Joint inflammation is the swelling of joints that can occur in any joint of the body. Joint inflammation is commonly called as arthritis in medical terms. Joint pain can develop due to minor injuries, fractures, and infection. When a particular joint is affected, the body response system of immunity is called into action and a series of events occur eventually bringing in white blood cells to the affected area for fighting against foreign particles. In some people, the autoimmune disorder triggers the inflow of WBC even when there is no debris to attack causing joint inflammation and tissue repair.
How exactly joint inflammation occurs ?
Joint inflammation or swelling is a process in which the affected joint will develop swelling. Although the series of events differ with respect to the causative factor of joint swelling, still for a localized joint pain the following event takes place:-
• Bacteria or fungus enter into the joint
• The blood vessels in that area gets dilated (widened) thereby increasing the blood flow to particular joint
• There would be increased accumulation of protein molecules inside
• Gradually the fluid is filtered and sent inside the joint causing swelling or inflammation
• This is followed by the entry of neutrophils and manocytes (both are white blood cells) into the tissue
• Any infectious bacteria present inside is destroyed
There are several kinds of arthritis (joint inflammation) like osteoarthritis, gout and rheumatoid arthritis affecting various joints of the body.
Symptoms :
There would be stiffness in the joint and is felt more in the mornings. Increased pain in the joint, redness and tenderness are some of the other signs of joint inflammation. Depending on the cause, the joint pain may be moderate or severe restricting the movement of joint. For some people it becomes very difficult to move the joint due to increased stiffness.