Top Ten Things That Don’t Cause Arthritis | Arthritis Information

Are your joints acting up because of the weather? Or is your body is seeking revenge for the times when you cracked your knuckles as a kid? As comfortable as you might find these explanations for arthritis, clinical experience and research studies have yet to prove that these two myths, and a host of others, are true.

Arthritis is common: One in six adults in the United States has some form of arthritis, and with the aging of our population, that fraction is going up. But the condition is also widely misunderstood. Unfortunately, just about every aspect of arthritis is clouded by uncertainty, misinformation and myth, including how to define it, what causes it, how to treat it and how to predict its course. And misunderstanding about the potential causes of arthritis can lead to bad decisions about treatment.

Read on to learn more about things that do not clearly cause arthritis, since this Top 10 List is not likely to appear on Letterman.

What Is Arthritis?

Strictly speaking, arthritis means inflammation of a joint, which often leads to some combination of pain, swelling, redness and limited motion. There are more than 100 types of arthritis. In some cases, the type of arthritis needs to be specifically defined, because successful treatment depends upon the correct diagnosis. Gout and rheumatoid arthritis are two such examples. Other types of arthritis can be grouped into categories because the prognoses and treatments are similar.

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/pain-management/rheumatoid-arthritis/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100200063Not stress? I beg to differ..... [QUOTE=Lynn49]...And misunderstanding about the potential causes of arthritis can lead to bad decisions about treatment.[/quote]

Ouch, that statement certainly hits me right where I live...

Actually, in all the research that I have done, stress doesn't cause arthritis. However, it does make it worse. It can cause flares and/or make it difficult to get your arthritis under control. I can personally atest that stress negatively affects my arthritis. I am glad to see that they are saying that cracking knuckles doesn't cause arthritis. That has long been a misconception. It is interesting that they are saying infection does not cause arthritis (bacterial or viral). That has been quite a discussion on this board from time to time.

[QUOTE=Nancy R.]Not stress? I beg to differ.....[/QUOTE]

I agree, those things might not cause arthritis, but they sure can make things unbearable. I live in the NW and the things they say about Seattle weather are really true. I love it, but boy, I can really feel a difference. And when my stress level is high, it often can start a flare. I too had been told that ifections can be the cause of many autoimmune disorders.
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