Juvenile Arthritis

Juvenile Arthritis (joo-vuh-nil-ar-thry-tus) is one of the most prevalent chronic illnesses in children in the United States. While arthritispain has been the focus of much research in adults, there is an increasing awareness of the need to focus on pain in children. While children with juvenile arthritis may have pain that can be intense and disabling, comprehensive treatment optimizes their ability to participate in school and social activities.

Arthritis can be short-term - lasting for just a few weeks or months, then going away forever - or it can be chronic and last for months or years. In rare cases, it can last a lifetime.

Arthritis means "joint inflammation" and refers to a group of illnesses that cause pain, swelling, heat, stiffness and loss of motion in the joints. The illness can also cause pain, swelling and stiffness in supporting structures of the body such as muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. A joint may be red, swollen and sore, although your child may not complain of pain.

Juvenile arthritis (JA) is an umbrella term for several conditions that affect the joints in children. Joint pain that lasts longer than six weeks in a child under age 17 may be diagnosed as some form of arthritis. Children can develop almost all types of arthritis that affect adults, but the most serious type that affects children is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that causes joint inflammation and stiffness for more than six weeks. While nearly 300,000 children in the United States have some sort of arthritis, it is estimated that more than 50,000 have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).