Both arthritis and arthrosis affect the joints, and since it is joint pain that 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 some pills, let the pain go away!
But there is a difference and often it is 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 a typical case, the joint is made up of two bones, the heads of which are covered with a special sliding material - hyaline cartilage.It makes it easier for bones to rub against each other.Synovial fluid works for the same task: the bones do not adjoin each other closely, there is a small gap between them, which is filled with precisely this fluid.The synovial fluid and the place of contact of the bones that make up the joint are isolated from other organs and tissues by the articular 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 articular lining of the joint becomes inflamed and the connective tissues of the body are affected.Arthritis can be caused by immune disorders, infections, or injuries.As a rule, it is accompanied by pain, swelling, redness and limited joint mobility.Arthritis is characterized by “flying” joint pain - it bothers 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 a 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 face the most stress.Arthrosis causes pain, stiffness and deterioration of joint mobility; the pain always affects the same joint or the same group of joints.Arthrosis is typical for elderly patients, although the first signs of this disease can be found in thirty-year-olds.
Thus, the main difference between arthritis and arthrosis lies in the causes of their occurrence and manifestations.Arthritis is associated with inflammation of the joints, while arthrosis is associated with degeneration and wear of cartilage tissue.It is important to note that although these two conditions have different developmental mechanisms, they are interrelated, since inflammatory processes can contribute to the degradation of intra-articular cartilage, i.e.arthrosis, and wear and tear of hyaline cartilage can trigger secondary inflammation in the joint.
Causes of arthritis and arthrosis
Reasonsarthritismay become:
- Rheumatic diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, etc.).
- Reaction to a trigger 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 (inflammation of the joints as a complication).
Reasonsarthrosismay become:
- Excess weight, which increases stress on the joints of the legs.
- Hard physical labor.
- 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 caused not by one reason, but by a combination of them.
Clinical signs of arthritis and arthrosis
Joint pain with arthrosis and arthritis differs.
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 performance, body aches, sweating, and sometimes fever.
Arthrosis is characterized by:
- Joint pain mainly during movement.
- Difficulty performing normal activities (for example, with knee arthrosis, it is painful to climb stairs).
- Relatively short-lived morning stiffness (up to half an hour).
- Starting pain: when the patient moves from rest to activity, the joint bothers him for some time, but this quickly passes.
- Extraneous sounds (clicks, creaks, crunching) in the later stages of the disease./li>
- Narrowing of the joint space and/or bone deformation, which can be noticed when palpating the joint (in the later stages of the disease, the deformation is simply visible to the eye).
- Swelling of the diseased joint, if the patient has been suffering from arthrosis for a long time and has developed secondary inflammation.
Radiography will help definitively determine the diagnosis.With arthritis, there will be no pathological changes in the image, but with arthrosis, you can see a decrease in the height of the joint space or even bone 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 medications are NSAIDs, often in the form of gels and ointments.
Among the non-medicinal methods for arthrosis, exercise therapy, massage and magnetic therapy are recommended.
Course exposure to magnetic fields with specially selected parameters for arthrosis allows:
- relieve pain, secondary inflammation and swelling;
- improve 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 lies in the causes of their occurrence and manifestations.Arthritis is associated with inflammation of the joints, while arthrosis is associated with degeneration and wear of cartilage tissue.Arthritis and arthrosis are interrelated, since inflammatory processes can contribute to the degradation of intra-articular cartilage, and wear and tear of hyaline cartilage can trigger 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 general poor health of the patient.Arthrosis is characterized by joint pain during movement, difficulty performing normal activities, short-term morning stiffness and starting pain;swelling of the joint is possible (with the development of secondary inflammation).In addition, with arthritis there will be no pathological changes on the X-ray image, but with arthrosis there will be a decrease in the height of the joint space.
- Treatment of both arthritis and arthrosis should be comprehensive.Depending on the cause of arthritis, your doctor may recommend antibiotics, immunomodulatory drugs, NSAIDs, or corticosteroids.When the inflammation is relieved, exercise therapy and magnetic therapy are added.For arthrosis, NSAIDs, exercise therapy, massage and magnetic therapy are used.