Arthritis is a disorder of the joints which features inflammation. It is accompanied by stiffness, swelling and pain. The cause of the disorder highly depends on the form of arthritis. Causes include the deficiency of magnesium in the body, injury, infection, metabolic abnormalities, hereditary factors or degenerative changes. Some cases of arthritis also have unclear reasons, such as in the case of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus.

Arthritis comprises one of America's major persistent health issues in patients who are above fifteen years of age. Studies have shown that about one thirds of adults living in the United States bear the joint pains brought due to arthritis. Arthritis has been considered as a severe public health issue that is anticipated to reach around 60 million sufferers during the next 14 years. Heart disease is considered to be the leading cause of work disability, followed by arthritis.

Based on statistics, there have been over 100 types of arthritis and related disorders. All these forms have some elements in common. They all bring about common symptoms for arthritis that harmfully affect the musculoskeletal system which hones in on the joints resulting to pain, swelling of the joint cartilage and stiffness. The bones could knock up against each other as a result of the wearing away of the joint cartilage at the end of the bones. The consequential damage can result to apparent physical deformities as well as joint weakness and disability.

Common symptoms for arthritis include pain and limited function of the joints. Inflammation of the joints is distinguished by joint swelling, stiffness, warmth and redness. Also present is the tenderness of the inflamed joints. The condition may only manifest to only just one joint, termed as monarthritis. The condition can also manifest itself in joints found in the entire body of the patient, termed as polyarthritis.

The common symptoms for arthritis can occur in any part of the body that has joints, however, it mostly affects areas in the thumb, hip, neck, knee, shoulders, back, foot or the finger.

Since arthritis is a rheumatid disease, all of its many forms can cause symptoms that affect different organs of the body which do not directly involve the joints. Therefore, in some patients, the symptoms with particular forms of arthritis may also include swelling of the glands or lymph nodes, fatigue, fever and feeling unwell. There might also be the manifestation of other symptoms from the abnormalities of organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys and other major organs.

While symptoms will differ from one form to another and from one person to another, patients of all types have experiences inflammation, warmth, pain, redness of overlying skin and restricted array of movement.

These symptoms can hit a patient all of a sudden but it can also develop gradually over long periods of time. The symptoms of arthritis can get in the way with a person's daily tasks that most of us take for granted, like typing at our computers, climbing the stairs or even just simply walking.