the bone, arthritis, and joint deformity.
- Gouty arthritis – Gout is a metabolic disorder resulting from excess uric acid levels in the body. The excess uric acid in the body can lead deposition of the same, as needle like crystals in the joints. This can result in inflammation, arthritis, and consequent damage of involved joints.
- Infectious arthritis – Infectious arthritis results from infection with a variety of bacteria and other organisms, such as, salmonella, clostridium, and chlamydia, causing various food borne and sexually transmitted infections. Infection with these organisms, often in the intestines, urinary tract, and genitals, can trigger an immune response. It is believed that this immune response can sometimes go into overdrive and mistakenly affect many big and small joints. This eventually leads to erosion and damage to the bone, arthritis, and joint deformity.
