Primary osteoarthritis is mostly related to aging. With aging, the water content of the cartilage increases and the protein makeup of cartilage degenerates. Repetitive use of the joints over the years irritates and inflames the cartilage, causing joint pain and swelling. Eventually, cartilage begins to degenerate by flaking or forming tiny crevasses. In advanced cases, there is a total loss of the cartilage cushion between the bones of the joints. Loss of cartilage cushion causes friction between the bones, leading to pain and limitation of joint mobility. Inflammation of the cartilage can also stimulate new bone outgrowths (spurs) to form around the joints.
Infection: Some forms of arthritis are the result of bacteria, viruses, or fungi that can either cause the disease or trigger it in susceptible people. Lyme disease comes from bacteria transmitted by the bite of a tick. Rheumatoid arthritis may come from a virus that triggers it in people with a certain genetic marker. Infectious arthritis can arise following surgery, trauma, a needle inserted into the joint, bone infection, or an infection that's traveled from another area of the body.
Genetics: Exactly how much heredity or genetics contributes to the cause of arthritis is not well understood. However, there are likely genetic variations that can contribute to the causes of arthritis.
Some High-Level Sports: It is difficult to determine how much sports participation contributes to development of arthritis. Certainly, sports participation can lead to joint injury and subsequent arthritis. However, the benefits of activity likely outweigh any causes of arthritis.
If a healthy diet promotes healthy living — you are what you eat — does that mean that altering what you eat changes who you are? After all, if certain foods promote health, doesn't it make sense that others could make you sick? If you re-tool your diet, in other words, can you prevent or cure arthritis, or reduce its symptoms?
The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not fully understood. Genes play a role in rheumatoid arthritis, but experts do not know exactly what that role is. For most people with RA, the disease does not run in their families and they do not pass it along to their children. One or more genes may make it more likely that the body's immune system will attack the tissues of the joints. This immune response may also be triggered by bacteria, a virus, or some other foreign substance.
Arthritis and Dental Amalgams - Arthritic symptoms are often found to be associated with mercury dental amalgams. It was found that once the amalgams are removed, the symptoms of arthritis usually disappear.
Gas Bubbles - The slow accumulation of gases around a joint can cause the formation of tiny bubbles of gas. Joint cracking may occur when these gases are released.
Muscle pain is most frequently related to tension, overuse, or muscle injury from exercise or physically demanding work. Muscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle at the same time. Muscle pain can also involve the soft tissues that surround muscle.
If you are a woman, you are nearly three times more likely to get RA than a man. It's common for the symptoms of RA to improve during pregnancy - this suggests that hormones and the immune system may be involved in triggering the condition.
There seem to be some genes that make it more likely that you will get RA, and the disease runs in some families.
