Many people do not always understand the difference between arthritis and arthrosis due to the similarity of names.Both diseases are associated with joints, but the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and therefore treatment are fundamentally different.It is very important to determine the nature of the disease at the initial stage in order to begin proper treatment.
Arthritis, arthrosis and their effect on joints
To begin proper treatment of a joint, you must first determine what kind of disease it is susceptible to.And to do this, you need to understand for yourself what the difference is between arthritis and arthrosis.
Both diseases affect the joints, but have different symptoms and causes.
What is arthrosis
Arthrosis sooner or later affects about 10% of the population, most often manifesting itself with age.Arthrosis is a deformation of joints and a decrease in their mobility.Its correct name should be considered osteoarthritis.
The main symptoms are pain when moving and loss of mobility, the range of motion in the affected joint decreases, and an unpleasant, dry and sharp crunch appears when moving.Deformation can also be observed with osteoarthritis.For example, it is very easy to notice a change in the shape of the knee joint.
Osteoarthritis can be detected at the initial stage.Diagnosis is complicated only by the negligent attitude towards health on the part of the patients themselves.Pain at the initial stage appears only with exertion, so many do not attach importance to it, which aggravates the disease and complicates treatment.
Arthritis and its symptoms
While arthrosis is a disease of the joints only, arthritis is often infectious and affects the entire body.Such diseases are one of the manifestations of the general condition of the body.It is much more difficult to treat, as well as to diagnose.Joint pain is accompanied by swelling and inflammation; the pain does not go away, but only intensifies, much faster than with arthrosis.Infectious arthritis affects not only cartilage tissue, it negatively affects the heart, kidneys and liver.Although arthritis is approximately 5 times less common than arthrosis, it is much more difficult to treat them, they pose a great danger to the patient’s life, and its causes can be varied.
The main symptoms of arthritis are:
- high temperature;
- skin inflammation, psoriasis;
- general weakness of the body;
- discomfort in the eyes;
- discharge from the genitals;
- chills, increased sweating.
The skin around the joints is especially hot and swollen.
How does arthritis differ from arthrosis by the nature of the disease?
To better understand the causes of such diseases, you need to understand their nature and classify them.
All joint diseases can be divided into two groups – inflammatory processes and dystrophic ones.
To determine the nature of a disease, the symptoms of which are similar to another, it is important to diagnose and determine the cause of a particular process in the body.
The main problem with both diseases is the imbalance in the joints between the processes of destruction and repair.The stronger the imbalance, the faster the bone tissue is destroyed, which manifests itself at the cellular level in a lack of oxygen and nutrition for them, and poor production of healthy components of bone tissue.
Most often, the process goes unnoticed, and when the number of dead cells exceeds the norm, pain appears.Thus, the body tries to “complain” about excessive stress and asks for help.
Dystrophic diseases
Most often, such diseases have characteristic names that have the same endings: arthrosis, osteochondrosis, ligamentosis, osteoarthrosis.Such diseases appear with age or with constant physical activity.Football players, for example, often suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee joint even at a young age.Most athletes are susceptible to knee joint diseases.
Joints exhibit painful symptoms due to thinning of the cartilage tissue, called degeneration.Such diseases develop due to the general aging of the body, a sedentary lifestyle, and the infectious nature of diseases that can accompany the development of osteoarthritis, osteochondrosis and similar diseases only accelerate the process of degeneration.The body does not have time to replace dead cells, that is, regenerate, and the reverse process occurs.The most difficult thing to stop is the tissue degeneration of the knee joint, which is so widespread.
Inflammatory diseases
Such diseases also have similar endings and often end in -it.Often infectious in nature, bacteria or viruses can cause inflammation of one or more joints, which will have the corresponding symptoms:
- elevated temperature;
- swelling;
- sweating
They can also be autoimmune or allergic-infectious in nature, when the body fights its own cells.In this case, pain and swelling of the knee joint may indicate serious problems with the immune system.In case of pain in the knee or any joint, you should immediately consult a doctor for a complete diagnosis of the body.
Often the cause of joint pain can be salt deposits in the cavities and periarticular tissues.In this case, there is a possibility of metabolic disorders.
Osteoarthritis and arthritis - treatment
Since the causes of the diseases are completely different (with osteoarthritis, the joint wears out mechanically, and arthritis is infectious), the treatment will be completely different.This is why it is so important to separate these two diseases.
Let's consider treatment using the example of the knee joint.In both cases, it is necessary to reduce the load as much as possible.Arthrosis of the knee joint or any other joint cannot be cured, since the process is irreversible.However, regular use of chondroprotectors can slow down the process, stimulate cartilage regeneration and can reduce pain in the knee joint.
Infectious arthritis can be treated with antibiotics and drugs that affect the immune system.In some cases, the course of treatment will have to be repeated, but the disease itself is completely curable.
If the diagnosis showed rheumatoid arthritis, then it will have to be treated for a very long time with small doses of cytostatics and corticosteroids.All this is used in combination with anti-inflammatory drugs.Modern treatment makes it possible to achieve long-term remission and reduce the use of hormonal drugs to a minimum.