Joint diseases

The  human  musculoskeletal  system  has more than 300 joints. Bones are connected by   mobile   joints,   which   enables  body movements. Of  the  parts of  the  musculo-
skeletal    system   joints   are   the   most susceptible ones to injury. 

There  is  a  large  number of joint diseases which  often  differ  a  lot  from one another. They  can  be  classified into many groups, such as  rheumatic diseases, degenerative diseases,  metabolic  diseases,   and  soft tissue diseases.

Typical symptoms of joint diseases include pain  and  swelling,   reduction   of   motion 
and   functional   capacity   of   joints,  and inflammation symptoms.  There  are  many factors   behind   joint  diseases   such  as 

infections,    injuries,    exceptional    strain, metabolic disorders and autoimmune factors.

The   most   common   joint   diseases   are osteoarthrosis   and    rheumatoid    arthritis. Approx.   a   million    Finns    suffer    from osteoarthrosis,  and  of them  250,000 suffer from    lowered    functional   capacity.   The approximate number of people suffering from rheumatoid  arthritis  is  35,000.  Other  joint diseases   include   e.g.   psoriatic   arthritis, 
spinal arthritis, and reactive arthritis.