All the joints in the human body have two enemies that prevent them from functioning fully. These are osteoarthritis and arthritis, however, despite having a similarity in name, they are two different pathological processes that affect the cartilage tissue of the joints. Below, we'll take a look at how osteoarthritis differs from arthritis.
As you know, cartilage is responsible for the functioning of the joints. Cartilage is strong, resilient because it lacks blood vessels and nerve endings. Thanks to it, the stress on the tissues, where there are capillaries or nerve fibers, is reduced.
When a person is in motion, the cartilage tissue promotes painless and unhindered rotation of the bony heads in the joint cavity, thus preventing damage to the joint due to friction. During jumping, walking, cartilage softens the load, performing the function of shock absorption.
Osteoarthritis and arthritis cause joint stiffness, which prevents a person from leading a normal life due to limited movement. There are a number of symptoms in which the two diseases are similar, but there are many other symptoms that are fundamentally different.
Physiological processes caused by arthritis
The first symptom of the disease is pain in the joint. With arthritis, the process of inflammation of the cartilage tissue begins.
In the joint, arthritis affects:
- joint capsule;
- synovial fluid, which lubricates and nourishes the tissues and the joint cavity;
- located along the edges of the synovial membrane.
Patients with arthritis most often complain of pain, stiffness in the joints. The inflamed area begins to turn red, and the temperature rises even at the site of arthritis or polyarthritis. In some cases, the pain syndrome is also felt in the paired joint of the other arm or leg.
One symptom that worries the patient in the presence of arthritis and polyarthritis is swelling of the external tissues of the joint.
However, despite the fact that the functions are reduced, the deformation of the structure does not occur. Arthritis causes the appearance of an inflammatory process in cartilage tissue, caused by trauma, infection or metabolic disorders. This disease is completely curable, but only if the patient adheres to the recommendations of the doctor during treatment and does not use unverified folk remedies for arthritis. If this process is allowed to take its course, the disease will lead to deterioration of the joints.
Physiological processes caused by osteoarthritis
The presence of osteoarthritis or spondylarthrosis leads to pathological processes that occur in the joint cavity. Since there are no vessels in the cartilage tissue, it feeds on the synovial fluid, which contains many elements.
When a person reaches old age, the metabolic processes in his body begin to slow down, which leads to a deterioration in the nutrition of the cartilage, which leads to its deterioration.
Cartilage with various types of osteoarthritis becomes thinner and cannot cope with shock-absorbing functions. Because of this, patients begin to experience pain syndrome the moment the joint is involved.
In this case, it makes no sense to take anti-inflammatory drugs for osteoarthritis, because there is no inflammatory process. This disease occurs in the elderly. Its appearance is influenced by a person's lifestyle. People who eat properly, lead a healthy lifestyle, osteoarthritis usually does not appear.
Also, another factor in how arthritis differs from osteoarthritis is that, unlike the first, with the second disease there is no edema, redness of the tissues.
Also, osteoarthritis differs in that it affects a specific joint. If it affects a joint on one arm, it won't. It often occurs in large joints such as the hip or knee.
Different and similar characteristics of diseases
Similar symptoms:
- in the morning, a person feels numbness and stiffness in the joint;
- loss of complete limb movement;
- pain when moving the affected joint.
These are symptoms inherent in two diseases, but the pain has a different character, the place of appearance, the duration of the sensations are different. Usually, the doctor relies on these indications to make a diagnosis.
Differences between osteoarthritis and arthritis
- With arthritis at the site of the affected joint, an increase in the temperature of the skin is observed, this process is caused by inflammation. But with osteoarthritis, despite the fact that the degenerative process is in progress, this symptom is absent.
- Arthritis leads to swelling of the upper tissues, with the second disease this symptom is absent.
- The presence of polyarthritis, arthritis due to inflammation can lead to subcutaneous nodules. Such symptoms are not inherent in osteoarthritis.
- Osteoarthritis causes a process of deformation in the joint, and if it is not treated (using ointments for osteoarthritis or other methods), it will become inoperative. The presence of polyarthritis or arthritis does not cause deformity.
- Due to the inflammation of arthritis, the skin in the affected area is redder. The second disease does not change the color of the skin.
Similar signs and their differences
There are a number of nuances that can be diagnosed during the study. In the following, symptoms with individual symptoms and the like will be described.
Painful sensations
As mentioned above, pain syndrome occurs in both diseases. However, arthritis must be characterized by the presence of inflammation which leads to pain. The very nature of the pain is acute and can appear even at night or immediately after waking up.
Many people themselves make it worse when they use a new miracle cream or remedy advertised on the Internet to treat arthritis. Any good doctor will tell you that you cannot independently prescribe treatment for arthritis.
With regard to osteoarthritis, pain occurs due to the breakdown of cartilage tissue, as a result of which it is unable to alleviate the load. When there is no cushioning, the bone apparatus is damaged.
A person experiences aching pain after long walks or during exercises that stress the joint. When the disease first appeared, the patient may experience slight discomfort, but as the disease progresses, the condition only worsens. In this case, you should not only take pills or other medicine for osteoarthritis, but the treatment should be complex and carried out under the supervision of a doctor.
Deformation process
Both diseases can change the structure of the joint. Arthritis can be recognized by external physiological changes visible on visual inspection: local temperature increase, redness, swelling and knotting.
Often arthritis is accompanied by: weakness, increased sweating, psoriasis. Only certain types of arthritis can cause a change in the structure of the joint - these are osteoarthritis and traumatic arthritis.
Osteoarthritis is considered a more insidious disease because it does not manifest itself from the outside. However, active tissue deformation occurs in the joint cavity. The cartilage thins and, as a result, the bone tissue is exposed to unusual stress.
Inflammation
With arthritis, swelling appears in the area of the affected joint. The reason for this is the inflamed synovial film, located in the middle of the capsule. When examining the patient's analyzes, an increase in the level of leukocytes is noted. As a rule, the presence of infection or injury leads to the appearance of an inflammatory process.
Osteoarthritis does not lead to an increase in leukocytes because there is no inflammation. The degeneration process begins gradually, and often a person does not even notice any symptoms.
Clicks and crackles
One symptom of osteoarthritis is a tightening in a painful joint. The reason for this is the worn out cartilage tissue, which causes pain when bone tissue interacts. But crunch does not always indicate the presence of disease, a healthy person can also hear clicks. With osteoarthritis, the sound will be rough and dry.
With arthritis there is no tightening, because as a result of inflammation the joint swells and cannot completely move, cartilage tissue performs its functions.
Joint mobility
These two diseases have a common symptomatology also in that they restrict the mobility of the joints. However, the reasons for the stiffness are different.
A decrease in the motor activity of the joint with osteoarthritis is caused by the thinning of the cartilage tissue, while at the onset of the disease there is no such symptom at all. In arthritis, the stiffness is caused by inflammation and is extensive. The joint is completely paralyzed.
General and specific causes of occurrence
Common causes of illness are injuries sustained by a person while running or jumping. Also, regular heavy load of the joint can cause this. For this reason, diseases are most often found in professional athletes. Another reason is severe or frequent hypothermia, which often happens in the joints of the limbs.
Arthritis occurs as a result of inflammation caused by the appearance of infection in the body; this is not typical of osteoarthritis. Since inflammation is a whole body process, arthritis is only a consequence. In order to cure the disease, it is necessary to find out the cause of the onset of the inflammatory process and eliminate it. Also, being overweight can lead to the onset of arthritis due to the fact that it puts pressure on the joints. In this case, the joints of the lower limbs and the musculoskeletal system are at risk.
Osteoarthritis is a separate disease, as this process has nothing to do with the general condition of the body. The reasons for its occurrence are hidden in a small amount of substances entering the body due to poor nutrition. In addition, bad habits, such as smoking and alcohol abuse, can cause the disease. Often its appearance is favored by diseases of the circulatory tract and hormonal disorders. According to statistics, the elderly mainly suffer from osteoarthritis.
Who is at risk
A person of any age is susceptible to arthritis. Illness resulting from infection even affects babies. According to statistics, women are more likely to suffer from arthritis.
As for osteoarthritis, the elderly suffer from it. As a rule, the deformation of the structure of cartilage tissue begins in people over 60 years of age. The fact is that the older a person, the slower the metabolic processes in the body, this is also influenced by the lifestyle of the person. And by the way, those with arthritis are more susceptible to osteoarthritis.
The risk group includes people who have bad habits, expose their bodies to regular physical activity, and eat poorly.
Common in the treatment of arthritis and osteoarthritis
For the treatment of such diseases, the same measures are taken in part:
- the patient should exclude any stress, establish a moderate diet;
- take drugs that restore the volume of cartilage and nourish it;
- performing exercise therapy in conjunction with massage to improve metabolic processes in the body and blood flow to the diseased joint;
- the use of analgesics to relieve pain;
- the doctor prescribes intra-articular blockage in the form of injections;
- oxygenation of the joint;
- the patient switches to a complex diet.
Treatment, in particular, varies over antibiotics for infectious type arthritis to treat the underlying cause of the disease.
When the stage is advanced, they resort to surgery as a treatment. This need arises when the cartilage tissue is completely destroyed. In this case, a prosthetic joint is installed.