The problem of joint diseases is always relevant. After forty years, about one-third of all people begin to feel pain when moving, and after fifty years, more than half of the population begins to feel pain. Doctors call the gradual destruction of cartilage, ligaments, bone and soft tissue around the joints the general term "osteoarthritis".
How to prevent this situation? And what treatments will help relieve pain when the disease has already developed? To answer these questions, you must first understand the difference between arthritis and arthrosis - the most common joint pathologies.
What is arthritis?
What is the main difference between arthritis and arthrosis can be seen from the names: acute, sudden diseases end with "-itis"; With "-from" - slowly progressing diseases, chronic processes.
Arthritis is an inflammatory injury of the joints that occurs due to an immune system malfunction due to infection (for example, sore throat or otitis media), trauma, metabolic disorders, hypothermia, stress or other reasons (even autoimmune).
The first signs look like this:
- sharp pain in one or more joints (often not only during movement), especially early in the morning;
- enlargement, swelling, edema, redness of the painful joint;
- a significant increase in temperature at the site of inflammation.
The inflammatory processes caused by arthritis can affect the whole body. At this time, the patient feels high temperature, shivers, loses strength, inflammation of other organs (eyes, genitourinary system, even heart, lungs, liver and kidneys) may occur.
There are several dozen forms of arthritis. The most common of them are:
- rheumatism- inflammation of the connective tissue of large and medium-sized joints that occurs after infections;
- rheumatoid arthritis– a slow autoimmune process that symmetrically affects several joints at the same time; causes "knots", pain, loss of mobility; can cause inflammation of many organs;
- gout- caused by the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and salts in the joints; most often begins with a sharp pain in the joint of the thumb;
- reactive arthritis- occurs against the background of damage to the body by infections (chlamydia, streptococci, etc. );
- infectious arthritis– starts due to bacterial infection of the joint itself.
What is arthrosis?
Unlike arthritis, arthrosis is not accompanied by inflammatory processes. This provokes poor circulation in the joint, which causes the cartilaginous parts to begin to dry out.
Arthritis is a disease that deforms and destroys joint tissues. By doing so, connective layers are dehydrated, thinned and "aged". The bones begin to touch each other, which causes pain and makes it difficult for a person to move.
Symptoms of arthrosis of the joints:
- after a long period of inactivity (for example, a night's rest), the joint "freezes", but then develops quickly when activity is resumed;
- operation of the joint is accompanied by strange sounds (clicking, snapping, grinding);
- physical activity causes pain.
What are the differences between arthritis and arthrosis?
Both of these diseases affect the joints. But they arise for different reasons, proceed in different ways and can lead to very different results. Only a correct diagnosis based on the difference between arthritis and arthrosis can prevent irreparable damage to the body.
It takes time for cartilage tissue degeneration to develop sufficiently and bone deformation to begin. Therefore, chronic arthrosis usually manifests itself in old age (after 60 years, less often after 50 years). The joints that are most sensitive to changes are those that constantly work under load: the fingers of musicians, the knees of athletes and loaders, the ankles of people who walk a lot or work on their feet, etc.
On the contrary, arthritis can occur even in a child. The inflammatory process causes the pathology of the synovial membrane saturated with blood vessels and joint fluid (and with arthrosis, it is produced in insufficient quantities). Unfortunately, almost every fifth case of disability in the world is caused by various forms and complications of arthritis.
Inflammation can affect not only joints, but also other tissues with active blood circulation: blood vessels and heart, lungs, abdominal organs, eyes, urinary system, etc. On the other hand, arthrosis is limited by local mechanical damage to bones and the formation of osteophytes in areas of joint deformation. Even in late stages and advanced forms, the disease can completely immobilize a person's limbs and cause disability.
How does arthritis and arthrosis manifest itself?
To clearly explain the difference between the symptoms of arthritis and arthrosis, let's compare the external manifestations.
- Pain. In the initial stages of arthrosis (lasting for years), joint pain occurs during physical activity and disappears after rest. It is rarely sharp and strong. Even as the disease progresses, when the pain can appear even with small movements and even at rest, it is usually enough to give the body a comfortable position to reduce the pain. With arthritis, the patient is disturbed by acute pain attacks of great strength, which can only be extinguished with special drugs. A characteristic symptom is pain at rest, especially in the early morning.
- Clicking, grinding, grinding of joints. Cartilage layers are destroyed in joints affected by arthrosis. They stop protecting the heads of the bones from contact with each other. Therefore, when moving, the bones touch and rub, making rough, dry sounds. The more the disease progresses, the stronger and louder the clicking of the joints. Arthritis is usually not accompanied by such symptoms.
- Deformation of joint and surrounding tissues. Arthrosis, which develops over time, causes a change in the shape of the bones: their heads begin to collapse and wear out, and osteophytes may appear. Sometimes there is swelling and aching pain in the acute stages, but these symptoms are not permanent. However, the joint affected by arthritis becomes inflamed and swollen. Swelling forms and compressions occur. The skin becomes red and warm.
- Limited mobility. Osteoarthritis causes stiffness in a particular joint that goes away with movement. In deeper stages, stiffness increases, bending amplitude decreases, and eventually leads to immobility. With arthritis, you may feel stiffness throughout your body, and attempts to move will cause sharp pain.
- Changes in blood composition. Arthrosis is not an inflammatory disease, so it is not reflected in the analysis. Arthritis causes a significant increase in the sedimentation rate of erythrocytes, which indicates an active infectious and inflammatory process.
Thus, the symptoms of arthrosis in the early stages can rarely cause serious concern and anxiety. This leads to a careless attitude and late diagnosis of the disease, which complicates further treatment.
Causes of arthrosis
There are several factors that increase the risk of pathological changes in the joints and surrounding tissues: constant loading, imbalance of the immune and hormonal systems, poor physical form. Therefore, to prevent the disease, you should regularly follow these recommendations:
- Simple exercises, walking, swimming, etc. maintain moderate physical activity throughIt will help you lose weight, improve blood circulation, strengthen muscles and thereby relieve stress on your joints.
- Try to eat healthy foods. Fatty foods, red meat and alcohol can be harmful. On the contrary, seafood, fruits and vegetables, foods containing cartilage and gelatin will be beneficial for the body. It is important to drink plenty of clean water (2-3 liters per day).
- Choose suitable clothes and shoes: comfortable heels, warm enough, not restricting movement.
- If possible, avoid stress, disorders and other "shocks" to the body.
But if a person has been diagnosed with arthritis or arthrosis, you should consult a doctor before doing such simple actions. In some cases, traditional prevention can also be harmful and worsen the condition.
But how is arthritis and arthrosis treated? What is the difference? The causes of these pathologies are different: immune processes, in the first case, the fight against infection, in the second case, cartilage malnutrition. Therefore, the ways of dealing with them will be different. To choose the right course of action, you must first make an accurate diagnosis.
For this, it is best to undergo X-ray and MRI along with laboratory blood and urine tests. After studying the results, the doctor will give appropriate recommendations.
Arthritis treatment
If the acute form of the disease is caused by an infection, then it can be treated with antibiotics. But in this case, it is important to choose the drug correctly: before the pathology of the joint becomes irreversible, it is necessary to neutralize the pathogenic bacteria. The course is completed with anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting drugs.
In case of chronic arthritis (e. g. rheumatoid), treatment should be carried out regularly throughout life. The most commonly used are corticosteroids, cytostatics and modern biological products. These are very powerful drugs, so it is important to correctly calculate the doses, frequency and duration of use to ensure that they do not harm the body.
For severe pain, your doctor may also prescribe a course of analgesics. And accompanying support methods are definitely recommended: diet, physical therapy and a course of physical therapy. If the inflammation has spread to other organs, the patient should be sent for additional specialized examinations.
Treatment of arthrosis
Modern methods make it possible to get rid of the manifestations of the disease almost completely if the diagnosis is made at an early stage and the patient is under forty years of age. To do this, in addition to the standard monitoring of joint stress and a course of drugs (they restore cartilage regeneration, nutrition and hydration), the patient can be prescribed mud wraps, electrophoresis and acoustic therapy (which affects those affected). tissue with low frequency sounds).
In elderly people or in advanced forms, arthrosis cannot be completely cured, although it is possible to significantly improve the condition and slow down the destructive processes in the joint. This requires strict adherence to the doctor's recommendations: regular use of drugs (for example, chondroprotectors), maintenance of a healthy lifestyle, timely performance of prescribed procedures, monitoring of joint load.
In arthrosis, the main focus is on the restoration of the cartilage layer. If there are accompanying symptoms of inflammatory processes, antibiotics or corticosteroids can be prescribed to eliminate the acute phase and switch to the main treatment regimen. In some severe cases, surgery and even implantation of an artificial joint may be required.