Bone Diseases

Arthritis, Rheumatoid - Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring inflammation and accompanied by joint pain. There are many forms of arthritis (over one hundred and growing). The forms range from those related to wear and tear of cartilage, to those associated with inflammation resulting from an over-active immune system (such as rheumatoid arthritis). Together, the many forms of arthritis make up the most common chronic illness in the United States. The causes of arthritis depend on the form of arthritis. Causes include injury, abnormal metabolism, inheritance, and infections. Symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited function of joints. Inflammation of the joints from arthritis is characterized by joint stiffness, swelling, redness, and warmth. Tenderness of the inflamed joint can be present.

Arthritis is classified as one of the rheumatic diseases. These are conditions that are different individual illnesses, with differing features, treatments, complications, and prognosis. They are similar in that they have a tendency to affect the joints, muscles, ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and many have the potential to affect internal body areas.

Bursitis- There are more than 150 bursas in your body. These small, fluid-filled sacs lubricate and cushion pressure points between your bones and the tendons and muscles near your joints. They help your joints move with ease. Bursitis occurs when a bursa becomes inflamed. When inflammation occurs, movement or pressure is painful. Bursitis often affects the joints in your shoulders, elbows or hips. But you can also have bursitis by your knee, heel and the base of your big toe. Bursitis pain usually goes away within a few weeks or so with proper treatment, but recurrent flare-ups of bursitis are common.

Gout – Gout is a form of arthritis that's characterized by sudden, severe attacks of pain, redness and tenderness in joints.  This arthritic condition results from crystals of uric acid depositing in tissues of the body. Gout is characterized by an overload of uric acid in the body and recurring attacks of joint inflammation. Chronic gout can lead to deposits of hard lumps of uric acid in and around the joints, decreased kidney function, and kidney stones.

Gout has the unique distinction of being one of the most frequently recorded medical illnesses throughout history. It is often related to an inherited abnormality in the body’s ability to process uric acid. An abnormality in handling uric acid can cause attacks of painful arthritis (gout attack), kidney stones, and blockage of the kidney filtering tubules with uric acid crystals, leading to kidney failure. On the other hand, some patients may only develop elevated blood uric acid levels without having arthritis or kidney problems. The term “gout” commonly is used to refer to the painful arthritis attacks.