According to observations, more than 6, 000 search engine users are interested in the differences between arthrosis and arthritis every month. At first glance, the diseases are similar: in both cases, painful damage to the joints occurs. However, ignorance of the main differences of this very defeat is a real trap, leading to irreparable complications. The nature of these diseases is different, which means that treatment and prevention will differ from each other. Let's consider each of them in as much detail as possible and find all the similarities and differences.
What is arthritis?
Before dealing with the causes and symptoms of the disease, it is worth mentioning the numbers. Arthritis is a disease with more than 200 varieties that manifest itself in various ways. Unlike arthrosis, which speaks about itself with the advent of old age, arthritis appears as early as 25-40 years old. According to the WHO, more than 19% of cases of disability were the result of its complications.
Arthritis is an inflammatory joint disease resulting from weakened immune processes or severe infections (intestinal or genitourinary). Disruptions in metabolism, stress, hypothermia often become the cause of the development of inflammation.
The main symptoms of the disease are fever in the center of the lesion, redness, swelling and swelling. In addition, the patient may experience general hyperthermia, loss of strength, conjunctivitis, painful urination.
Arthritis begins with pain in the joints, but in its advanced form it affects the heart, liver, kidneys, eyes, etc. Often the disease proceeds in a blurred asymptomatic form, but its first manifestations are standard:
- sharp pains arising both in movement and in a state of complete rest;
- persistent or periodic edema that occurs at the site of the lesion;
- the painful joint is "feverish", and this can be determined by touch;
- pain and stiffness of movements worries in the early morning hours (4-5 am).
Advanced arthritis can develop into arthrosis, and this will be a completely different story.
What is arthrosis?
According to WHO observations, 70% of cases of this disease occur in people over 64 years old. Osteoarthritis is called a disease of "pianists and athletes", because it is this category that is subject to stress on the wrists, knees, ankles.
Arthrosis is a disease that provokes deformation of the articular tissues up to complete destruction. It develops due to a decrease in the amount of joint fluid and circulatory disorders. In the affected articular cartilage, nutrition is disturbed, due to which it "dries up" and "wears out".
The main job of a joint is not to allow adjacent bones to touch each other. This enables a person to move freely and painlessly. Dehydrated articular cartilage is slowly but surely destroyed, which leads to the same bone contacts. The more the disease progresses, the more the person experiences pain and stiffness of movements, up to and including disability.
The first symptoms of deformity have their own characteristics:
- joint stiffness after a long rest, receding with movement;
- dull clicks, grinding and crunching;
- painful sensations when walking and physical exertion.
With arthrosis, only the joints are affected, without affecting other organs. Inflammatory processes in this case are absent.
Side-by-side comparison of diseases
In order to accurately understand how arthritis differs from arthrosis, it is worth drawing a parallel between the main differences, summing up the above:
- Pain. It accompanies both the first and the second disease, but its manifestation is of a different nature. With arthrosis, pain appears exclusively during movement and strength loads, and is often mild. For this reason, a person is unaware of serious pathologies and does not begin timely treatment. However, with each subsequent stage, the pain becomes more intense and begins to bother even at rest.
As for arthritis, here it does not always depend on physical activity and is eliminated only by pain relievers. The disease is characterized by pain that occurs in the early morning hours.
- Crunch. Crunching and grinding is not always a cause for concern. However, with arthrosis, it has a peculiar sound, coarser and drier, increasing with each subsequent stage. It becomes a signal of the destroyed cartilaginous layer and the beginning of bone friction. In arthritis, grinding is not common.
- Deformation. With arthrosis, the joint is deformed, and inflammatory processes can also occur. With arthritis, seals appear, edema, redness and hyperthermia appear, but deformation occurs only if one disease has flowed into another.
- Immobility. With arthrosis, the affected joint becomes stiff.
- Age threshold. Arthritis can develop even in children, however, according to statistics, the average age of patients is 25-40 years. Arthrosis is considered a disease of "old age" and is the result of natural aging. Also at risk are people whose life is associated with stress on the joints.
- Development of symptoms. Symptoms of arthritis make themselves felt already at the initial stage of inflammation. The second disease develops slowly and asymptomatically, which is why it misleads the patient, without giving cause for concern.
How is arthritis treated?
The disease makes itself felt acutely already at the first stage, which is why in most cases it is treated in a timely manner. If during the diagnosis no lesions of the internal organs are detected, the recovery goes smoothly. The course of treatment of the disease is carried out with the help of anti-inflammatory and immuno-strengthening drugs, as well as antibiotics. If the situation is running, it is repeated until complete recovery.
Recovery takes place in a complex manner, therefore, the patient is prescribed special therapeutic exercises, diet and rejection of bad habits. During this period, any power loads are excluded.
If arthritis is chronic, rheumatoid, it cannot be completely cured. For temporary improvement, powerful drugs are used - cytostatics, corticosteroids. Today, medicine makes it possible to achieve long-term remission in this disease, avoiding an overabundance of hormonal agents. However, in order to prevent such a development of events, you should not self-medicate and postpone a visit to the doctor.
How is arthrosis treated?
The effectiveness of arthrosis treatment depends on the stage of the disease: the earlier it is detected, the sooner a person will recover. The age of the patient also plays an important role. As a therapeutic measure, the patient is assigned to regulate the loads on the affected joint, medication to the liver.
The disease, which has acquired a chronic form, does not finally recede, however, modern medicine is able to competently control the disease, preventing the joint from further deforming. In a neglected form, when it cannot be restored, they resort to artificial endoprosthetics.
Whichever of the two considered ailments a person encounters, treatment should be competent and timely. At the slightest suspicion of a disease, seek advice from an experienced specialist, because lost time is forever lost health. To get help from a qualified orthopedic traumatologist, contact the clinic.