Arthritis is a joint disease. It is usually an inflammation of the joint that can cause serious physical and psychological problems to its sufferers. People enduring the disease suffer grave symptoms that affect their everyday life. Some of these include an unbearable pain, and severe swelling of the joints. Sad to say though, many of these victims of this kind of disease condition do not know what the cause of arthritis is, how it develops, and what are the ways to prevent and cure it.

Arthritis cannot be treated as a disease, because it cannot be eradicated by simply taking medications or performing surgeries. It can occur anytime and reoccur if there will be any favorable circumstance for the disease to set in, especially when the body's immune response becomes weak. The risk of every person to arthritis is equal, whether they had any experience with the disease or not.

There are about a hundred types of arthritis. Some of these create a minor concern, but most of these are serious health problems. The cause of arthritis varies from every type, but all of these affect the joints, and all of these have pain as their major symptom. The popular types of arthritis are Osteoarthritis, Gouty Arthritis, and Rheumatoid Arthritis. The causes of each of these are as follows:

Osteoarthritis - this type of arthritis usually affects the weight bearing joints. Being overweight or obese is a major factor that can trigger osteoarthritis, because the bones and joints cannot carry the extra load that exceeded the normal weight limit of the body. There are also studies that show other possible causes of osteoarthritis, and some of these are smoking, drinking alcoholic drinks, and taking some medications, which causes osteoarthritis as their side effect.

Gouty Arthritis - this type of arthritis is common among men ages 30 to 40 years old. It is usually due to an accumulation of uric crystals inside the membrane of the joints. These crystals cause the joints to be stiff and prevent it from moving, and as a result the joints exert more frictional force that damages it. Uric crystals come from foods rich in uric acid. Some of these include organ meats, sausages, grapes, raisins, tofu, Brewer's yeast, sardines, tuna, and soy beans.

Rheumatoid Arthritis - this type is common among women ages 40 and up. The major cause of this is usually the hormonal shift that occurs among women during their menopausal stage. Estrogen and progesterone levels that decreases during this time leads to some reduction in the bone and joint structures, making them prone to inflammation and tearing. Decrease calcium and vitamin D intake also contributes to this type of arthritis.

It is important to know and understand the cause of arthritis before starting any therapy. Therefore, it is important that any consultation with a health care provider must be done first, especially to an expert of bone and joint disease. Treating the cause through prevention can do much than treating the disease when it has already set in.