The names of diseases sound as if they affect the same organ system, namely the musculoskeletal system. What is the difference between arthritis and arthrosis and what is the similarity?
It is certain that the disease affects the musculoskeletal system, especially the joints, but the etiology of the diseases is different.
So arthritis occurs as a result of any infection: local or general, and arthrosis is a degenerative process that occurs in the articular cartilage due to the aging of the human body.
However, any person, no matter how old, can get arthritis and arthrosis.
Arthrosis, among others, can be a sign of dystrophic processes, while arthritis can be a side effect of other endo- and exogenous diseases.
The first include deforming joints in osteoarthritis and arthrosis, and arthritis is rheumatic and rheumatic, specific infectious and post-traumatic, and arthritis can accompany concomitant diseases of the blood, respiratory, digestive, and others.
Basics
- Arthrosisis a degenerative-dystrophic chronic pathology. The development of the disease is not associated with an inflammatory component. The pathological process is based on the loss of the ability of the articular cartilage cells to regenerate and recover. Over time, painful disorders cover nearby anatomical structures: ligaments, bursa, synovium, muscle and bone tissue. Middle-aged and older people are most susceptible to arthrosis. According to the results of clinical trials, between the ages of 45 and 65, 30% to 40% of the population undergoes degenerative changes in the joint elements, and after the age of 65, the number of cases increases to 70% to 85%.
- Arthritisaffects younger groups in the population. Certain types of disease are found in every thousandth child. The overall incidence of arthritis is high among all ages. Unlike arthrosis, the disease is inflammatory. Inflammation develops in the synovial membrane of the joint cavity. With the development of the pathology, it spreads to the cartilage and ligaments, turning into arthrosis.
It can't be said which is worse: arthritis or arthrosis. Pathologies are interconnected. Joint elements that have undergone degenerative-dystrophic changes respond to them by developing an inflammatory process. The same situation can happen the other way around. Locations of pathological disorders after arthritis provide a favorable environment for arthrosis.
Mechanism of pathology development
The difference between diseases is remembered from the beginning - the mechanisms of their origin.
It plays a key role in the development of arthrosis:
- age-related changes;
- climax period;
- violation of metabolic processes;
- heavy physical activity;
- highly traumatic surgical procedures;
- overweight;
- common joint microtrauma;
- increased uric acid levels;
- lack of blood supply;
- toxic poisoning of the body;
- trace element deficiency.
Factors causing the development of arthrosis include early pathologies: protrusion of the acetabulum, osteochondropathy of the femoral head, endocrine diseases, hemophilia, diseases causing increased instability of the joints, weakness of the ligament device. At a young age, degenerative changes occur in the background of congenital inferiority of the hip joint and traumatic lesions: subluxation and displacement of the femoral head, fractures of the femoral neck and pelvis.
The starting point for the development of arthritis is:
- transmitted extra-articular infections;
- autoimmune reactions of the body;
- hereditary readiness of the gene encoding the information from the cell surface to abnormalities;
- the spread of the infectious agent through the lymph and blood from the primary focus;
- inflammation of the connective tissue;
- nervous system diseases;
- hypothermia.
There is a direct route to infection of the synovial fluid - open injuries that penetrate the joint. The mechanism of arthritis is equipped with a complex and varied arsenal. The reason is that the joints respond quickly to any inflammation.
Difference in accompanying symptoms
So in arthritis, pain most often occurs during exercise, and pain can also occur at night when a person is in the same position for a long time.
In arthrosis, pain occurs locally in one place, namely where the inflammatory process takes place, but at rest the pain disappears.
The nature of pain is also different. For example, patients with arthritis suffer from acute, severe, and convulsive pain, and dull and painful pain accompanies arthrosis.
The blood count is also excellent. In the first case, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein levels increase, and leukocyte and seromucoid levels are high. In the second case, there are no such differences.
The signs that accompany these diseases help you understand the difference between arthrosis and arthritis.
In arthrosis, the knee and hip joints are primarily affected by abnormal abnormalities, sometimes the process is localized in the shoulder area. The pathology develops gradually. The first short-term pains do not allow the exact location of the lesion to be determined.
Over time, the clinical picture is complemented by the following signs:
- a kind of crisp sound appears as you move;
- meteorological dependence is observed;
- the intensity of the pain syndrome increases in the background of increased loads, at rest the pain disappears;
- the range of motion gradually decreases;
- there are thickenings along the edge of the joint space;
- increasing in volume, the processes compress the nerve endings, causing severe incessant pain;
- joint is subject to instability.
Any joint in the musculoskeletal system can be affected by pathological disorders of arthritis. The most vulnerable are the tiny elements of the movable joints of the legs, hands, lower leg, and elbow. Arthritis in rheumatoid form is characterized by the symmetry of focal lesions.
As with arthrosis, the first syndrome appears unexpectedly. The pathology clinic begins with general malaise. Pathological disorders increase rapidly, affecting the mobility and functional abilities of the affected joint. But if arthrosis is characterized by an exacerbation of pain during movement, the more it moves in the case of arthritis, the less pain it causes. The intensity of painful feelings increases at night. In the morning, the patient is barely able to overcome the stiffness of the joints. On palpation, pain is defined over the entire surface of the joint.
The condition is getting worse:
- local hyperemia;
- formation of subcutaneous nodules;
- swollen lymph nodes;
- peripheral nerve damage.
Active phase pathology is accompanied by a pronounced general syndrome: increased temperature, chills, fever, and poisoning syndrome. In case of complications, other elements of the biological system are involved in the pathological condition: visual organs, respiration, digestion, cardiovascular, urinary, nervous organs.
In addition to the complete destruction of cartilage, osteoarthritis causes disturbances in the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system.
Differential research methods
A detailed study of the current clinical picture will allow us to understand how to distinguish arthritis from arthrosis with the greatest precision.
Differential characteristics are identified based on the results of the following studies:
- Complete blood count.In most cases of arthrosis, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation and the reaction in the blood remain normal. Arthritis is characterized by a significant increase in indicators, which confirms the presence of the inflammatory process in the body. The analysis does not provide a clear definition of the disease, but allows degenerative-dystrophic changes to be distinguished from inflammation.
- Biochemical analysis of a blood sample. In case of arthritis, the test confirms the presence of inflammatory markers in the biological material: C-reactive protein, seromucoid. Rheumatoid factor immunoglobulin antibodies, which are mistakenly produced by the body, can be detected. The biochemical parameters of arthrosis remain normal.
- X-ray examination.No pronounced changes are observed in the early stages of arthritis. In arthrosis, uneven narrowing of the joint space and the formation of osteophytes (increases in the surface of bone tissue) are recorded.
- MRI.The most reliable differential diagnosis of arthritis and arthrosis in the early stages. The technique makes it possible to detect structural changes in the cartilage, compression of the synovial membrane, joint effusion into the cavity, newly formed cysts, and self-growth of bone tissue.
Therapy Features
Doctors with different qualifications are involved in the treatment of pathologies. In case of arthrosis, the patient is referred to an orthopedic traumatologist. In the case of arthritis, the exact cause of the abnormal lesions is initially determined. Depending on the circumstances identified, a specialist will be selected.
As a result of the fact that both diseases affect the condition of the supporting device, their methods of treatment are the same. An important condition for healing is a reduction in total body weight and therefore a reduction in the load on the organs affected by the disease. In both cases, if medication and physiotherapy courses do not yield positive results, joint replacement is used.
Specific therapy, therapeutic gymnastics, medication, and physiotherapy are also used. Arthroplasty is used for the most severe complications.
In addition to the same methods, there are some differences in the treatment of pathologies.
In case of arthritis, treatment begins with immediate and vigorous therapy. Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs are prescribed. Preference is given to drugs with the least pronounced side effects. If the result does not meet expectations, the drugs are replaced one after the other.
The complex medication course includes:
- antihistamine intraarticular injections;
- corticosteroids;
- cytostatics;
- sulfonamides; Products based on
- gold salts.
The prognosis is generally good with proper and timely treatment of arthritis.
Osteoarthritis requires long-term and thorough treatment. The main task of therapeutic measures in the treatment of arthrosis is to restore the cartilage tissue of the joint. Pharmaceutical compositions with this ability include chondroprotectors. The most effective are chondroitin and glucosamine.
The microcirculation of damaged blood is stopped by vasodilators. To relieve spastic pains, relax muscle tone, muscle relaxants are prescribed. Topical application of warming ointments and creams is shown, which is strictly forbidden in case of arthritis.
In parallel, substances are used that stimulate metabolic processes, nourishing the body with vitamins and trace elements. Last but not least, specially developed therapeutic practices occupy the therapy of arthrosis.
Osteoarthritis belongs to a group of chronic diseases that cause irreversible consequences that cannot be completely eliminated. Therapeutic measures are aimed at slowing down degenerative processes as much as possible.
In both cases, people who have any obvious signs of these illnesses should see a specialist immediately and it is not worth treating these illnesses on their own. Take care of your health and get what you want.