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 joint damage occurs. However, ignoring the main differences of this very defeat is a real trap, leading to irreparable complications. The nature of these diseases is different, which means that the treatment and prevention will be different. Let's look at each of them in as much detail as possible and find all the similarities and differences.
What is arthritis?
Before dealing with the causes and symptoms of the disease, it is worth mentioning the numbers. Arthritis is a disease with over 200 varieties which manifest in various ways. Unlike osteoarthritis, which speaks for itself with the onset of old age, arthritis appears as early as 25-40 years old. According to the WHO, more than 19% of disability cases resulted from its complications.
Arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the joints resulting from weakened immune processes or severe infections (intestinal or genitourinary). Disturbances in metabolism, stress, 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. In addition, the patient may have general hyperthermia, loss of strength, conjunctivitis, painful urination.
Arthritis begins with pain in the joints, but in its advanced form it affects the heart, liver, kidneys, eyes, etc. Often the disease presents in a fuzzy asymptomatic form, but its first manifestations are standard:
- sharp pains occurring both in movement and in a state of complete rest;
- persistent or periodic edema occurring at the site of the injury;
- the painful joint is "stormy", and this can be determined by touch;
- pain and stiffness of movement worry in the early hours of the morning (4-5 in the morning).
Advanced arthritis can turn into osteoarthritis, and that will be a whole 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 disease of "pianists and athletes" because it is this category that is subjected to stress on the wrists, knees, ankles.
Osteoarthritis is a disease that causes deformation of joint tissue until it is completely destroyed. It develops due to a decrease in the amount of joint fluids and circulatory disorders. In the affected articular cartilage, nutrition is disturbed, due to which it "dries up" and "wears out".
The main job of a joint is to prevent adjacent bones from touching each other. This allows a person to move freely and painlessly. Dehydrated articular cartilage is slowly but surely destroyed, leading to the same bone contacts. The more the disease progresses, the more the person experiences pain and stiffness of the movements, until disability.
The first symptoms of deformity have their own characteristics:
- Joint stiffness after a long rest, receding with movement;
- dull clicks, grinding and cracking;
- painful sensations when walking and exercising.
With osteoarthritis, only the joints are affected, without affecting other organs. Inflammatory processes in this case are absent.
Side by Side Comparison of Diseases
In order to understand precisely 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, the pain appears exclusively during movement and strength loads, and is often mild. Due to this, a person is not aware of serious pathologies and does not start treatment in a timely manner. 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 pain relievers. The disease is characterized by pain that occurs early in the morning.
- Crunch. Crunching and grinding is not always a cause for concern. However, with osteoarthritis it has a peculiar, coarser and drier sound, increasing with each subsequent stage. This becomes a signal of the destroyed cartilage layer and the onset 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 the deformation occurs only if one disease turns 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 to 40 years. Osteoarthritis is considered a disease of "old age" and results from natural aging. People whose lives are associated with stress on the joints are also at risk.
- Development of symptoms. Symptoms of arthritis are already being felt at the initial stage of inflammation. The second disease develops slowly and asymptomatically, which is why it misleads the patient, without worrying.
How is arthritis treated?
The disease is acutely felt from the first stage, which is why in most cases it is treated in a timely manner. If during the diagnosis no damage to internal organs is detected, the recovery proceeds smoothly. Treatment of the disease is carried out with the help of anti-inflammatory and immuno-strengthening drugs, as well as antibiotics. If the situation is running, it is repeated until full recovery.
Recovery takes place in a complex way, therefore, the patient is prescribed special therapeutic exercises, diet and rejection of bad habits. During this period, all electrical charges are excluded.
If the arthritis is chronic, rheumatoid, it cannot be completely cured. For temporary improvement, strong drugs are used - cytostatics, corticosteroids. Today, medicine makes it possible to achieve long-term remission of this disease, avoiding an overabundance of hormonal agents. However, in order to avoid such a development of events, you should not self-medicate and postpone a visit to the doctor.
How is osteoarthritis treated?
The effectiveness of treatment for osteoarthritis depends on the stage of the disease: the earlier it is detected, the sooner the person will recover. The age of the patient also plays an important role. As a therapeutic measure, the patient is responsible for regulating the loads on the affected joint, drugs for the liver.
The disease, which has acquired a chronic form, ultimately does not recede, however, modern medicine is able to competently control the disease, preventing the joint from further deforming. In a neglected form, when it cannot be restored, they resort to artificial stents.
Whatever two considered ailments a person encounters, treatment should be competent and timely. At the slightest suspicion of illness, seek advice from an experienced specialist, because lost time is lost health forever. For help from a qualified orthopedic traumatologist, contact the clinic.