1. Arthritis
 Arthritis = inflammation of the joints.
Term also used by lay people to describe
pain in soft tissues.
 Over 200 forms of arthritis.
 About 30% of adults have arthritis.
 Major symptom = PAIN in or around
joints

2. Risk Factors for Arthritis
 Age > 40 years
 Women > men
 Obesity
 Previous joint injury
 Ethnic background

3. Osteoarthritis
 Your mother, who is overweight, has pain
in both knees whenever she walks too
far. Her knees are stiff in the morning
and hurt before it rains. The pain gets
better when she rests or takes
acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naprosyn
over the counter. Her knees are big,
bony, and sometimes swollen, but don’t
get red or warm.

4. Osteoarthritis
 21 million Americans have
osteoarthritis
 Breakdown in cartilage and new
bone formation
 Increased risk with older age,
obesity, overuse or previous injury
to joints

5. Osteoarthritis
 Common spots of osteoarthritis
 hips
 knees
 hands, especially base of thumb
 base of great toe
 spine
 What is not osteoarthritis? Red, hot joints

6. Osteoarthritis
Treatment
 weight reduction
 exercise
 physical and occupational therapy
 joint protection
 pain relief
 over the counter medications, esp. acetaminophen
 prescription medications
 joint injections
 joint replacement

7. Gout
 Your brother, who has high blood
pressure, woke up in the middle of the
night with excruciating pain in his right
great toe. It hurt so bad he could not
stand to have the sheet rest on his foot
last night; he couldn’t sleep. The joint at
the base of the toe is red, hot, swollen
and very tender. His other joints are OK.
He had an episode just like this 5
months ago, and it went away by itself,
over 5-7 days.

8. Gout
 Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the
body. Crystals of uric acid form inside a joint
and cause inflammation, which makes the joint
red, hot, swollen and painful.
 runs in families
 more common in men, women after menopause, and
African Americans.
 Other risk factors include
obesity
high blood pressure
drinking too much alcohol
kidney failure
water pills

9. Gout
 Treatment: See a doctor for evaluation
and medicine to reduce inflammation
and pain. May need to medicine to
prevent future attacks.
 Can develop into chronic arthritis and
cause joint destruction.

10. Tendonitis
 Your son just spent two weeks
painting his house. Now, his
shoulders hurt whenever he
reaches overhead, even to put on a
shirt. He has never had any
shoulder pain before and his other
joints are fine.

11. Tendonitis
 Diagnosis = shoulder tendonitis.
Tendonitis = inflammation of a
tendon. A tendon is a tissue cord
that holds a muscle onto a bone.
 Treatments
 reduce/stop doing whatever caused it
 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents
 steroid injections
 physical therapy – splinting, heat, ice

12. Bursitis
 Bursitis = inflammation of a bursa. A
bursa is a sac that lays over bony
projections, to reduce friction as
tissue rubs over the bone.
 Common sites of bursitis
outer shoulder area
outer hip area
elbow
over and below the knee cap

13. Serious types of arthritis
 Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus)
 Rheumatoid arthritis
 Scleroderma
 Sjogren’s syndome
 Lyme disease
 Ankylosing spondylitis
 Psoriatic arthritis
 Infectious arthritis

14. When to see a doctor for
arthritis
 Joint is red, hot or very painful.
 Other symptoms such as fever, tiredness,
weight loss, rash, skin thickening, hair
loss, ulcers in the nose or mouth or on the
fingers, cold sensitivity in the hands,
swollen fingers or toes, muscle weakness,
numbness or tingling.
 Pain persists despite over the counter
medication.