In recent decades, the number of diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue has increased, as statistical data shows.Pathologies of the spine and joints occupy an “honorable” third place after diseases of the circulatory and respiratory systems.
Pain and stiffness in the joints not only significantly affect the quality of life, but often also lead to serious consequences - deformation and disability.It is not surprising that patients often have no idea what arthritis and arthrosis are.After all, it is much more important for them to know how to get rid of the disease.
Various symptoms
Osteoarthritis can be distinguished from arthritis based on the symptoms present, as these diseases manifest themselves in different ways.Arthritis is a group of inflammatory joint lesions in which all articular elements are involved in the pathological process - capsule, synovial membrane, cartilaginous tissue.
Characteristic signs of arthritis of any etiology are the following:
- redness, swelling and severe pain when touched;
- the pain does not go away with rest;
- the pain syndrome is pulsating, aching or sharp in nature;
- the joint feels hot;
- Stiffness in the morning that goes away after half an hour to an hour;
- Symptoms of general intoxication – fever, malaise, weakness, sweating, etc.
With osteoarthritis, only the cartilage tissue is affected: the loss of fluid causes it to become loose and thin.As a result, the articular bones rub against each other, which aggravates the pathological process.As the disease progresses, the cartilage tissue tears and its individual fragments, detritus, settle on the epiphyses of the bones.
In contrast to arthritis, osteoarthritis does not lead to an inflammatory reaction over a longer period of time.Swelling and redness may only occur in the final stages when bone outgrowths or a fluid-filled joint cavity put pressure on the surrounding structures.
A characteristic symptom of osteoarthritis is the onset of pain that occurs in the morning or after a long period of rest.Daytime physical activity, especially heavy physical activity, is always accompanied by pain that subsides with rest.Osteoarthritis of the knee joint becomes noticeable, for example, when walking, running or squatting.However, in the morning, these movements will help relieve stiffness.
The difference between arthritis and arthrosis also lies in the duration of morning stiffness - with the destruction of cartilage and bone tissue, it disappears within a few minutes.In arthritis, stiffness can last for more than an hour because a large amount of fluid (exudate) builds up in the joint cavity overnight.However, this difference can be considered conditional, since advanced forms of osteoarthritis are also characterized by long-term stiffness.
With osteoarthritis of the foot or toes, a person finds it difficult to take the first steps when getting up in the morning.By shifting the center of gravity to the heel or toe, the gait gradually changes and lameness occurs.
The difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis lies not only in the symptoms, but also in the causes.In addition, each of these diseases has its own treatment features.
Various reasons
In more than half of cases, osteoarthritis occurs after a not necessarily serious injury.The constant microtraumas that accompany the professional activities of athletes, construction workers and other representatives of physical labor have a much worse effect on the joint.
Chronic injuries that occur regularly usually go unnoticed and an “accumulation” of various damage occurs in the joint.The cartilage gradually becomes thinner and tears, the joint capsule ruptures and microfractures of the bone tissue occur.This causes the bones to deform and creates favorable conditions for the development of osteoarthritis.
It is also worth noting that car accidents are becoming more and more common, injuring people of all ages.Multiple severe fractures with bone fragmentation are often complicated by osteoarthritis and sometimes by complete immobility of the joints.
Another cause of osteoarthritis is a genetic predisposition - hereditary characteristics of metabolism and skeletal structure.But even in this case, there is no guarantee that osteoarthritis will be passed on from generation to generation.However, the risk of getting sick is still increasing.
Since excessive body weight leads to overloading of the entire musculoskeletal system, all joint elements suffer.In a young person, the cartilage tissue can withstand the pressure.And as we age, when the elasticity of cartilage decreases, excess weight can accelerate cartilage wear.
Arthritis can also lead to degeneration of cartilage structures because joint inflammation changes the composition of synovial fluid and cartilage tissue.And since arthritis almost always disrupts local blood circulation, the development of secondary osteoarthritis is possible.It doesn't matter whether arthritis is cured or not.
Oddly enough, prolonged psycho-emotional stress does not have the best effect on joint health.Due to the strong release of stress hormones (steroids), the permeability of the blood vessels decreases and the blood supply to the joints deteriorates.This leads to a reduced synthesis of hyaluronic acid, which is part of the synovial fluid and is responsible for its viscosity.Thanks to hyaluronic acid, the bones slide even when there is significant damage to the joint structure.
It is worth noting that in most cases a single reason for the appearance of arthrosis is not enough.Typically, the mechanism of cartilage degeneration is triggered by a combination of several factors.
Arthritis and arthrosis have fundamentally different causes.Arthritis can be caused by:
- Infection;
- a malfunction of the immune system when leukocytes begin to attack the body's own cells;
- Injuries and excessive stress on the joints - for example, masseurs often develop arthritis in their hands, the weak point of weightlifters is their knees, boxers and tennis players suffer damage to the shoulder joint;
- congenital skeletal anomalies;
- Pathologies of the nervous and endocrine systems and hormonal imbalances during menopause;
- allergic reactions;
- heredity;
- metabolic disorders;
- Poisoning with toxic substances, bites of poisonous insects;
- severe or prolonged hypothermia of the body;
- alcohol abuse;
- unbalanced diet, lack of vitamins and minerals.
Regardless of what caused the joint damage, the balance between destructive and restorative processes is disturbed.This means that an excessive number of damaged, dead cells are created that do not have time to be utilized.And new functional cells are not enough to replace dead cells.The result is joint malfunction.
If both diseases affect the same element - the joint - then what is the difference between arthritis and arthrosis?And why are the symptoms so different?The answer to these questions lies in which structures are affected by the pathological process.
In arthritis, the synovial membrane becomes inflamed and the quality of the synovial fluid changes.There are also damaged cells there.The reaction to their excess is swelling of the capsule itself and the surrounding tissues.
The difference from osteoarthritis is that damaged cells concentrate in the cartilage, where another protective mechanism is triggered: cells that have lost their functionality are replaced by connective tissue, forming scars.In addition, the new scar tissue is unable to perform a shock-absorbing function and has no elasticity.
Since joint dysfunction has various causes and can be associated with hormonal, metabolic and mechanical factors, understanding these causes is an important aspect.It largely depends on them what treatment arthritis or arthrosis requires.
Differences in treatment
There is a specific treatment regimen for arthritis and arthrosis.The goal of arthritis therapy is to stop the inflammatory process;The aim of osteoarthritis treatment is to restore the cartilage tissue.This is another difference between these two diseases.The only similarity is that painkillers are used in both cases.
In this case, self-medication will not be successful and can make the situation worse.Even an experienced specialist cannot always determine how arthritis differs from arthrosis of the knee joint based on external signs.Only after receiving the research results is an accurate diagnosis made.
To treat osteoarthritis in the acute phase, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used in a short period of time.If pain is severe, intra-articular blocks are performed with anesthetics and glucocorticosteroids.The therapy can be supplemented with local active ingredients – ointments and gels.
The main method of treating arthrosis is taking chondroprotectors - drugs based on substances that promote the regeneration of cartilage tissue and inhibit the development of the degenerative process.The most effective way is to introduce hyaluronic acid into the joint cavity - with the help of several injections it is possible to restore mobility in the joint and relieve the patient of pain.
If necessary, vasodilators can be prescribed to improve blood flow and muscle relaxants to relieve muscle spasms.
Physiotherapy is of great importance for osteoarthritis.With the help of exercises you can achieve good results, namely:
- relieve tension and increase the tone of weakened muscles;
- reduce pain intensity;
- increase joint space and improve mobility in the joint;
- improve blood circulation and metabolic processes in the affected tissues.
Therapeutic tactics for arthritis depend on the cause.For allergic, infectious and gouty forms, antihistamines, antibacterial drugs and means to eliminate excess uric acid are prescribed.In most cases, symptomatic therapy is with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and hormones.
Therapy for rheumatoid arthritis includes basic drugs and biological drugs containing bacteriophages.
For arthritis of any kind, vitamin complexes with B vitamins are prescribed.
In severe cases, surgical intervention is performed, which can be of different types:
- synovectomy;
- arthrotomy;
- joint resection;
- cheilectomy;
- arthrodesis;
- Arthroscopy.
The presence of destructive changes in the joint may require arthroplasty or reconstructive arthroplasty.The indication for this type of operation is a poor prognosis due to the complete destruction of cartilage tissue.
Conclusions
Thus, arthritis can be distinguished from osteoarthritis by the characteristic symptoms that accompany these diseases.It is important to know that osteoarthritis most commonly affects the hip and knee, but more rarely the ankle and interfinger joints.
In most cases, arthritis can be recognized by the symmetrical damage to the joints: If the joint on the right wrist becomes inflamed, the corresponding joint on the left hand begins to malfunction almost immediately.
However, it should be noted that it is impossible to make a diagnosis on your own, since similar symptoms can be observed in other pathologies – tendonitis, synovitis, bursitis and a number of others.Therefore, if you have discomfort and pain in the joints, diagnostics are necessary to find out the cause.
The early stages of osteoarthritis are easily treatable;In advanced cases, restoring joint function is only possible through surgery.With arthritis, the prognosis depends not only on the type of disease, but also on the quality of treatment.Timely treatment of post-traumatic arthritis leads to complete recovery in most patients.Even with the allergic form of the disease, eliminating the allergen is a guarantee of recovery.
The main factor in a favorable prognosis is early detection and prompt treatment of the disease.Be healthy!