As mere mortals, almost all of us experience ailments or challenges that afflict our minds.

Each of these ailments are accompanied by various symptoms - some very low key, others with increasing pain. Initial evidences of arthritis in its various forms are unfortunately in the latter category.

When a patient is diagnosed with arthritis, it's important to know what kind of arthritis type it is and, of course, their doctor should tell them. Typically, there are three common forms of the degenerative disease. To learn more about each keep reading.

Osteoarthritis

This is the best known form of the disease, resulting in the degeneration of the joints. Elderly people generally experience this most. Despite the generality, osteoarthritis can surface much earlier in a person's life, possibly caused by an injury, hereditary or congenital disorder, metabolic disorder, or trauma.

Osteoarthritis attacks the smooth cartilage on the bone ends. After it's worn away, new born forms, causing an overgrowth along with intense pain when the dry and exposed joints move and grate together. The disease is not usually associated with inflammation.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

When assessing rheumatoid arthritis, the body joints are essentially attacked by the immune system just like it were an external foe. This response of the auto-immune system is something of a chain reaction since there is an inflammation of the synovial joints - shifting fingers and thumbs apart - ligaments are weakened from the swelling, and alignment of muscles are damaged.

Rheumatoid arthritis can not only lead to deformity, but it can also be very painful. When a patient is experiencing an inflammation, simple tasks like opening a bottle or using a pen can be extremely painful and almost impossible. Rheumatoid arthritis will either worsen or often stay stable for a number of years before deteriorating further.

Rheumatoid arthritis progresses through five different stages. Stage 1 generally has no symptoms and inflammation is detected by results from a lab. Stage 2 stands out when the immune system gears up, causing mild stiffness of the joints and other problems.

Stage 3 causes the synovial membrane to proliferate, and drug treatments are often required. During Stage 4, this disease continues to spread to the cartilage and joint swelling becomes more pronounced. At Stage 5, irreversible destruction has been caused and the patient is typically under high duress.

Rheumatoid arthritis is typically identified during Stage 2 or Stage 3 and after the patient has exhibited one or all of the following symptoms for a number of weeks - joint stiffness, swelling in the joints, swelling around the joints or swelling on either side of the joints.

Spondyloarthropathies

Spondyloarthropathies are a grouping of disorders which attack the spine and include psoriatic arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, ankylosing spondylitis (causing a fusing of the bones in the spine), and intestinal arthropathy. Spondyloarthropathies affects over two and-a-half million adults in the U.S. and is the third most common type of arthritis.

If you think you have an arthritis type of any of the kind listed above, then you should talk to your doctor about testing and obtaining possible treatment. The earlier arthritis is diagnosed, the better the patient's long term quality of life.