Both arthritis and arthrosis affect the joints, and since joint pain forces the patient to go to the doctor in the hope of getting relief, he does not see the difference between these diseases.Arthritis, arthrosis - why these subtleties?Prescribe pills to make the pain go away!
But there is a difference, and it is often very important for further treatment: arthritis and arthrosis differ in the nature of the disease and the causes of the disease.
To better understand this difference, rememberhow the joint works.
In the typical case, the joint consists of two bones, the heads of which are covered with a special sliding material - hyaline cartilage.Makes it easier for the bones to rub against each other.Synovial fluid works for the same task: the bones do not fit tightly to each other, there is a small gap between them, which is filled with exactly this fluid.The synovial fluid and the point of contact of the bones that make up the joint are isolated from other organs and tissues by the joint capsule, consisting of dense connective tissue.
In arthritis, it is the cartilage that becomes inflamed;in arthrosis, the intra-articular cartilage suffers.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is a collective nameinflammatoryjoint diseases.In arthritis, the joint lining of the joint becomes inflamed and the body's connective tissues are affected.Arthritis can be caused by immune disorders, infections, or injuries.As a rule, it is accompanied by pain, swelling, redness and limited mobility of the joints.Arthritis is characterized by "flying" pain in the joints - bothering one joint, then another.Arthritis can develop at any age, even in teenagers (so-called juvenile arthritis).Advanced arthritis can be complicated by wear and tear of the intra-articular cartilage (arthrosis).
What is arthrosis?
Arthrosis is chronicdegenerativea joint disease characterized by progressive wear and tear of cartilage tissue.It can occur in any joint, but the knees, hips, shoulders and wrists are most commonly affected, as these are the joints that are subjected to the greatest stress.Osteoarthritis causes pain, stiffness and deterioration of joint mobility;the pain always affects the same joint or group of joints.Arthrosis is characteristic of elderly patients, although the first signs of this disease can be detected at the age of thirty.
Thus, the main difference between arthritis and arthrosis is in the causes of their occurrence and manifestations.Arthritis is associated with inflammation of the joints, while osteoarthritis is associated with degeneration and wear and tear of cartilage tissue.It is important to note that although these two conditions have different mechanisms of development, they are interconnected, since inflammatory processes can contribute to the degradation of intra-articular cartilage, i.e.arthrosis, and wear and tear of hyaline cartilage can cause secondary inflammation in the joint.
Causes of arthritis and arthrosis
Reasonsarthritiscan become:
- Rheumatic diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, etc.).
- Reaction to a triggering pathogen (usually bacteria that cause intestinal or sexually transmitted diseases): the body cannot stop in time and, although the infection has already been defeated, the immune system continues to attack, now affecting its own joint tissue.
- Entry of pathogens into the joint cavity due to injury or through the flow of lymph and blood.
- Entry of capillary blood into the joint cavity due to injury.
- Arthrosis (joint inflammation as a complication).
Reasonsarthrosiscan become:
- Excess weight, which increases the stress on the joints of the legs.
- Heavy physical labor.
- A sedentary lifestyle.
- Joint instability due to ligament and tendon injuries.
- old age
- Surgery affecting the joint.
- Congenital characteristics of the body.
- Arthritis (hyaline cartilage begins to deteriorate due to inflammatory processes in the joint).
Often, arthrosis is not caused by a single cause, but by a combination of them.
Clinical signs of arthritis and arthrosis
Joint pains in arthrosis and arthritis are different.
Acute arthritis is characterized by:
- Significant redness of the skin around the affected joint.
- Severe swelling in the affected area.
- The joint hurts both during movement and at rest.
- Prolonged morning stiffness (about an hour).
- General poor health: weakness, low productivity, body aches, sweating and sometimes fever.
Arthrosis is characterized by:
- Joint pains mainly during movement.
- Difficulty in performing normal activities (for example, with osteoarthritis of the knee it is painful to climb the stairs).
- Relatively short-lasting morning stiffness (up to half an hour).
- Initial pain: when the patient goes from rest to activity, the joint bothers him for a while, but this quickly passes.
- Strange sounds (clicking, creaking, crunching) in the later stages of the disease./li>
- Narrowing of the joint space and/or deformation of the bone, which can be noticed when palpating the joint (in the later stages of the disease, the deformation is just visible to the eye).
- Swelling of the diseased joint if the patient has suffered from arthrosis for a long time and has developed secondary inflammation.
Radiography will help to definitively determine the diagnosis.In arthritis, there will be no pathological changes in the image, but in arthrosis, you can see a decrease in the height of the joint space or even bony growths.
Treatment of arthritis and arthrosis
Arthritis therapywill vary depending on the type of disease and the causes that caused it.This may include:
- antibiotics;
- immunomodulatory drugs;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs);
- corticosteroids (if NSAIDs are not effective enough).
When inflammation can be relieved, physical therapy is also used to maintain joint function and physiotherapy, incl.exposure to magnetic fields.
Treatment of arthrosisis also comprehensive and includes both drug and non-drug methods.
The most commonly used drugs are NSAIDs, often in the form of gels and ointments.
Among the non-medicinal methods for arthrosis, exercises, massage and magnetic therapy are recommended.
The course effect of magnetic fields with specially selected parameters for arthrosis allows:
- relief of pain, secondary inflammation and swelling;
- improve the nutrition of the diseased joint and thus slow down the development of the disease;
- prolong periods without exacerbations.
Things to remember:
- The difference between arthritis and arthrosis is in the causes of their occurrence and manifestations.Arthritis is associated with inflammation of the joints, while osteoarthritis is associated with degeneration and wear and tear of cartilage tissue.Arthritis and arthrosis are interrelated because inflammatory processes can contribute to the degradation of intra-articular cartilage, and wear and tear of hyaline cartilage can cause secondary inflammation in the joint.
- Acute arthritis is characterized by swelling and redness of the skin around the affected joint, pain both during movement and at rest, prolonged morning stiffness and a general deterioration of the patient's health.Osteoarthritis is characterized by joint pain during movement, difficulty performing normal activities, short-term morning stiffness and initial pain;swelling of the joint is possible (with the development of secondary inflammation).Also, in arthritis, there will be no pathological changes on the X-ray image, but in arthrosis, there will be a decrease in the height of the joint space.
- The treatment of both arthritis and arthrosis should be comprehensive.Depending on the cause of the arthritis, your doctor may recommend antibiotics, immunomodulatory drugs, NSAIDs, or corticosteroids.When the inflammation subsides, exercise therapy and magnetic therapy are added.In arthrosis, NSAIDs, exercise therapy, massage and magnetic therapy are used.