All joints in the human body have two enemies that prevent them from working fully. These are arthrosis and arthritis, however, despite the fact that they have a similarity in name, these are two different pathological processes that affect the cartilage tissue of the joints. Below we will consider how arthrosis differs from arthritis.
As you know, cartilage ensures the functioning of the joints. Cartilage is strong, hardy due to the fact that it lacks blood vessels and nerve endings. Thanks to it, the stress on the tissues, where there are capillaries or nerve fibers, is mitigated.
When a person is in motion, the cartilage tissue promotes painless, unhindered rotation of the bone heads in the joint cavity, thus preventing damage to the joint from friction. During jumping, walking, cartilage softens the load, performing the function of shock absorption.
Osteoarthritis and arthritis lead to joint stiffness, which prevents a person from leading a normal life due to limited movement. There are a number of symptoms that make the two diseases similar, but there are many other symptoms that are fundamentally different.
Physiological processes caused by arthritis
The first symptom of the disease is pain in the joint. With arthritis, the process of inflammation of the cartilage tissue starts.
In the joint, arthritis affects:
- joint capsule;
- synovial fluid, which lubricates and nourishes the tissues and the joint cavity;
- located along the edges of the synovial membrane.
Patients diagnosed with arthritis most often complain of pain, joint stiffness. The inflamed area begins to turn red, and the temperature also rises at the site of arthritis or polyarthritis. In some cases, the pain syndrome is also felt in the paired joint on the other arm or leg.
A symptom that worries the patient in the presence of arthritis and polyarthritis is swelling of the outer tissues of the joint.
However, despite the fact that the functions are reduced, deformation of the structure does not occur. Arthritis causes the appearance of an inflammatory process of cartilage tissue, provoked by trauma, infection or metabolic disorders. This disease is completely curable, but only on condition that the patient adheres to the doctor's recommendations during treatment and does not use unverified folk remedies for arthritis. If this process is allowed to take its course, the disease will lead to joint degradation.
Physiological processes caused by arthrosis
The presence of arthrosis or spondyloarthrosis leads to pathological processes that occur in the joint cavity. Since there are no vessels in the cartilage tissue, it feeds on the synovial fluid, which contains many elements.
When a person reaches old age, metabolic processes in his body begin to slow down, as a result of which the nutrition of the cartilage deteriorates, which leads to its deterioration.
Cartilage with various kinds of arthrosis becomes thinner and cannot cope with the shock-absorbing functions. For this reason, patients begin to feel pain syndrome at the moment when the joint is involved.
In this case, it makes no sense to take anti-inflammatory drugs for arthrosis, since there is no inflammatory process. This disease occurs in older people. Its occurrence is influenced by a person's lifestyle. Those people who eat right, lead a healthy lifestyle, arthrosis, as a rule, does not appear.
Also, another factor in how arthritis differs from arthrosis is that, unlike the first, with the second disease there is no edema, redness of the tissues.
Also, arthrosis differs in that it affects a specific joint. If it affects a joint on one arm, then it will not be on the other. It often occurs in large joints such as the hip or knee.
Differing and similar features of diseases
Similar symptoms:
- in the morning, a person feels numbness and stiffness in the joint;
- loss of full limb movement;
- pain when moving the affected joint.
These are symptoms inherent in two diseases, but the pain has a different character, the place of occurrence, the duration of sensations are different. As a rule, the doctor relies on these indications when making a diagnosis.
Differences between arthrosis and arthritis
- With arthritis at the site of the affected joint, an increase in the temperature of the skin is observed, this process is caused by inflammation. But with arthrosis, despite the fact that the degenerative process is running, this symptom is absent.
- Arthritis leads to swelling of the upper tissues, with the second disease this symptom is absent.
- The presence of polyarthritis, arthritis due to inflammation can lead to subcutaneous nodules. Such symptoms are not inherent in arthrosis.
- Arthrosis causes a deformation process in the joint and, if left untreated (using ointments for arthrosis or other methods), it will become inoperative. The presence of polyarthritis or arthritis does not lead to deformity.
- Because of the inflammation in arthritis, the skin in the affected area is redder. The second disease does not change the color of the skin.
Similar signs and their differences
There are a number of nuances that can be diagnosed when studied. In the following, symptoms with individual and similar symptoms will be described.
Painful sensations
As mentioned above, pain syndrome occurs in both diseases. However, arthritis must be characterized by the presence of inflammation that leads to pain. The very nature of the pain is acute and can appear even at night or immediately after waking up.
Many people themselves exacerbate the situation when they use a new miracle cream or a remedy advertised on the Internet to treat polyarthritis. Any good doctor will tell you that you cannot independently prescribe treatment for arthritis.
With regard to arthrosis, pain occurs due to the degradation of the cartilage tissue, as a result of which it is unable to mitigate the load. When there is no amortization, the bone apparatus is injured.
A person feels aching pain after long walks or when doing exercises that put a load on the joint. When the disease first appeared, the patient may feel mild discomfort, but as the disease progresses, the condition only gets worse. In this case, you need to take not only pills or other medicine for arthrosis, the treatment should be complex and carried out under the supervision of a doctor.
Deformation process
Both diseases can change the structure of the joint. Arthritis can be recognized by external physiological changes that are visible on visual inspection: an increase in local temperature, redness, swelling, and the formation of nodes.
Often, arthritis is accompanied by: weakness, increased sweating, psoriasis. Only certain types of arthritis can lead to a change in the structure of the joint - these are osteoarthritis and traumatic arthritis.
Arthrosis is considered a more insidious disease, since it does not manifest itself externally. However, active tissue deformation occurs in the joint cavity. Cartilage becomes thinner, and, as a result, bone tissue is exposed to unusual stress.
Inflammation
With arthritis, swelling appears in the area of the affected joint. The reason for this is the inflamed synovial film, which is located in the middle of the capsule. When examining the patient's analyzes, an increased level of leukocytes is found. As a rule, the presence of infection or injury leads to the appearance of an inflammatory process.
Arthrosis does not lead to an increase in leukocytes, since there is no inflammation. The degeneration process starts gradually, and often a person does not even notice any symptoms.
Clicks and crunch
A symptom of arthrosis is a crunch in a sore joint. The reason for this is the worn out cartilage tissue, which causes pain during the interaction of bone tissues. But crunching does not always indicate the presence of a disease, a healthy person can also hear clicks. With arthrosis, the sound will be rough and dry.
With arthritis, there is no crunch, since as a result of inflammation, the joint swells and cannot fully move, the cartilage tissue performs its functions.
Joint mobility
Both of these diseases have a common symptomatology also in that they limit the mobility of the joints. However, the reasons for the stiffness are different.
The decrease in the motor activity of the joint in arthrosis is caused by the thinning of the cartilage tissue, while at the onset of the disease there is no such symptom at all. In arthritis, stiffness is caused by inflammation and is extensive. The joint is completely paralyzed.
General and specific causes of occurrence
Common causes of diseases are injuries that a person received while running or jumping. Also, regular and heavy loading of the joint can lead to this. For this reason, diseases are most often found in professional athletes. Another reason is severe or frequent hypothermia, this often happens to the joints of the limbs.
Arthritis occurs as a result of inflammation caused by the appearance of an infection in the body; this is not typical for arthrosis. Since inflammation is a whole body process, arthritis is only a consequence. In order to cure the disease, it is necessary to find out the cause of the onset of the inflammatory process and eliminate it. Also, excess weight can lead to the appearance of arthritis due to the fact that it puts stress on the joints. In this case, the joints of the lower extremities and the musculoskeletal system are at risk.
Osteoarthritis is a separate disease, since this process has nothing to do with the general condition of the body. The reasons for its appearance are hidden in a small amount of substances entering the body due to improper nutrition. Also, bad habits, such as smoking and alcohol abuse, can provoke the disease. Often, diseases of the circulatory tract and hormonal disorders contribute to its appearance. According to statistics, mainly elderly people suffer from arthrosis.
Who is at risk
A person at any age is susceptible to arthritis. The disease resulting from infection affects even babies. According to statistics, women are more likely to suffer from arthritis.
As for arthrosis, elderly people suffer from it. As a rule, deformation of the cartilage tissue structure starts in those over 60 years of age. The fact is that the older a person is, the slower the metabolic processes in the body, this is also influenced by the person's lifestyle. And by the way, those who have arthritis are more susceptible to arthrosis.
The risk group includes people who have bad habits, expose their body to regular physical activity and eat poorly.
Common in the treatment of arthritis and arthrosis
For the treatment of these diseases, partly the same measures are taken:
- the patient must exclude any stress, establish a sparing regimen;
- take drugs that restore the volume of cartilage and nourish it;
- perform exercise therapy in conjunction with massage to improve metabolic processes in the body and blood flow to the diseased joint;
- the use of pain relievers to relieve pain;
- the doctor prescribes intra-articular blockade in the form of injections;
- oxygenation of the joint;
- the patient switches to a complex diet.
Treatment, in particular, varies in the course of antibiotics for infectious-type arthritis to treat the cause of the disease.
When the stage is advanced, they resort to surgical intervention as a treatment. This need arises when the cartilage tissue is completely destroyed. In this case, a prosthetic joint is installed.