List of Different Types of Arthritis and Treatments
Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2015/06/23 - Updated: 2026/01/29
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Arthritis - Related Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This resource offers a detailed catalog of more than 150 distinct forms of arthritis, ranging from common conditions like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis to rarer types such as Behcet's syndrome and palindromic rheumatism. The reference is particularly valuable for patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers seeking to understand the full spectrum of arthritic conditions affecting joints, bones, and connective tissues. With arthritis representing the leading cause of disability among American adults and affecting an estimated 52.5 million people in the United States alone, this extensive listing serves as a practical tool for identifying specific conditions, understanding their differences, and recognizing symptoms. The inclusion of comparison tables distinguishing between osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, along with prevalence statistics and treatment options, makes this resource especially useful for older adults and people with disabilities who face disproportionately higher rates of joint-related conditions - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
Did you know there are more than 150 types of arthritis?
Arthritis is an umbrella term used to describe over 150 medical conditions and diseases, known as rheumatic diseases.
The word arthritis is medically defined as joint inflammation. Inflammation is one of the human body's reactions to disease or injury, and includes swelling, pain, and quite often, stiffness. Inflammation that lasts for a very long time or recurs, as in arthritis, can lead to tissue damage.
Main Content
So What Exactly is Arthritis?
Arthritis is defined as a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints. There are over 100 different forms of arthritis. The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), a result of trauma to the joint, infection of the joint, or age. Other arthritis forms are rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and related autoimmune diseases. Septic arthritis is caused by joint infection.
The most 5 common types of arthritis are Osteoarthritis, Fibromyalgia, Gout, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than a third of adults who have arthritis report it limits their leisure and work activities. 25% of them state it also causes severe pain (7+ on the 0 to 10 point pain scale).
Children and teens get a type of arthritis called juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). "Juvenile" means young (16 yrs of age or younger) and "idiopathic" means the cause is not known. JIA is also sometimes called juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).
Many people confuse osteoporosis and different types of arthritis.
- Arthritis: A general term for conditions that affect the joints and surrounding tissues. Joints are places in the body where bones come together, such as the knees, wrists, fingers, toes, and hips. The two most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
- Osteoporosis: A condition in which the bones become less dense and more likely to fracture. In osteoporosis, there is a loss of bone tissue that leaves bones less dense and more likely to fracture. It can result in a loss of height, severe back pain, and change in posture. Osteoporosis can impair a person's ability to walk and can cause prolonged or permanent disability - Difference Between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Types of Arthritis
- Achilles tendinitis
- Achondroplasia
- Acromegalic arthropathy
- Adhesive capsulitis
- Adult onset Still's disease
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Anserine bursitis
- Avascular necrosis
- Behcet's syndrome
- Bicipital tendinitis
- Blount's disease
- Brucellar spondylitis
- Bursitis
- Calcaneal bursitis
- Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD)
- Crystal deposition disease
- Caplan's syndrome
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Chondrocalcinosis
- Chondromalacia patellae
- Chronic synovitis
- Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis
- Churg-Strauss syndrome
- Cogan's syndrome
- Corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis
- Costosternal syndrome
- CREST syndrome
- Cryoglobulinemia
- Degenerative joint disease
- Dermatomyositis
- Diabetic finger sclerosis
- Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH)
- Discitis
- Discoid lupus erythematosus
- Drug-induced lupus
- Duchenne's muscular dystrophy
- Dupuytren's contracture
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Enteropathic arthritis
- Epicondylitis
- Erosive inflammatory osteoarthritis
- Exercise-induced compartment syndrome
- Fabry's disease
- Familial Mediterranean fever
- Farber's lipogranulomatosis
- Felty's syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Fifth's disease
- Flat feet
- Foreign body synovitis
- Freiberg's disease
- Fungal arthritis
- Gaucher's disease
- Giant cell arteritis
- Gonococcal arthritis
- Goodpasture's syndrome
- Gout Granulomatous arteritis
- Hemarthrosis
- Hemochromatosis
- Henoch-Schonlein purpura
- Hepatitis B surface antigen disease
- Hip dysplasia
- Hurler syndrome
- Hypermobility syndrome
- Hypersensitivity vasculitis
- Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy
- Immune complex disease
- Impingement syndrome
- Jaccoud's arthropathy
- Juvenile ankylosing spondylitis
- Juvenile dermatomyositis
- Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
- Kawasaki disease
- Kienbock's disease
- Legg-Calve-Perthes disease
- Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
- Linear scleroderma
- Lipoid dermatoarthritis
- Lofgren's syndrome
- Lyme disease
- Malignant synovioma
- Marfan's syndrome
- Medial plica syndrome
- Metastatic carcinomatous arthritis
- Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD)
- Mixed cryoglobulinemia
- Mucopolysaccharidosis
- Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis
- Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia
- Mycoplasmal arthritis
- Myofascial pain syndrome
- Neonatal lupus
- Neuropathic arthropathy
- Nodular panniculitis
- Ochronosis
- Olecranon bursitis
- Osgood-Schlatter's disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteochondromatosis
- Osteogenesis imperfecta
- Osteomalacia
- Osteomyelitis
- Osteonecrosis
- Osteoporosis
- Overlap syndrome
- Pachydermoperiostosis Paget's disease of bone
- Palindromic rheumatism
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome
- Pellegrini-Stieda syndrome
- Pigmented villonodular synovitis
- Piriformis syndrome
- Plantar fasciitis
- Polyarteritis nodos
- Polymyalgia rheumatica
- Polymyositis
- Popliteal cysts
- Posterior tibial tendinitis
- Pott's disease
- Prepatellar bursitis
- Prosthetic joint infection
- Pseudoxanthoma elasticum
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Raynaud's phenomenon
- Reactive arthritis/Reiter's syndrome
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome
- Relapsing polychondritis
- Retrocalcaneal bursitis
- Rheumatic fever
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Rheumatoid vasculitis
- Rotator cuff tendinitis
- Sacroiliitis
- Salmonella osteomyelitis
- Sarcoidosis
- Saturnine gout
- Scheuermann's osteochondritis
- Scleroderma
- Septic arthritis
- Seronegative arthritis
- Shigella arthritis
- Shoulder-hand syndrome
- Sickle cell arthropathy
- Sjogren's syndrome
- Slipped capital femoral epiphysis
- Spinal stenosis
- Spondylolysis
- Staphylococcus arthritis
- Stickler syndrome
- Subacute cutaneous lupus
- Sweet's syndrome
- Sydenham's chorea
- Syphilitic arthritis
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
- Takayasu's arteritis
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome
- Tennis elbow
- Tietse's syndrome
- Transient osteoporosis
- Traumatic arthritis
- Trochanteric bursitis
- Tuberculosis arthritis
- Arthritis of Ulcerative colitis
- Undifferentiated connective tissue syndrome (UCTS)
- Urticarial vasculitis
- Viral arthritis
- Wegener's granulomatosis
- Whipple's disease
- Wilson's disease
- Yersinial arthritis
| Risk Factors | OPO | OA | RA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age-related | X | X | |
| Menopause | X | ||
| Family history | X | X | X |
| Use of certain medications (e.g., glucocorticoids, seizure medications) | X | ||
| Calcium deficiency or inadequate vitamin D | X | ||
| Inactivity | X | ||
| Overuse of joints | X | ||
| Smoking | X | ||
| Excessive alcohol | X | ||
| Anorexia nervosa | X | ||
| Excessive weight | X | ||
| Physical Effects | |||
| Affects entire skeleton | X | ||
| Affects joints | X | X | |
| Is an autoimmune disease | X | ||
| Bony spurs | X | X | |
| Enlarged or malformed joints | X | X | |
| Height loss | X | ||
| Treatment Options | |||
| Raloxifene | X | ||
| Bisphosphonates | X | ||
| Calcitonin | X | ||
| Parathyroid hormone | X | ||
| Estrogen/hormone therapy | X | ||
| RANK ligand (RANKL) inhibitor | X | ||
| Calcium and vitamin D | X | ||
| Weight management | X | ||
| Glucocorticoids | X | ||
| NSAIDs | X | X | X |
| Methotrexate | X | ||
| Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, biologic response modifiers, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. | X | ||
| Pain Management | |||
| Pain medication (e.g., NSAIDS, narcotics, muscle relaxants) | X | X | X |
| Rehabilitation | X | X | X |
| Support groups | X | X | X |
| Exercises: postural | X | X | X |
| Exercises: isometric, isotonic, isokinetic | X | X | X |
| Joint splinting | X | X | |
| Physical therapy | X | X | X |
| Passive exercises | X | X | |
| Hip fracture surgical repair (may include hip replacement depending on type of fracture) | X | ||
| Joint replacement surgery (usually for pain, malformation, or impaired mobility) | X | X | |
| Heat and cold | X | X | X |
| Massage therapy | X | X | X |
| Acupuncture | X | X | X |
| Psychological approaches (e.g., relaxation, visualization, biofeedback) | X | X | X |
| Tai chi | X | X | X |
| Low stress yoga | X | X | X |
Arthritis Prevalence in the U.S.
Arthritis and other rheumatic conditions are the most common cause of disability among U.S. adults and have been for the past 15 years.
- Nearly 50% of people may develop symptomatic knee OA by age 85 years.
- An estimated 52.5 million adults in the United States reported being told by a doctor that they have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia.
- 26.0% of women and 19.1% men report doctor-diagnosed arthritis.
- An estimated 27 million adults had osteoarthritis in 2005.
- An estimated 5.0 million adults had fibromyalgia in 2005.
- An estimated 1.5 million adults had rheumatoid arthritis in 2007.
- In 2004, there were 454,652 total knee replacements performed, primarily for arthritis.
- An estimated 3.0 million adults had gout in 2005, and 6.1 million adults have ever had gout.
- An estimated 294,000 children under age 18 have some form of arthritis or rheumatic condition.
- In 2004, there were 232,857 total hip replacements, 41,934 shoulder, and 12,055 other joint replacements, primarily for arthritis.
- By 2030, an estimated 67 million Americans ages 18 years or older are projected to have doctor-diagnosed arthritis.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: The sheer breadth of arthritic conditions - over 150 distinct types - underscores how these disorders represent not a single disease but rather a complex family of joint, bone, and connective tissue problems that demand individualized diagnosis and treatment. What makes this distinction particularly important is that many people assume arthritis is simply an inevitable part of aging, when in fact conditions like juvenile idiopathic arthritis affect children, while autoimmune forms like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus can strike at any age. Understanding these differences matters because treatment strategies vary dramatically: what works for gout won't help fibromyalgia, and medications for rheumatoid arthritis differ entirely from those used for osteoarthritis. As the projected number of Americans with doctor-diagnosed arthritis climbs toward 67 million by 2030, accurate identification of the specific type becomes essential not just for managing symptoms, but for preserving mobility, independence, and quality of life across all ages and abilities - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.