Over 16 million people in the United States have osteoarthritis. That means, that by the time we reach sixty, half of us will have some degree of osteoarthritis.

Often referred to as a degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis, in general, is the result of wear and tear on a joint due to aging, obesity, overuse, or injury.  Cartilage, which is smooth and moist, becomes thin and rough, wearing itself down to the point of causing the bones to rub together, thus causing severe pain and reducing joint movement.

Most commonly, osteoarthritis affects the fingers, knees, hips, neck and lower back.  If you have osteoarthritis, you may experience brief morning stiffness, pain with movement, bony growths on finger and knee joints, as well as joint “cracking” upon movement.  Although cartilage breakdown may cause a little inflammation, osteoarthritis typically is not associated with inflammation.    

On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis differs from osteoarthritis in that it is a chronic, progressive, inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune disease.  Although rheumatoid arthritis emerges most commonly between the ages of thirty to fifty, it can strike at any age, young and old alike.  About one to three percent of the population is affected with rheumatoid arthritis; however more women are affected than men.  

When the immune system of a person with rheumatoid arthritis goes astray, it mistakes joint tissue for a foreign invader, attacks the joint tissue, and causes inflammation.  When the inflammatory process advances, enzymes and other chemical mediators can damage cartilage, bone and ligaments, causing the joints to become deformed and impairing function.  This is why rheumatoid arthritis is sometimes called “the crippling arthritis”.

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you might feel stiffness in the morning that lasts more than one hour, along with pain and swelling in your joints.  Most commonly affecting the fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles, neck and jaw in a symmetrical (equal) fashion, rheumatoid arthritis can also affect any part of your body.  One thing we know is that “rheumatoid factor”, an antibody, is present in about 80% percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients. 

Even though there is no single factor known to cause rheumatoid arthritis, several factors such as genetics, diet, hormones, and infection, have been found to interact in a very complicated way to produce such a condition.