Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in the number of diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, as evidenced by statistical data.Pathology of the spine and joints takes an "honorable" third place after diseases of the circulatory and respiratory systems.
Pain and stiffness in the joints not only significantly reduce the quality of life, but also often lead to serious consequences - deformation and disability.It is not surprising that patients often do not know what arthritis and arthrosis are.After all, it is more important for them to know how to get rid of this disease.
Various symptoms
Arthrosis can be distinguished from arthritis by its symptoms, because the disease manifests itself in different ways.Arthritis is a group of inflammatory joint lesions, in which all articular elements are involved in the pathological process - capsule, synovial membrane, cartilage tissue.
The characteristic signs of arthritis of any etiology are as follows:
- redness, swelling and severe pain when touched;
- pain does not subside during rest;
- the pain syndrome is throbbing, aching or sharp;
- joints hot to the touch;
- stiffness in the morning, which disappears after half an hour - an hour;
- general hangover symptoms - fever, lethargy, weakness, sweating, etc.
With arthrosis, only cartilage tissue is affected: due to fluid loss, it becomes loose and thin.As a result, the bones of the joints rub against each other, exacerbating the pathological process.As the disease progresses, the cartilage tissue cracks, and its individual fragments, detritus, settle on the bone epiphysis.
Unlike arthritis, arthrosis does not cause an inflammatory response over a long period of time.Swelling and redness can occur only in the late stages, when bone growth or a fluid-filled joint cavity puts pressure on the surrounding structures.
A characteristic symptom of arthrosis is the onset of pain, which occurs in the morning or after a long rest.Daytime physical activity, especially vigorous, is always accompanied by pain, which subsides during rest.For example, arthrosis of the knee joint is felt when walking, running or squatting.However, in the morning this movement helps relieve stiffness.
The difference between arthritis and arthrosis is also the period of morning stiffness - with the destruction of cartilage and bone tissue, it disappears within a few minutes.With arthritis, stiffness can last more than an hour because a large amount of fluid (exudate) accumulates in the joint cavity overnight.However, this difference can be considered conditional, because advanced forms of arthrosis are also characterized by long-term stiffness.
With foot or toe arthrosis, a person has difficulty taking the first morning step when getting out of bed.Due to the shift of the center of gravity to the heel or foot, the gait gradually changes and lameness appears.
The difference between arthritis and arthrosis is not only in symptoms, but also in causes.In addition, each of these diseases has its own treatment characteristics.
Various reasons
In more than half of cases, arthrosis develops after an injury, and is not necessarily severe.Continuous microtraumas that accompany the professional activities of athletes, builders and other representatives of physical labor have a worse effect on the joints.
Chronic injuries that occur regularly remain, as a rule, unnoticed, and various damages "accumulate" in the joints.Cartilage gradually becomes thinner and cracked, the joint capsule is torn, and micro-fractures of bone tissue occur.As a result, the bones become deformed, and favorable conditions are created for the development of arthrosis.
It is also worth noting that car accidents are becoming more frequent, in which people of all ages are injured.Multiple severe fractures with bone fragmentation are often complicated by arthrosis, and sometimes by complete immobility of the joint.
Another cause of arthrosis is considered to be a genetic predisposition - hereditary characteristics of metabolism and skeletal structure.But even in this case, there is no guarantee that arthrosis will be inherited from generation to generation.However, the risk of getting sick is still increased.
Since excess body weight puts excessive pressure on the entire musculoskeletal system, all joint elements suffer.In young people, cartilage tissue can withstand pressure.And in old age, when cartilage elasticity decreases, excess weight can accelerate cartilage wear.
Arthritis can also cause cartilage structural degeneration, as joint inflammation changes the composition of synovial fluid and cartilage tissue.And since arthritis almost always interferes with local blood circulation, the development of secondary arthrosis is possible.It doesn't matter if the arthritis heals or not.
Prolonged psycho-emotional stress, oddly enough, does not have the best effect on joint health.Due to the sudden release of stress hormones (steroids), the permeability of blood vessels decreases and the blood supply to the joints deteriorates.This leads to a decrease in the synthesis of hyaluronic acid, which is part of the synovial fluid and is responsible for its viscosity.Thanks to hyaluronic acid, bones slide even with significant damage to the joint structure.
Keep in mind that in most cases, one reason for the occurrence of arthrosis is not enough.Usually, the mechanism of cartilage degeneration is triggered by a combination of several factors.
Arthritis and arthrosis are fundamentally different in origin.Arthritis can be caused by:
- infection;
- immune system damage when leukocytes start attacking the body's own cells;
- injuries and excessive stress on the joints - for example, massage therapists often have arthritis in their hands, the weak point of weightlifters is their knees, damage to the shoulder joint occurs in boxers and tennis players;
- congenital skeletal anomalies;
- pathologies of the nervous and endocrine systems, as well as hormonal imbalances during menopause;
- allergic reactions;
- descent;
- metabolic disorders;
- intoxication with toxic substances, poisonous insect bites;
- severe or prolonged body hypothermia;
- alcohol abuse;
- unbalanced diet, lack of vitamins and minerals.
Regardless of what causes the damage to the joint, the balance between the destructive process and the recovery is disturbed.That is, an excessive amount of damaged dead cells is created that does not have time to be used.And new functional cells are not enough to replace the dead ones.As a result, joint damage.
If both diseases affect the same element - joints, then what is the difference between arthritis and arthrosis?And why are the symptoms so different?The answer to these questions lies in what structures are affected by the pathological process.
With arthritis, the synovial membrane becomes inflamed and the quality of the joint fluid changes.There are also damaged cells there.The response to their excess is swelling of the capsule itself and nearby tissues.
The difference between arthrosis is that the damaged cells are concentrated in the cartilage, where another protective mechanism is triggered - cells that have lost function are replaced by connective tissue with scar formation.In addition, the new scar tissue is unable to perform shock absorbing functions and lacks elasticity.
Since joint dysfunction occurs for a variety of reasons and can be linked to hormonal, metabolic and mechanical factors, understanding these causes is an important aspect.It largely depends on them what treatment arthritis or arthrosis requires.
Differences in treatment
There are specific treatment regimens for arthritis and arthrosis.Arthritis therapy aims to stop the inflammatory process;The goal of treating arthrosis is to restore cartilage tissue.This is another difference between the two diseases.The only similarity is that in both cases painkillers are used.
Self-medication in this case will not bring success and can worsen the situation.Even an experienced specialist will not always determine by external signs how arthritis differs from arthrosis of the knee joint.Only after receiving the results of the research, an accurate diagnosis is made.
For the treatment of arthrosis in the acute period, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used in short courses.In case of severe pain, intra-articular blockade with anesthetics and glucocorticosteroids is performed.Therapy can be supplemented with local agents - ointments and gels.
The main method of treating arthrosis is to take chondroprotectors - drugs based on substances that promote the regeneration of cartilage tissue and prevent the development of degenerative processes.The most effective is the introduction of hyaluronic acid into the joint cavity - with the help of several injections it is possible to restore mobility in the joint and relieve the patient from pain.
If necessary, vasodilators can be prescribed to improve blood circulation and muscle relaxants to relieve muscle spasms.
Physical therapy is very important for arthrosis.With the help of training you can achieve good results, namely:
- relieves tension and improves weak muscle tone;
- reduce the intensity of pain;
- increase joint space and increase mobility in joints;
- improve blood circulation and metabolic processes in the affected tissue.
Therapeutic tactics for arthritis depend on its origin.For allergic, infectious and gout forms, antihistamines, antibacterial drugs and agents to eliminate excess uric acid are prescribed.In most cases, symptomatic therapy is carried out using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and hormones.
Therapy for rheumatoid arthritis includes basic drugs and biological drugs containing bacteriophages.
For arthritis of any type, vitamin complexes containing B vitamins are prescribed.
In severe cases, surgical intervention is performed, which can be of several types:
- synovectomy;
- arthrotomy;
- joint resection;
- cheilectomy;
- arthrodesis;
- arthroscopy.
The presence of destructive changes in the joint may require endoprosthetics or reconstructive arthroplasty.The indication for this type of operation is a poor prognosis due to the complete destruction of cartilage tissue.
Conclusion
Therefore, arthritis can be distinguished from arthrosis by the characteristic signs that accompany this disease.It is important to know that arthrosis most often affects the hip and knee, and somewhat less often in the ankle and interphalangeal joints.
In most cases, arthritis can be recognized by symmetrical damage to the joints: if the joint on the right wrist becomes inflamed, then the corresponding joint on the left hand begins to interfere almost immediately.
However, it should be remembered that it is impossible to self-diagnose, because the same symptoms can be observed with other pathologies - tendonitis, synovitis, bursitis and some others.Therefore, in the case of discomfort and pain in the joints, it is necessary to undergo diagnostics to find out the cause.
Early stages of arthrosis are quite treatable;in advanced cases, restoration of joint function is possible only through surgery.In arthritis, the prognosis depends not only on the type of disease, but also on the quality of the treatment provided.Timely treatment of post-traumatic arthritis leads to complete recovery in most patients.Eliminating the allergen in the form of an allergic disease also guarantees recovery.
The main factor influencing the favorable prognosis is early detection and prompt treatment of the disease.So healthy!