Arthritis joint disease and Achilles tendon disease Psoriatic arthritis. Kivelevitch D, Biologics (2014). CC BY-NC 3.0
Contents
Definition
Disorders of the joints (joint disease, arthropathy) have different causes and course, but the joint is that they cause pain, reduced mobility or unstable joints. Various diseases listed below have links to more information.
Disease causes and symptoms
Arthritis is inflammation i joints. There are various types of arthritis that are briefly listed below (with links to dedicated pages with more information). A separate, more comprehensive page about arthritis exists here
Infectious arthritis
- Characterized by often severe pain heat and redness over the affected joint (rarely multiple inflamed joints)
Rheumatic inflammation (inflammatory rheumatic disease)
- Arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis)
- Fingers, wrists, feet are most commonly attacked
- Childhood arthritis (juvenile arthritis)
- Different diseases and outcome, please see separate pages via the link here
- Spondyloarthritis
- Bekhterev's disease (ankylosing spondylitis)
- Psoriatic arthritis (psoriatic arthritis)
- May look like rheumatoid arthritis, but most people have Psoriasis
- Reactive arthritis (Reiter's disease)
- Starts within days-weeks after infection often with chlamydia (genital disease) or after gastrointestinal infection
- Arthritis by ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease (chronic bowel inflammation)
- Crystal arthritis that causes intense, infection-like symptoms
- Systemic connective tissue diseases often cause some degree of arthritis
- Sarcoidosis
- Polychondritis
- Still's Disease among adults (Adult Stills')
- Hemorrhage of joints (hemartosis)
- Auto-inflammatory diseases / periodic fever syndromes (most often from childhood)
- Systemic vasculitis diseases which can often cause some degree of arthritis
Osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis)
- Often hips, knees or fingers
- Disease causes may be inheritance or previous injuries (handball, alpine)
- Please read more about osteoarthritis on the separate page here
Diagnosis
Joint diseases should primarily be diagnosed by a doctor. The diagnosis is based on the following
- Disease history
- Investigational Findings
- Swollen, painful, hot joint?
- Additional examinations are described in detail on separate page here
- Blood tests
- Ultrasound of attacked joints
- MRI of joints
- X-ray of joints
- Joint puncture with subsequent joint fluid examinations
Treatment of joint disease
The different joint diseases are treated differently. Common is to relieve pain with paracetamol followed by NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, etc.) are the first choices. Please read more about the treatment via the links to the individual diseases listed above. Physiotherapists can contribute with important exercises for mobility and strength, which often improves the function or keeps it alike.
Referral to specialist
For all types of arthritis, one should be referred to a specialist in rheumatology. In the case of osteoarthritis in large joints such as hips and knees, orthopedists may assess whether there is a need for joint prosthesis. Infection in joints is also often treated by orthopedics.
