Tendonitis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment for Tendon Health
Dr Sameer Jain
June 26, 2026
Have you ever experienced pain or discomfort while opening a biscuit jar, walking down a flight of stairs, or typing an email? What seems like a minor ache can be a sign of one of the many types of arthritis that affect millions of people worldwide. Arthritis may affect people of all ages. It’s a term that describes inflammation, pain, and swelling in joints and may lead to reduced mobility and decreased functioning.
Each type of arthritis has a unique pathophysiology (changes in the body), symptoms, and treatment approaches. This blog takes you into the details of what happens beneath the surface when you develop arthritis, the types of arthritis, their symptoms, and advanced interventions to reclaim comfort and achieve a better quality of life. Understanding the types of arthritis will help towards a proper diagnosis and the choice of effective management options.
Arthritis does not mean a single pathology affecting joints only. It is an umbrella term for over 100 different conditions that cause pain, swelling, inflammation, and damage to the bones, joints, and surrounding structures. A lot of people assume that arthritis develops as part of natural aging, but the reality is it can affect people of all ages, including children.
In the clinical picture for different types of arthritis, medical professionals generally divide them into two primary categories:
Depending on the variation of arthritis, the disease can attack the protective cartilage of your joints, bone surfaces or the body’s internal organs.
To help clearly understand different types of arthritis, here is a complete breakdown of their symptoms, underlying pathology, and body parts affected.
It is a chronic, progressive mechanical joint disease and is termed wear and tear due to aging, as it involves the structural breakdown of joints over time due to aging, repetitive stress, or underlying physical trauma.
A healthy joint is covered by a firm, slippery film called the articular cartilage. It caps the surfaces of bone to absorb shock and ensure smoothness. In OA, repeated stress or cellular changes cause this cartilage to lose elasticity and wear off. Over time, as the cartilage matrix thins, the protective layer of joints is compromised, leading to bone-to-bone friction. To compensate for this structural instability, abnormal bony overgrowth called osteophytes develops in the already friction-prone bone surfaces. As a result, low-grade localized inflammation starts to develop, and joint debris irritates the surrounding capsule.
RA occurs when your body’s immune system mistakenly starts to attack synovium, the thin membrane that provides lubrication to the joints. As the disease progresses, the inflamed tissues thicken into a mass of inflammatory tissue called pannus. Pannus releases aggressive enzymes into the surrounding healthy tissues and joint structures, causing erosion. It is a chronic and systemic disorder.
RA is systemic, and these inflammatory proteins may travel throughout the body, causing body-wide destruction to healthy structures including blood vessels, the eyes, the heart, and the lungs.
RA diagnosis relies heavily on blood work and can be classified into the following types of rheumatoid arthritis.
Gout is one of the many types of inflammatory arthritis and is highly painful. It occurs due to a state of hyperuricemia, which is an abnormally high level of uric acid in the blood. Uric acid is a normal byproduct of purines breakdown found in certain foods like red meat and seafood. Usually, uric acid is absorbed in the body or excreted through the kidneys. When, for any reason, your body can’t excrete uric acid, it turns into crystals and can settle into your joints. Gout is a crystal-induced arthropathy that occurs when the body’s biochemical management of metabolic byproducts malfunctions, leading to rapid, episodic joint inflammation.
Gout progresses in stages and has three distinct phases:
Previously known as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, or JIA, is an umbrella term to denote a group of chronic or autoimmune joint diseases in children and teens below age 16. The underlying reasons are the same as in RA: autoimmune attacks on healthy synovial tissues. However, as the child’s bones are in the growth phase, the pathophysiology of JIA may extend to the epiphyseal growth plates of the bones.
These events that cause severe inflammation may lead to growth in affected limbs, either causing leg-length discrepancies (changes in length of both legs) or stunted structural development. Additionally, the inflammatory protein that circulate pose high risk of complications outside the skeletal system.
When JIA targets larger joint symptom appears in large joints like the knees, ankles, and elbows. Smaller joints in the hands are also affected. JIA may also attack organs, the skin, and the lymphatic system.
It is a complex and chronic inflammatory condition that shows symptoms addressed in both dermatology and rheumatology. It is an autoimmune condition causing joint swelling and inflammation in people who have a skin condition known as Psoriasis.
About 30% of people with Psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis, and the joint pain may precede months or even years before any skin plaques ever appear.
Apart from the above-mentioned common types of arthritis, rare types of arthritis also exist and often cause severe fluctuating symptoms and may require specialized care from a rheumatologist or pain specialists. Some rare types of arthritis are:
Adult-Onset Still’s Disease (AOSD): It is a rare autoinflammatory condition that causes systemic inflammation. Affects young adults (ages 15 to 25 and 36 to 46). Symptoms include high fevers, swollen lymph nodes, a pink rash on the skin, and severe joint pain
| Type of Arthritis | Cause | Symptoms | Commonly Affected Joints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osteoarthritis (OA) | Age-related cartilage degradation and wear-and-tear |
• Cracking joint sounds • Pain • Swelling • Bone spurs • Morning stiffness |
• Knees • Hips • Spine (lower back and neck) |
| Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) | An autoimmune type of arthritis that attacks the synovial lining of joints |
• Fatigue • Swelling • Warm joints • Symmetrical joint pain (both sides of the body) • Prolonged morning stiffness |
• Joints of hands and feet • Knees, shoulders, elbows (as RA advances) |
| Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) | Develops in people with psoriasis |
• Pain at tendon attachment sites • Skin rashes • Swollen fingers and toes (sausage appearance) |
• Distal finger and toe joints • Spine and pelvis • Knees, ankles, elbows |
| Gout | Uric acid crystal accumulation in joints |
• Sudden severe pain • Night-time flare-ups • Redness • Swelling • Warm joints |
• Big toe (most common) • Ankles, Knees, wrists, elbows |
| Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) | Autoimmune and inflammatory arthritis affecting children under 16 |
• Morning stiffness • Pain • Swelling • Fever (in advanced cases) • Fatigue and swollen lymph nodes |
• Knees • Ankles • Wrists • Small hand joints |
Types of arthritis that are autoimmune include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and lupus-related arthritis.
Several types of arthritis run in families and have a genetic component. These include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout. Having a family history doesn’t mean you will develop the diseases, but you carry a risk of disease development.
Among types of arthritis, osteoarthritis is generally less common in people under 40, as it occurs due to gradual wear and tear in joints.
Yes, a person can have more than one type of arthritis at the same time. For instance, a person with osteoarthritis may also develop psoriatic arthritis if he has psoriasis on the skin. Each type of arthritis may affect differently and require specific management approaches.
Common types of juvenile arthritis include juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). It affects before age 16 and may cause joint swelling and pain, stiffness, and growth problems.
