Question
IS arthritis an auto-immune disease ?  

Answer
Thank you for your questions.  Arthritis itself is a very broad term which involves many types of damage to joints. There are over a hundred auto-immune responses of the body to joints, auto-immune meaning that the body fails to accept its own tissues and begins to battle against them as if they were foreign objects. The most common type of auto-immune arthritis is "Rheumatoid Arthritis" which the joint simply begins to destroy itself, usually at an early age in life. This is confirmed by taking a rheumatic factor, a type of blood test. Then there is the most common type of arthritis, Osteoarthritis, which is not an auto-immune disease at all, but simply a wearing down of joints. Osteoarthritis can affect anyone if they live long enough to wear out their joints, or particularly in athletes or physical labourers at an earlier age. It is not uncommon for a professional athlete to wear down a knee or hip in their 30's or 40's.  Should you require further information, please let me know.  Otherwise, thank you for your questions.