Complaining of pain in the joints, some patients are faced with the diagnosis of “arthrosis”, others – “arthritis”.When they meet, after exchanging descriptions of their symptoms in conversation, they suddenly come to the conclusion that there is only one disease, as it manifests itself almost identically in both cases!The question arises: what, then, are the differences between arthritis and osteoarthritis?In fact, many people confuse these diseases, but despite the similarity of symptoms, arthritis and arthrosis are different diseases, with significant differences in the clinical course.That is, understanding the cause of the disease, the mechanism of its occurrence and development leads to effective therapy.
Arthritis and osteoarthritis: what they have in common
The occurrence of arthritis and osteoarthritis can be caused by a single factor or by a combination of numerous causes.Both diseases can develop under the influence of, for example, injuries or diabetes.In both cases, patients present degenerative dystrophic changes in the articular cartilage, which lead to intense pain and, in some cases, limited mobility.The target of disease is the joints and periarticular tissues of the body, in particular the knee joint.Patients, sometimes overcoming pain, take care of themselves, and without effective therapy, all their efforts are in vain.The patient loses the ability to work and acquires a disability.
According to the accepted ICD-10 classification, arthritis and arthrosis are combined into a subgroup “Arthropathy” - disorders that mainly affect peripheral joints (extremities).
Arthritis and arthrosis: differences
Sometimes it is impossible to accurately determine the trigger that started one of these two diseases, but the consequences are the same: pain and stiffness are felt in the joint, swelling, edema, redness, hyperemia of the skin over the affected area, etc.In reality, only a person without medical training can confuse these two completely different pathologies, but a doctor can easily separate one from the other.
The main difference is that if the direct cause of arthrosis is mechanical damage, excessive or disproportionate load on the articular apparatus, age-related changes, arthritis manifests itself as an inflammatory process in the joint and periarticular tissues.In osteoarthritis, blood counts are normal and there is no damage to other organs and systems.In arthritis, the opposite picture is observed: specific proteins, increased ESR and leukocytes will be detected in the blood.The pathological process involves the heart, kidneys and genitourinary system.
Another difference is that osteoarthritis mainly affects the knee and hip joints, which bear a large stabilizing support load.Arthritis prefers small joints of the hands, feet, wrist joints and less frequently affects the elbow, knee and hip.
What causes osteoarthritis?
Arthrosis is defined by experts as a non-inflammatory joint disease, with a chronic and progressive course.As a result of degenerative-dystrophic changes, articular cartilage is destroyed.Osteoarthritis is often accompanied by inflammation of the synovial membrane of the joints or ligaments (synovitis), which also contributes to the destruction of joint structures.
It is precisely because of synovitis that in English-language medical literature osteoarthritis is called osteoarthritis, using the suffix “-itis” as an indication of the presence of an inflammatory process.Although synovitis is not an integral part of osteoarthritis, it can occur without it.
It is believed that osteoarthritis is the fate of the elderly.In fact, with age, the risk of joint damage increases steadily, but athletes are also at an increased risk of contracting the disease due to excessive physical exertion or poor technique, such as strength exercises.In addition, destruction of the articular-ligamentous apparatus can lead to:
- hereditary predisposition,
- congenital or acquired pathologies of joint development (dysplasia, detachment of the bone epiphysis, joint hypermobility, etc.),
- the presence of metabolic and hormonal disorders, such as diabetes mellitus,
- overweight and obesity.
Danish scientists conducted a study on risk factors for primary osteoarthritis of the hip and knee joints.The results revealed that genetic factors and the environment have different effects on large weight-bearing joints.When it comes to the hip joint, the most significant factors for the development of the pathology are the genetic (47%) and environmental (22%) components.However, for the development of the same pathology in the knee joint, differences in age and sex, especially after 50 years of age, as well as various environmental factors are of greater importance.
Destruction of cartilaginous tissue can also occur as a result of inflammatory diseases of bones and joints (gout, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.).
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is commonly referred to as the entire spectrum of inflammatory joint diseases.If the disease affects one joint, it is monoarthritis;more than one is polyarthritis.Arthritis is distinguished as independent diseases and as a manifestation of other pathologies.In the first case we are talking about rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, gout.In the second - about psoriatic and reactive arthritis.The inflammatory process in the joints can also be a consequence of hepatitis, Lyme disease (tick-borne borreliosis) or granulomatosis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which a person's immune system mistakenly attacks their own body's tissues.In this case, in addition to inflammatory reactions in other organs, inflammation of the synovial membrane of the joints occurs without the penetration of a microbial pathogen into it.The joint swells, pain appears and mobility is impaired.
Another form of arthritis is gout, a systemic disease caused by improper metabolism.Excess uric acid is deposited on the joint surface, causing inflammation.Heredity, hormonal factors (in most cases men get sick) and poor diet are of great importance for the development of the disease.Gout is often confused with osteoarthritis lesions in the big toe region.
The development of some types of arthritis is provoked by the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the joint space, most often bacteria.