According to observations, more than 6, 000 search engine users are interested in the differences between osteoarthritis and arthritis each month. At first glance, the diseases are similar: in both cases, painful damage to the joints occurs. However, the ignorance of the main differences of this same defeat is a real trap that leads to irreparable complications. The nature of these diseases is different, which means that treatment and prevention will be different from each other. Let's consider each of them in as much detail as possible and find all the similarities and differences.
What is arthritis?
Before addressing the causes and symptoms of the disease, it is worth mentioning the numbers. Arthritis is a disease with more than 200 varieties that manifests itself in various ways. Unlike osteoarthritis, which speaks of itself with the advent of old age, arthritis appears at 25-40 years. According to the WHO, more than 19% of disability cases were the result of its complications.
Arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the joints resulting from weakened immune processes or serious infections (intestinal or genitourinary). Disruptions in metabolism, stress and hypothermia often become the cause of the development of inflammation.
The main symptoms of the disease are fever in the center of the lesion, redness, swelling, and swelling. Also, the patient may experience general hyperthermia, loss of strength, conjunctivitis, pain when urinating.
Arthritis begins with joint pain, but in its advanced form it affects the heart, liver, kidneys, eyes, etc. Often the disease progresses in an asymptomatic blurry manner, but its first manifestations are standard:
- sharp pains arising both in movement and in a state of complete rest;
- persistent or periodic edema that occurs at the site of injury;
- the painful joint is "stormy", and this can be determined by touch;
- Worries about pain and stiffness of movements in the early hours of the morning (4-5 am).
Advanced arthritis can turn into osteoarthritis, and this will be a completely different story.
What is osteoarthritis?
According to WHO observations, 70% of cases of this disease occur in people over 64 years of age. Osteoarthritis is called a "pianists and athletes" disease, because it is this category that is subject to stress on the wrists, knees and ankles.
Osteoarthritis is a disease that causes the deformation of joint tissues until their complete destruction. It develops due to a decrease in the amount of joint fluid and circulatory disorders. In the affected articular cartilage, nutrition is altered, causing it to "dry out" and "wear out. "
The main job of a joint is to prevent adjacent bones from touching each other. This allows a person to move freely and without pain. The dehydrated articular cartilage is slowly but surely destroyed, leading to the same contacts with the bones. The more the disease progresses, the more pain and stiffness of movements the person experiences, leading to disability.
The first symptoms of the deformity have their own characteristics:
- joint stiffness after prolonged rest, regressing with movement;
- dull clicks, grinding and cracking;
- painful sensations when walking and physical exertion.
With osteoarthritis, only the joints are affected, without affecting other organs. Inflammatory processes in this case are absent.
Side by Side Comparison of Diseases
To precisely understand how arthritis differs from osteoarthritis, it is worth drawing a parallel between the main differences, summarizing the above:
- Pain. It accompanies both the first and the second disease, but its manifestation is of a different nature. With osteoarthritis, pain appears exclusively during movement and force loads, and is usually mild. For this reason, a person is unaware of serious pathologies and does not start timely treatment. However, with each subsequent stage, the pain becomes more intense and begins to bother even at rest.
As for arthritis, here it does not always depend on physical activity and is eliminated only with painkillers. The disease is characterized by pain that occurs in the early hours of the morning.
- Crunch. Grinding and grinding is not always a concern. However, with osteoarthritis, it has a peculiar sound, coarser and drier, which increases with each subsequent stage. It becomes a sign of the destroyed cartilaginous layer and the beginning of bone friction. In arthritis, grinding is not common.
- Deformation. With osteoarthritis, the joint is deformed, and inflammatory processes can also occur. With arthritis, seals appear, edema, redness and hyperthermia appear, but deformation occurs only if one disease has turned into another.
- Immobility. With osteoarthritis, the affected joint becomes stiff.
- Age threshold. Arthritis can develop even in children, however, according to statistics, the average age of patients is 25-40 years. Osteoarthritis is considered a disease of "old age" and is the result of natural aging. Also at risk are people whose life is associated with stress on the joints.
- Development of symptoms. The symptoms of arthritis are already felt in the initial stage of inflammation. The second disease develops slowly and asymptomatically, thus confusing the patient without causing concern.
How is arthritis treated?
The disease is already acutely felt in the first stage, so in most cases it is treated in a timely manner. If no injuries to internal organs are found during diagnosis, recovery is smooth. The course of treatment of the disease is carried out with the help of anti-inflammatory and immune-strengthening drugs, as well as antibiotics. If the situation is running, it repeats until full recovery.
Recovery occurs in a complex way, therefore the patient is prescribed special therapeutic exercises, diet and rejection of bad habits. During this period, energy loads are excluded.
If the arthritis is chronic, rheumatoid, it cannot be completely cured. For temporary improvement, powerful drugs are used: cytostatics, corticosteroids. Today, medicine makes it possible to achieve a long-term remission of this disease, avoiding an overabundance of hormonal agents. However, to prevent such a development of events, you should not self-medicate and postpone a visit to the doctor.
How is osteoarthritis treated?
The effectiveness of osteoarthritis treatment depends on the stage of the disease: the earlier it is detected, the sooner a person will recover. The age of the patient also plays an important role. As a therapeutic measure, the patient is assigned to regulate the loads on the affected joint, medication to the liver.
The disease, which has acquired a chronic form, finally does not regress, however, modern medicine can competently control the disease, preventing the joint from further deforming. Carelessly, when it cannot be restored, they turn to artificial stents.
Whichever of the two ailments considered that a person finds, the treatment must be competent and timely. At the slightest suspicion of a disease, seek the advice of an experienced specialist, because time lost is health forever lost. For help from a qualified orthopedic traumatologist, contact the clinic.