Inflammation

Next to pain, the most common arthritis symptoms are inflammation. The inflammation is often accompanied by pain, redness, heat, and swelling. Although inflammation can make things very inconvenient for the person suffering from such arthritis symptoms, the process itself is actually the body’s basic response to injury.

Usually, inflammation occurs when the body’s immune system gets to work, bringing plasma proteins and phagocytes (or white blood cells that engulf and consume foreign material and debris) to the injured area. The reason is primarily to initiate tissue repair. However, with arthritic inflammation, the immune system is at fault since instead of defending it attacks the surrounding tissue, triggering the inflammatory response.



Only a few types of arthritis actually display this particular symptom, including:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Gout
• Tendonitis
• Bursitis
• Polymyalgia rheumatica

Inflammation