Arthritis and osteoarthritis are quite common today. Many people confuse these diseases because of the similarity in their occurrence. However, in fact, the two diseases are very different from each other. You can understand the difference between diseases only if you study their features.
Types of pathology
it is impossible to diagnose joint disease based on pain alone. Almost every disease of the musculoskeletal system is associated with pain.
The following diseases are the most common:
- Arthritis,provoked by inflammation of the joint surface. This inflammation occurs for various reasons. The primary form develops against the background of a number of diseases of a gouty, septic and rheumatic nature.
The secondary form can develop after systemic lupus erythematosus, borreliosis, arthropathy.
- Osteoarthritis,provoking the destruction of cartilage and a portion of the bone located below.
Primary usually develops for no reason. It usually manifests in older people and affects the surface of large symmetrical bone joints.
The secondary form of the disease occurs after suffering a serious illness. Often, the development of this form is caused by a genetic predisposition.
Often, inflammation of large bone joints (shoulders, knees) is caused by excess weight, intense physical exertion, past trauma, and endocrinological diseases.
- Arthropathy is a violation of the integrity of the joints as a result of complex transferred diseases.
- Tendonitis is an inflammatory process that occurs in the tendon. Enthesitis - structural changes at the junction of soft tissues and bones.
- Scholarship is a scholarship lesion.
- Capsulitis - inflammation and violation of the integrity of the joint capsule.
How to distinguish osteoarthritis with different severity from arthritis? You should know that arthritis and osteoarthritis have a different nature of manifestation, which determines the treatment of arthritis.
Difference in features
How does arthritis differ from osteoarthritis? Signs indicating the presence of a particular disease. Signs of arthritis and osteoarthritis of the knee joints are specific.
What is osteoarthritis? A chronic disease that is in itself devastating. The peculiarity of the disease is that it affects the cartilage and is irreversible.
The disease most often affects people of both sexes over the age of 60 years. That is, osteoarthritis of the knee joints is considered a disease during which a large-scale destruction of cartilage occurs. Initially, a large joint is affected, for example, the ankle. Treatments is his treatment that should be given special attention.
When rheumatoid arthritis affects the hands or feet, inflammation is found in several bone joints at the same time. The main difference between osteoarthritis and arthritis is that the second disease is associated with inflammation of the large bone joints - knee, shoulder.
Arthritis has a number of secondary symptoms. In particular, it provokes swelling of the joints, redness around them. In addition, the patient has a fever, blocking motor functions. One of the factors can provoke a disease: allergies, infectious diseases, metabolic disorders and trauma.In the case of an inflammatory process, a person's motor activity is impaired. In particular, the range of motion is significantly reduced. This restriction applies to both those movements that are performed independently and those that a person needs help with.
Inflammation affects either one node or several at a time. Usually, this phenomenon is accompanied by pain without a clear place of their localization, and the articular surface of the ankle or foot remains intact.
It is worth remembering that the main risk of this disease is that changes occur not only in bone tissue but also in other organs, for example, the digestive, visual and secretory organs. Changes can also affect the dermis.
The disease affects people of all ages, however, more often, the disease is diagnosed in women aged 35-50 years.
As for pain, arthritis accompanies it all the time. In the presence of osteoarthritis, the destruction of bone tissue is usually asymptomatic, without causing pain, so that the patient does not notice it.
In the first case, the disease manifests itself in some way. Associated with body weakness, sometimes psoriasis. In the second case, all inflammatory changes occur without external signs.
Arthritic inflammation manifests externally with soft tissue swelling. They are also characterized by joint paralysis. Changes of another nature occur normally and practically do not manifest. However, they are characterized by a specific "dry" chewing that appears as a result of consuming the joints.
What is the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis? The second provokes the destruction of cartilage, and rheumatic disease manifests itself as inflammation of bone tissue. It is these signs that are the main ones by which one can distinguish the arthritis that struck a person or osteoarthritis.
Difference in symptoms
How does osteoarthritis of different origins differ from arthritis? Osteoarthritis and arthritis differ in the symptoms of the disease. Knowing them is very important, as symptoms and treatment are interrelated.
Arthritis and osteoarthritis of the knee show similar symptoms. However, you can still distinguish between them. Arthritis and osteoarthritis of the knee and others manifest with severe pain. However, the nature of the pain is different. With osteoarthritis, the patient feels pain when moving or due to heavy load on the knees. It hurts, the attack lasts too long.
The first stage is characterized by mild pain, therefore, the disease is often detected only during diagnosis.
In the next stage, the patient feels pain even in conditions of light load.
In the third stage of its development, the disease is considered neglected. Pain can occur even when there is no movement at all. After changing the position of the joint to a comfortable one, the pain subsides.
A disease of the hand, shoulder or hip is characterized by acute pain that does not go away at all. Often a pain attack starts early in the morning. The symptoms of arthritis and osteoarthritis are different. You can tell if arthritis or osteoarthritis has affected the joints by the presence of a seizure in them. If heard, it means that the second disease hit the bone joint.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint or other large joints can be associated with a crisis if the cartilage layers are destroyed and there is direct contact of the bone.
The disease negatively affects the mobility of an affected joint. For example, knee osteoarthritis is associated with leg pain. Arthritic arthritis or another type of arthritis occurs with a feeling of stiffness throughout the body.
How does arthritis differ from osteoarthritis? In addition, gonarthrosis persists without external swelling, but with an external change in the joints.
Osteoarthritis affects the joints: what is the difference? In addition to the main symptoms, arthritis is associated with hyperthermia, eye inflammation, excessive sweating and weakness.
Differences in diagnosis
It is possible to diagnose arthritis of various origins and osteoarthritis only by determining the cause of the development of this disease. Treatment begins only after determining the level of disease development activity. In addition, during the diagnosis, the attending physician should make a prediction to prevent a poor outcome.
Treatment of osteoarthritis at different stages and arthritis begins only after a detailed diagnosis.
The complex of medical tests consists of general clinical laboratory research, X-rays, microscopy and bacteriological research.
Diseases of different origins differ in the results of the tests performed.
If arthritis and osteoarthritis are not treated immediately, it will become impossible to cure. In addition, systematic prevention of arthritis and osteoarthritis should be performed. Do you want to get rid of arthritis and osteoarthritis through an effective treatment? Take a major exam that includes MRI and arthroscopy.
An informative method that allows you to identify the difference in the manifestations of arthritis from osteoarthritis of the knee joint is the X-ray.
Differences in treatment
How are arthritis and osteoarthritis treated? Symptoms and treatment of diseases are interrelated. The treatment of osteoarthritis is the same, but there are some differences. From the point of view of medicine, diseases vary, therefore, the treatment of forms of osteoarthritis and arthritis is safe.
How to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis? Complex therapy will help to cure any of the diseases. In both cases, patients with osteoarthritis and arthritis are prescribed treatment, including medication (medications prescribed by a doctor). Physiotherapy is prescribed, that is, physical therapy, which is especially important for patients with arthritis or a form of osteoarthritis of the knee joints, as it helps speed up treatment. For arthritis and osteoarthritis of the joints, treatment includes diets, the menu of which varies.
Those who want to improve their health "without medication" often carry out treatment with various folk remedies.
Diseases can last long enough and become chronic. Despite the reason for their appearance, they provoke the development of complications. This is why patients must be constantly or for a long time under medical supervision and undergo rehabilitation, the program of which is specially designed for them.
To avoid the development of diseases, special attention should be paid to disease prevention.
- First, it is necessary to treat all diseases of the musculoskeletal system in a timely manner and undergo comprehensive post-injury rehabilitation.
- Second, you need to limit or at least limit physical activity, eat well, and monitor your weight. Third, you should systematically consult a physician to determine the presence and correct bone deformities in a timely manner.
So the difference between the two diseases is significant. Manifested in symptoms, signs and causes of diseases. The nature of the course is also specific. In the absence of qualified help in time, inflammatory processes in bone and cartilage tissues can provoke complications.
Prevention, to which special attention should be paid, will help to avoid the development of this or that disease.