Arthritis

Ankylosing spondylitis
A rheumatic disease that causes arthritis of the spine and sacroiliac joints and can cause inflammation of the eyes, lungs, and heart valves.

Degenerative arthritis
Another term for osteoarthritis.

Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition primarily associated with widespread pain, stiffness and tenderness of the muscles and soft tissues around joints.

Golfer’s elbow
Overuse or rheumatic disease causes inflammation of the muscle attachment on the inside of the elbow.

Inflammatory arthritis/inflammatory arthropathy
This is a group of conditions, which includes systemic diseases, which involve inflamed joints as well as local inflammatory disorders.

Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a disease that primarily affects the cartilage lining of the joints and the bones associated with the joints, the subchondral bones.

Polymyalgia rheumatica
A disorder generally seen in women over age 50, causes stiffness and aching in the neck, shoulder and hip areas.

Purine
A nitrogen-containing compound, which can be broken down to uric acid. Purine is found in almost all foodstuffs.

Reiter’s syndrome
See reactive arthritis.

Rheumatic fever
This is a disease that affects younger people. It arises as a delayed complication of bacterial infection of the throat with streptococci.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, inflammatory auto-immune disorder (in which the body's defence system attacks its own tissues)which may affect one or many organs

Arthritis
Technically this term refers to inflammation of the joints, but it is often used to refer collectively to all joint disorders.

Fasciitis
A condition in which the fasciae, fibrous tissue forming membranous layers throughout the body, become inflamed.

Giant cell arteritis
A condition in which certain arteries become inflamed.

Gout
Gout is a metabolic disorder that may be inherited. It is characterised by recurrent acute joint inflammation (gouty arthritis) in the extremities, caused by crystals.

Juvenile chronic arthritis
One in every thousand children is affected by this disease.

Polyarthritis
This refers to inflammation present in many joints.

Psoriatic arthritis
An inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis - a chronic skin and nail disease. There are five patterns.

Reactive arthritis
Also referred to as Reiter’s syndrome.

Rheumatic diseases
Refer to rheumatism and all types of arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition characterised by persistent inflammation of the joints.

Pseudogout
This is a type of crystal disease with deposition of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals within the joint and joint cartilage.