What type of Arthritis do I have?
Being an arthritis doctor, I get a lot of people coming to see me with joint pains. They want to know what sort of arthritis that they have.
Its important to know if you have arthritis, as treatment may make a big difference.
Its important to know what type of arthritis you have as it makes a difference what treatment you can have, and how you might respond to it, and what other problems you might get with the arthritis.
There are many different types of arthritis.
I divide them into 2 groups:
Wear and tear arthritis: Osteoarthritis
Inflammatory arthritis: where there is inflammation of the lining of the joint causing fluid to be in the joint.
There are many many different types of this sort of arthritis including:
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriatic arthritis,
Gout and Pseudogout,
Autoimmune Connective Tissue Disease arthritis such as Scleroderma and Lupus
Vasculitis
Reactive Arthritis
In fact, there are over a hundred different sorts of arthritis!
This is why its important to see your rheumatologist if you have joint pains as getting the correct diagnosis can make the world of difference to your treatment and to your life.