That's really considered to be arthritis?

It's Arthritis Awareness Month and earlier this month, I examined the list of 100 forms of “arthritis and related diseases” provided by the Arthritis Foundation.  In doing so, I discovered diseases which I would have (as a layperson) thought to be rheumatic in nature, but which I did not associate with arthritis necessarily. 

For instance, Raynaud’s syndrome is among the list of 100.  I asked my mother, “did you know that Raynaud’s disease is listed as a type of arthritis?”  She lives with this disease and responded, “No! How is that a type of arthritis?”  We had a brief discussion on the way the list of 100 was presented and I noted that it includes diseases which can cause secondary arthritis-like symptoms, diseases which affect connective tissue, and even diseases related to the vascular system.

To help illustrate the list of 100 forms of arthritis found on the Arthritis Foundation website, I created this Wordle.  I think it presents an interesting representation of the many diseases included under the umbrella term, arthritis.



Read this post in its entirety:
Arthritis Awareness Month: More Than 100 Types of Arthritis and Related Diseases