One of the first symptoms of arthritis is pain and stiffness- especially in the morning and after exercise. There are several different types of arthritis. In this article, the two most common types will be explained- osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the deterioration of the cartilage that protects the ends of bones. It can be caused by injury, but most often, it is due to wear and tear from ageing, diet and lifestyle. Osteoarthritis is sometimes called degenerative arthritis. The joints most commonly affected are the weight bearing joints, hips, knees and back. It also frequently occurs in the joints of the hand and knuckles. This type of arthritis rarely occurs before age 40, and affects nearly everyone over 60 years.

Rheumatoid arthritis ? this can happen at any time of your life, even childhood. It's a defect in the immune system that causes this kind of affliction, and is a result of your body's defences attacking the synovial membrane by wrongly identifying it as a foreign object within your body. When this happens, your joints swell and cause cartilage damage as well as tissue damage around the joint itself. It can also be caused by a poor diet, stress or even be hereditary.

Arthritis is a pretty old disease and much research has been done and is still being done to find a cure. This ongoing research is financed by The Arthritis Society. They track research trials and the latest breakthroughs on the medical front. They publish these latest finding on their website, as well as in their newsletter. If you have arthritis, you might want to research their website.

Alternate medicines have been found to be quite beneficial for arthritis. This includes physical therapy, whirlpool treatments, thermotherapy (moist heat), and joint exercises are used to increase mobility and prevent complications. Cold gel packs can relieve the pain of inflamed joints. A hot morning shower will often relieve morning stiffness.

As well as medicinal and surgical treatment, your diet can help to ease the pain and inflammation that arthritis can cause. A good source of this type of relief can be found in red cherries, asparagus, brown rice, fish and oatmeal, as well as many other ingredients. The Arthritis Society website can offer you a fuller list.

Since allergies can also exacerbate the effects of arthritis, check if there are any foods that you have an allergic reaction to. This has been proven to alleviate the suffering of neck and back pain arthritic sufferers especially.

Exercise often as well. Even a relaxing form of exercise such as swimming or taking a walk has shown to ease the pain experienced and helped to slow the wasting away of the joints affected. If you're engaging in any more hardy tasks, make sure you have a good rest period in-between, to ease the pressure on the joints themselves.