Any form of arthritis can be effectively treated with modern therapeutic and supportive regimens.
Some forms of arthritis like rheumatic fever and infective arthritis are curable. In fact, early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic fever arthritis, common in children, cures the arthritis and long term penicillin therapy further prevents complications in the heart.

           Rheumatoid arthritis and chronic inflammatory spondylitis can be treated and controlled to such an extent that the disease does not affect the life –style of the individual patient.

           The therapeutic success in chronic forms of arthritis really depends on the state of the disease at which long term treatment has begun.

           Similarly, many forms of soft tissue rheumatism are curable, especially when the factors responsible for their causation are recognized and managed.

           But the success of treatment in arthritis depends not only on drugs but also on patient-doctor relationship, regular exercise programme and change in the mental attitude of the patients.

           Sometimes orthopedic surgery is performed as an important step in the treatment of chronic arthritis with disabling deformities, to alleviate pain and improve ambulation and quality of life. Arthroscopy of certain joints for example knee, shoulder, may be surgically done to remove the cause of pain and disability. A totally useless but painful joint may be replaced by an artificial prosthesis to restore painless function. Similarly, certain deformities may be corrected by special surgery.