Almost everyone knows or has heard of someone who has arthritis. When people think of Arthritis they often think of it as just 'sore joints', however it actually includes 100 chronic diseases of the joints, bones, and muscles. Arthritis also includes a range of diseases that affect the muscles, connective tissues and organs, such as fibromyalgia, lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoporosis, scleroderma, gout, and even Lyme disease.
Arthritis is a very serious disease and if left untreated, it can even be life threatening.
Symptoms and levels of pain experienced can vary widely. Other more unfortunate souls, however, suffer from bouts of severe and uncontrollable pain and inflammation that greatly disrupts their lives. Rheumatism is the most common form of arthritis so much so that they are often indistinguishable from each other and arthritis specialists are called rheumatologists. Women are the unfortunate victims of arthritis almost twice as often as men are. However Arthritis is an indiscriminate disease, it can effect anybody of any age, race or gender.