
Arthritis and osteoarthritis are called the most dangerous enemies of the joints that hinder their work.However, despite the similarity of the name and a place of deployment, these diseases differ considerably from each other.Various joint pathologies are quite common in the calculations of doctors, each third of over 35 years old is faced with one of them.With age, the number of patients increases.In this article, we will discover how osteoarthritis is different.
Distinctive causes and characteristics
Already based on the names of pathologies, the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis is immediately noticeable.In medicine, the suffix "-it" indicates that this disease is associated with the inflammatory process.The "-oz" suffix is used to refer to diseases, following which the destruction of tissues or organs occurs.On this basis, we can say what osteoarthritis is and what arthritis is and distinguish them from each other.
Arthritis is called the degenerative dystrophic pathology of the joints, following which they are destroyed.
If we are talking about arthritis, it is more often diagnosed in women aged 17 to 50.Following its development, the pathological process occurs in the area of the synovial bag.Arthritis is an inflammatory process in the joint, which also has a negative impact on the state of the liver, kidneys, light and cardiovascular system.
Women over 30 are more sensitive to osteoarthritis.After 50 years, the risk of its occurrence increased considerably.The two diseases that affect the joints can cause disability, if you are not starting to treat them at the initial stage of development.At the same time, there is a difference - arthritis exclusively requires therapy methods, while the treatment of osteoarthritis is necessary to combine medication and surgery methods.
If the treatment of arthritis does not have a long time, then the disease can go to osteoarthritis, when destructive changes begin to occur in the synovial bag of cartilage and the tissues that surround it.In this case, arthroso-arthritis is diagnosed.
General causes of pathologies
There are general causes that can cause these two diseases.These include:
- Genetic predisposition.
- Pathologies of bones and connective tissue of a congenital nature.
- Overweight.
- Injuries.
- Nutrition violation.
- Automotive hypothermia.
- Lack or, conversely, excessive physical activity.
- Violation of metabolic processes in the body.
- Infections in the body.
Given the difference in osteoarthritis with arthritis, it is necessary to highlight the characteristic reasons for each specific disease.
The characteristic reasons for arthritis
These reasons include:
- Weakening of immunity and irrational nutrition with insufficient vitamins and minerals in food.This leads to the fact that a person becomes subject to various infectious diseases.Thus, infection can fall into the joint region, which will lead to inflammation.
- Ligament or joint injuries (stretching, bruising, etc.).
- Affection of the common area.
If several factors are combined at the same time (for example, excess body weight, the presence of bad habits and have undergone acute respiratory infections), then the risk of obtaining an inflammation of the joint increases considerably.
The characteristic reasons for osteoarthritis
Arthrosis differs in that its development in most cases is associated with heredity, acquired injuries and a violation of metabolic processes in the body.Unbearable arthritis can also lead to its development, because due to the metabolic processes of inflammation in the articulation, which leads to its destruction.
Symptoms
Arthritis and osteoarthritis have a number of common characteristics, including: pain in the joint, swelling of the tissues that surround it, change of contours and limitation of mobility.But there are manifestations that distinguish these two diseases.
Arthritis is diagnosed on the basis of these symptoms:
- Acute or painful pain, which does not depend on the movement and cannot disturb even at rest.
- The stiffness of the joint in the morning or after a long vacation.
- Hyperemia.
- Increase in body temperature due to inflammation in the joint.
- Swelling of the joint region.
- Limit mobility due to constant pain.
Osteoarthritis is more characteristic of the following manifestations:
- Stupid pain that occurs during movement.
- When you move in the joint, you can hear a characteristic click.
- The joint is distorted.
- Due to growths on bones, joint movements are limited.

Given how osteoarthritis differs from osteoarthritis, this difference can be distinguished: with arthritis, the patient is tormented by the general weakness of the body, frequent headaches, chronic fatigue and weight loss are possible, which is not during osteoarthritis.Osteoarthritis always affects a specific articulation (right or left) and does not develop in parallel in another member.Basically, the disease affects large joints (hip or knee).In this case, the difference between pathologies is that even the smallest joints of the body are subject to arthritis.
Detailed symptoms
Given the symptoms characterized by arthritis and osteoarthritis, we can distinguish certain characteristics which help to identify pathology and make a precise diagnosis.
Pain syndrome
The two pathologies cause pain.The only difference is that for arthritis, pain becomes a constant companion due to inflammation in the joint.This can happen not only during movement, but also to appear at night.
In the case of osteoarthritis, pain is caused by degenerative processes in cartilage.Consequently, a bone apparatus begins to suffer, which has lost its depreciation properties.In this case, painful sensations are real and are associated with the movement or the load of the joint.
At the initial stage of the development of the disease, the pain is small, but over time, it progresses and intensifies.
Clicks and crunch
The characteristic sounds (clicks or crunchy) in the affected joint help to determine osteoarthritis.They occur when the cartilage and friction of the bones occur.
Deformation
Arthritis and osteoarthritis cause a deformation of the affected joint.But in the first case, they are more visible.The difference is that with arthritis, it can be noted:
- Redness of the skin around the sore joint.
- Swelling.
- An increase in temperature in the affected area.
- The appearance of nodules.

In addition, arthritis is accompanied by the general weakness of the body, the increase in perspiration and psoriasis.
In the case of osteoarthritis, the articulation practically does not differ visually from healthy health.However, degenerative processes are already occurring inside, in which the exhaustion of the cartilage fabric begins.
Mobility
The two diseases lead to certain restrictions in the mobility of the joint.But at the same time, there are some differences.The pathology of osteoarthritis leads to a gradual decrease in motor activity.The difference in arthritis is that inflammation and pain immediately hamper the joint, interfering with its work.
Inflammation
With articular articular lesions, its swelling is clearly noticeable, the cause of which becomes inflammation in the joint capsule.Following a blood test, an increased quantity of leukocytes turns out to be.

In the case of osteoarthritis, there is no inflammation, so the level of leukocytes will be normal.Degenerative changes often occur imperceptibly for the patient himself.
Risk area
A person at any age can meet arthritis.The disease is diagnosed even in young children after infectious diseases.Osteoarthritis is diagnosed mainly in the elderly, as changes in cartilage tissues are long and are associated with metabolic disorders and other age -related factors.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of these pathologies always aims to discover at what stage of development The disease is and what has led to their development.The list of diagnostic measures includes laboratory, bacteriological, microscopic and instrumental studies, X -rays.
The difference in the results of the examination makes it possible to make a specific diagnosis and to set up a plan for subsequent treatment:
- The clinical blood test shows the amount of leukocytes, which indicates the presence or absence of an inflammatory process.
- The X-ray examination allows you to visually see changes in the joint tissues.
- MRI can detect inflammation in the joint bag.This method is rarely used.
- Arthroscopy is prescribed in difficult cases to determine additional therapy.

Treatment
The difference between osteoarthritis and arthritis also applies to methods of processing pathologies.Disease therapy must be complex and includes:
- Using medication.
- Physiotherapeutic procedures.
- Diet.
- The course of exercise therapy and therapeutic gymnastics.
- Preventive measures.
Pharmacotherapy
Traditional effective therapy will be if you start to treat osteoarthritis or arthritis at the initial stage of their development, when you can limit yourself to medication.The treatment of osteoarthritis is to prescribe to the patient:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.They save the patient from inflammation and reduce pain.These drugs are prescribed in the form of ointments, tablets or injections.
- Corticosteroids are used in the case of acute development of the disease.
- Chondroprotectors for joints are necessary to restore the cartilage fabric and synovial fluid.Take these drugs for a long time (at least 5 to 6 months in a row).
- Medical products of hyaluronic acid which has a positive effect on cellular membranes, contributing to the restoration of damaged cartilage.
- Important drugs with an analgesic effect.
Choosing a remedy against arthritis, the doctor will recommend the following drugs:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs necessary for symptomatic therapy.
- Glucocorticoid agents are prescribed in case of 3 to 4 stages of acute arthritis.
- Modified drugs are necessary to eliminate the objective of inflammation and prevent their subsequent development.
- Immunosuppressants help accelerate the recovery process and are introduced directly into the joint capsule.
- Drugs to stop pain.
- Antispasmodics.
- Desensizans.
- Vitamin-mineral complexes.
Diet
In order to prevent complications which are often accompanied by arthritis and osteoarthritis, a certain diet must be observed.There is no difference in the disease to be treated.During this period, it is necessary to exclude from your diet:
- Salt.
- Grasse varieties of meat and fish.
- Sausage products.
- Smoked meats.
- Confectionery.
- Alcohol.
- Legumes.
- Coffee and strong tea.

The difference in nutrition is only with arthritis, it is worth abandoning saturated meat broths.While for patients with osteoarthritis, on the contrary, they will be very useful, because they positively affect the state of the bone and cartilage.
The diet of patients with a diagnosis of arthroso-arthritis should be based on:
- Low varieties of meat and fish that should be cooked or cooked without spices.
- Fresh vegetables and fruits.
- A sufficient quantity of clean gas without gas.
Physiotherapy
The methods selected to treat these diseases can vary in that of arthritis, the main process is the elimination of the inflammatory process, while with osteoarthritis, it is necessary to exclude all the factors that have led to the destruction of joint tissues.Physiotherapy methods give a good result:
- Laser treatment.
- Ozonotherapy.
- Magnetotherapy.
- Phonophoresis using glucocorticoids.
- Applications and paraffin baths.

Operation
The best option for the treatment of osteoarthritis, especially at an advanced stage, is surgery.The operation eliminates existing destructive components and artificially increase the damaged cartilage fabric.If the changes in the joint are significant and this prevents a person from moving, then the endoprothetics is made.Depending on the cause and the degree of defeat, one of these operations is prescribed:
- Arthroscopy - elimination of osteophytes and other pathological training.
- Arthrodesis is an artificial creation of an articular surface.Today, such intervention is extremely rare.
- Artroplasty - The restoration of the destroyed articulation by creating new structures.
- Endoprosthetics - Replacement of damage by the disease of the knee joint by a new inert materials.
Exercise therapy
A special gymnastic exercise complex, which is used for arthritis or osteoarthritis, does not differ significantly.At the same time, gymnastics should aim to warm up and knead the affected area lightly, without significant load.Before you start doing exercises, you have to warm up.
The choice of exercise depends on the area that the disease develops.It can type or pinch the joint, its rotation, its flexion or its abduction on the side.
The treatment of osteoarthritis is always long and progressive.At the initial stage, the use of drugs for osteoarthritis, physiotherapeutic procedures, massage and gymnastics is shown.If all this did not have the right effect, the operation is carried out.
The treatment of arthritis is also complex.The difference is that its duration depends on the form of pathology.A good effect is given by the use of drugs and physiotherapy, which stop pain and relieve inflammation.Massage in this case is not used.It is extremely rare to prescribe physiotherapy exercises.With the ineffectiveness of the drug, the prostheses are carried out.
The treatment of any disease should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor who understands what is the difference in osteoarthritis and arthritis.Self-medication can only worsen the situation and lead to the development of complications.
Prevention
In order to keep the joints in good health without allowing arthritis or osteoarthritis, it is important throughout life to adhere to certain preventive rules:
- Do sports regularly, avoiding such types associated with weight lifting and the possibility of injury.A good result is given by cardio loading and swimming.
- Avoid hypothermia.
- Ensure good nutrition with a sufficient amount of vitamins and micro-elements in food.
- Follow the weight and prevent its increase in addition to the standard.
- Avoid injuries.
- Wear high quality and comfortable shoes.

In addition, for the prevention of arthritis, you should treat infectious diseases over time.
Arthritis and arthritis are very similar to each other and do not lend themselves to complete healing.But paying attention to them in time and starting a competent treatment, the patient has a chance for a full life without disability.