Arthritis is classified into more than 100 types based on the cause of the disease. Some of the more common types are :
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Juvenile Chronic Arthritis
- Spondyloarthritis
- Psoriatic Arthritis
- Infectious Arthritis (septic arthritis)
- Gouty Arthritis (metabolic arthritis)
Arthritis refers to a group of inflammatory disorders that can affect the joints. The characteristic features include joint pain, sometimes swelling, and depending on the type of arthritis, nodules, deformities or joint degeneration may be present.
A ‘clicking neck’ is a clearly audible sound caused by either turning (rotation) or tilting (lateral flexion) of the head. In most cases, the clicking sound is caused by tight muscles of the neck causing the vertebrae to rub against each other during certain movements of the neck and head. While there may be no other symptoms present apart from a clicking neck, with time, the persistent muscle spasm will lead to headaches, neck or upper back pain. In most cases of a clicking neck, cracking the joints (medical term ~ articular release) usually resolves the clicking noise and eases tightness of the joint.
Whiplash is a common term used to refer to the neck pain caused by injury of the soft tissue, namely the ligaments, tendons and muscles. While whiplash is commonly associated with a motor vehicle accident, many other mechanisms of action may cause whiplash. During a rear end collision, the inertia of moving body suddenly stopping and changing direction often causes the neck to ‘snap’ back. This sudden jerking movement associated with a whiplash injury can put a significant amount of strain on the soft tissue. Whiplash can also result from front and side impact collisions, however, there is a greater severity of the neck sprain after rear impact.
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