INTRODUCTIONrnArthritis is a collective term for over 100 joint diseases which are often chronic in nature and progressively debilitating if not managed and treated appropriately. While the exact global estimate of arthritis prevalence is difficult to discern due to the variety of diseases comprised under the term, it has been reported that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA), the two most common forms, affect over 19 and 300 million people worldwide, respectively.