Frequently Asked Questions

Arthritis is inflammation (pain and swelling) of the joints. It can involve single or multiple joints of hands, legs, or back.

Note that, It is not a single disease, but a manifestation of various diseases comprising of more than a hundred different Rheumatic conditions. They can be:
Autoimmune: For example

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Ankylosing spondylitis/ spondyloarthritis
• SLE/ Lupus
• Psoriatic arthritis
• IBD associated arthritis
• Systemic vasculitis
• Connective tissue diseases
• Sarcoidosis
• Juvenile Idiopathic arthritis

Infective: For example

• TB
• Septic arthritis
• Viral and post viral arthritis (Dengue, chikungunya etc.)
• Lyme’s disease

Degenerative: For example

• Osteoarthritis

Metabolic: For example

• Gouty arthritis
• Pseudogout
• Hypothyroid arthropathy

Others: For example

• Paraneoplastic arthropathy

NO!!!! Almost all Arthritis and other Rheumatic diseases are multi-system disorders and can involve any part of the body. There is an endless list of presentations of Rheumatic disease. There are more than a hundred types of Rheumatic diseases and each subtype has a specific spectrum of manifestations.

It is a myth that Arthritis occurs in old age only. In fact, most inflammatory or autoimmune Arthritis is more common in the young age group when the immune system is robust. It is the degenerative group of arthritis which is more common in old age.

As stated above, most Rheumatological conditions are multisystem diseases and may start from any organ. A dry eye may be a symptom of Autoimmune diseases like Sjogren’s syndrome or Sarcoidosis, where joint pains (Arthritis) may occur later in the course of the disease and hence needs to be a evaluated by a Rheumatologist to start treatment early and prevent its complications

In the last 20 years, the treatment of arthritis has improved drastically. Arthritis and its complications can all be treated with safe medications and most of the complications including joint deformity can easily be prevented, especially if treatment is started early and continued properly under the guidance of a specialist. However, once deformities and complications have set in, it may not be completely reversible. It is therefore advisable to start your treatment early under a physician who specializes in managing such Rheumatic diseases including Arthritis.

If left untreated, Arthritis can lead to irreversible complications