Are you one of those people that can predict the weather based on your joint pain? Or maybe you’re the kind that rolled their eyes at their grandfather for claiming that he had that ability. Well, don’t scoff because that’s a real thing. In fact, Tufts University published a study in 2007 that examined the assertion from osteoarthritis sufferers that weather influences their degree of pain. Examining 200 patients across the U.S. with knee osteoarthritis revealed that changes in barometric pressure and temperature increased their pain. That means those so-called “predictions” made by many with arthritis are quite accurate. That’s because the weather is directly impacting the severity of their pain. But just what is arthritis or even osteoarthritis?

What is arthritis?

The Basics

Believe it or not, there are over 100 different kinds of arthritis, including gout, bursitis, lupus, and rheumatic fever to name a few. But don’t worry, we’re not diving into all of those. We’ll just hit some of the highlights. Nevertheless, seeing some of those common conditions might sound confusing as we don’t typically categorize those as types of arthritis. That’s because “arthritis” isn’t just one disease. Rather, it’s a common way to refer to joint pain or diseases of the joints. The Arthritis Foundation reports that it is the leading cause of disability in America. They estimate that more than 50 million adults and 300,000 children have some type of arthritis. Even though it can effect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity, it’s more common in women and becomes more prevalent with age.

The Mayo Clinic explains that “the most common signs and symptoms of arthritis involve the joints. Depending on the type of arthritis you have, your signs and symptoms may include:

• Pain
• Stiffness
• Swelling
• Redness
• Decreased range of motion

The Arthritis Foundation answers, “What is arthritis?” and breaks the different types of arthritis into four basic categories:

• Degenerative – like osteoarthritis
• Inflammatory – such as rheumatoid arthritis
• Infectious – from bacteria, fungus, or virus
• Metabolic – for example, gout

Osteoarthritis

At the end of our bones is cartilage which acts like a cushion so that our bones don’t rub together. With osteoarthritis, that cartilage starts to wear away resulting in pain, stiffness, and swelling. If you or someone you love suffers from this condition, then you’re probably familiar with the wincing that comes from often excruciating pain when bone rubs against bone. When the cartilage is really worn down, it may feel like a needle jabbing into the bone. A member of my family had osteoarthritis in the form of a degenerative hip and tried to live with it for several years. Her quality of life plummeted. Worse still, she has a service job that requires standing all day. She finally broke through her fear of surgical procedures and decided to get a hip replacement. Sometimes joint replacement is the only option left to relieve excruciating and debilitating pain. After a difficult recovery, she bounced back and has never felt better. She has reclaimed her life that the osteoarthritis stole from her. Not all osteoarthritis ends in surgery. Nevertheless, the wearing away of cartilage can be very difficult to live with.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

This is a completely different ball of wax. Unlike degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid is a kind of inflammatory arthritis. It’s actually a very serious autoimmune disease. Healthy immune systems work to protect the body from cancer cells and foreign substances like bacteria and viruses. One of the ways it does this is through inflammation. Think of how your nose runs when you have a cold. That’s your immune system causing sinus inflammation in an effort to get rid of the virus. But with autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body instead. In the case of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the joints and other body parts come under attack. It can actually erode your joints and even cause damage to internal organs. Be forewarned that there is no cure for autoimmune diseases. So the key to preventing irreparable damage and minimizing pain with RA is to catch it early and tackle it aggressively.

Treating Arthritis

Since there are so many types of arthritis, giving one blanket treatment isn’t possible. Even the two kinds discussed here are completely different and thus, treated very different. For example, sometimes weight loss, exercise, or acetaminophen can be highly beneficial in treating or mitigating osteoarthritis, according to the Mayo Clinic. Whereas RA may be better treated with joint replacement surgery or special medications to modify the body’s response to the inflammation.

Since there are so many varieties of arthritis, it’s important to talk with your healthcare provider to get an accurate diagnosis. Indeed, RA is known to mimic other diseases. So there may be some trial and error involved. At any rate, arthritis is nothing to mess around with. So, if you can predict the weather based on your knees or other joint pain and you haven’t been diagnosed with arthritis yet, you would do well to get checked out.