What is arthritis and osteoarthritis and how they differArthritis and osteoarthritis are frequent diagnoses in elderly patients. To understand the differences between these two pathologies, we will consider what arthritis and osteoarthritis are and what is the difference between them.Many people confuse osteoarthritis and arthritis because they have many similar symptoms: evils;pain during movement;bone deformation;swelling;redness of the inflamed area;a burning sensation in an affected place;STATION.
This is why it is necessary to understand these diseases in more detail in order to understand their details, to distinguish the symptoms and the types of manifestations of the disease.Arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the joints, when the enzymes which destroy the connective tissue begin to be produced in the body. The synovial shell is affected, where the vessels and nerve endings are found, the composition of the liquid is disturbed and the cartilage does not receive the right nutrition. Long -term arthritis pours into osteoarthritis.Consider the difference in the symptoms between arthritis and osteoarthritis:Arthritis symptomsOsteoarthritisSynovitis appears - swelling in a painful place, high sensitivity, the limitation of mobility is characteristic.All joints are affected, small and large. Even in the plural, polyarthritis will be diagnosed.Most often manifests itself in women.Pain - painful, acute, regardless of the state of rest or loads. It can "swim" from one place to another.In the morning, stiffness in the joint manifests, poor mobility. He disappears half an hour after a person begins to move.In a fiery place, the temperature increases, the skin becomes red.Edema in the area of sore joint.Members can freeze, flow, numbness is observed in the morning.The joint is deformed, which is immediately visible in the X -ray.Starts to affect the dependence on bad weather, the painful joints are very giant "for the weather".The nature of pain as the wave. At an early stage, the pain is low, the intensity does not increase long;Little by little, the pain is improved, in the morning, the stiffness of the problem joints is heard;As the dystrophic changes develop, the mobility of the affected area decreases, in advanced cases, complete immobility is possible due to the destruction of cartilage;The main location places are hip joints (coksartrose), spine (spondyllarosis), knees (gonarthrosis).
Pay attention to the main signs of joint pathologies. Even a slight discomfort in the joints should cause a suspicion of the development of negative processes in cartilage.CausesArthritis is an inflammatory reaction in the joint, which occurs in response to the action of a variety of damaging factors. Arthritis, or rather, osteoarthrosis, is not a distinct disease either, but a group of completely different states, which are based on a change in all the components of the joint: cartilage, bone, ligaments, articular capsule and periarticular muscles.Causes of arthritisThe causes of osteoarthritisInjury. The most famous mechanism for the development of arthritis. Bruising, fractures, hemorrhages in the joint cavity cause cell damage and inflammation formation.Hypothermia. The blood supply of the joints, especially the small, can worsen strongly. The connective tissue cells, devoid of nutrition, die. Arthritis occurs.Infection. It can fall into the joint compound for injuries or with blood flow for infectious diseases, for example tuberculosis, phreeosis, lime disease.Systemic diseases of connective tissue. It is a group of diseases in which immunity begins to perceive its own tissues from the body as foreigners and to attack them. It is a systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and certain other diseases. Since bones, cartilage and ligaments constitute most of the connective tissue, it is the joints that respond to such inflammation in the first place.The reason for the development of arthritis can also be serious illnesses such as psoriasis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis.The action of professional factors and sports load. Gymnasts and skaters have an increased frequency of damage to hip joints, ballet dancers - ankle, football players and basketball players - knee, boxers - hand joints.Excess body weight. Obesity people have a multiplied load several times on the joints and intervertebral discs. Following constant microtraumation, these structures wear out, which is the basis of known diseases such as osteochondrosis and spondylrosis. The consequences of joint injuries. Not always after an acute injury and the development of arthritis, the joint is completely restored. Sometimes its blood intake remains disturbed, therefore, the articulation operates under the conditions of insufficient consumption of nutrients and oxygen. After a while, osteoarthritis is developing.Systemic diseases that violate articular cartilage nutrition. These include, for example, diabetes mellitus, insufficient thyroid function, as well as certain diseases, accompanied by an alteration of calcium metabolism. In addition, bone perestroika can cause hormonal disorders in menopause.Chronic inflammatory process occurring in the joints. Protective inflammation can take place in connective tissue diseases, Behterev disease and other conditions.
However, despite the differences in symptoms and causes of occurrence, in some cases, arthritis and osteoarthritis can exist together. For example, with rheumatoid arthritis, frequent exacerbations of the disease are observed in which the joint does not have time to recover. Another example: the articulation merged wrongly after the fracture, which constantly undergoes trauma. Doctors call these states "arthroso-arthritis".DiagnosisTo start treatment of the disease, the correct diagnosis of arthritis or osteoarthritis is important. It can be carried out using various research methods. All patients do not know which doctor is engaged in joint pathologies, so at the initial stage, you can contact a rheumatologist or a therapist, then you will need a consultation of an orthopedist, a surgeon.Patients should be prescribed a blood test which will demonstrate general changes in the body. If the results of the blood test do not show the differences, doctors are inclined to osteoarthritis as a preliminary diagnosis. With an increase in the rate of colonization of red blood cells in blood plasma, rheumatoid arthritis is suspected because there is a clear indication of the inflammatory process. As a rule, the indicator increases above 25 mm / h. Joint pain, intensifying at night, will also be an additional confirmation characteristic. In justice, we note that an increase in ESR is possible with osteoarthritis, if inflammation has joined it.An additional argument in favor of rheumatoid arthritis will be an increased quantity of leukocytes. They also take the blood of the vein to rheumatological samples - the appearance of a special -brand -a reactive protein that talks about inflammation. However, you should not only trust the blood exam, as one of the diseases cannot be determined by this analysis. It is necessary to conduct additional studies, constantly taking into account the presence of an inflammatory factor in the blood.As additional studies, doctors prescribe to the patient:X -Ray of the problem area;Magnetic resonance tomography;computed tomography;Radio-Isotopic analysis. Doctors take into account the tests, the carefully collected history and the results of a blood test, after which a particular disease is diagnosed.Arthritis and osteoarthritis - How to treat?The two conditions involve special therapy, without which arthritis passes in a chronic form, and deprived of performance osteoarthritis.The general principles of treatment are similar, but the tasks are different:With arthritis, the main objective is to relieve inflammation, to eliminate painful symptoms, to prevent complications for other organs;With osteoarthritis, due to the inability to fully cure the disease, the main therapeutic accent is pain relief and stopping dystrophic processes in cartilage.The medical measurement complex necessarily includes drugs in the form of tablets, ointments, creams, solutions, powders, injections. As auxiliary methods, folk recipes, physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises are used. In advanced cases, you cannot do without surgery. Arthritis treatmentOsteoarthritisThe first step is the fight against pathogenic bacteria, dangerous viruses, under the influence of which the inflammatory process began. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is necessary;It is important not only to destroy the pathogen from the infection, but also to strengthen immunity.Recommended protein regime, vitamin therapy, dairy products. The rejection of alcohol, the strong coffee, the sweet soft drinks, black tea (best green) is necessary.Physiotherapists give a good effect: electrophoresis with inflammation drugs, magneto and laser therapy and therapeutic baths. After stopping the inflammatory process, to restore the mobility of the painful joint, the LFK complex, massage. Rich methods are useful without the use of heat.The main task is to normalize the condition of the cartilage fabric. The doctor prescribes chondroprotectors with hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine. A long treatment course improves the elasticity of cartilage, restores blood circulation, metabolism and stops degenerative-dystrophic processes.In serious cases, group drugs are necessary to relieve pain, eliminate inflammation, which has developed during the abrasion of joint tissues. But as the main remedy for osteoarthritis therapy, they are ineffective.Physiotherapeutic procedures, special exercises are useful. Many patients and doctors speak positively about Bubnovsky's joint gymnastics. Patients successfully use folk methods. Home ointments, decoctions, compresses, baths, dyes are in natural components.With the complete destruction of the cartilage fabric, surgical treatment is carried out - the endoprothetics. Osteoarthritis cannot be completely healed, you can only maintain joint health, prevent exacerbations.
The treatment of osteoarthritis is prolonged and complex - in a hospital institution, a clinic and a sanatorium. Use of physiotherapy, massage, physiotherapeutic procedures. There is an orthopedic correction. With the ineffectiveness of the above, surgical manipulations are carried out - arthrodesis (immobile fixing of the bone compound in the given position) or arthroplasty (restoration of joint capacities).The treatment of arthritis is also carried out in depth, depending on the severity of the disease. Physiotherapeutic methods and the treatment of the SPA complex are prescribed. Massage is not recommended here, exercise therapy is very rare. In the event of complications (inflammation of the periar bag, rupture of tendons, complex joint deformations), with intense pain and the absence of the effect of the drug, surgery is carried out. It is the prosthesis of the elimination of bone joints, complete or partial of the joint bag and arthrodesis.Treatment of folk remedies of arthritis and osteoarthritisPopular methods are a good assistant in the treatment of arthritis and osteoarthritis at home. These recipes based on natural components have a mainly symptomatic effect, used as an additional tool.Popular recipes for arthritisPopular remedies for osteoarthritisWith arthritic joint inflammation, you can do: Compresses the night from burdict leaves, white cabbage, aloe, washed in advance and slightly bumpy to secrete the juice;Hot baths of pine needles, smoking joints in a healing decoction;grinding a place affected from egg yolk, spoon of apple and turpentine apple cider vinegar;A decoction based on sage, St. John's and braid plants, 2 tablespoons of the collection in a half-lefing boiling water, taking 0, 5 cup before meals.To alleviate the condition with osteoarthritis, will help you:a compress of the root of ginger, grated on a grater and attached to a painful joint to stimulate blood circulation and a warming effect;Rubika for the night of 50 g of honey and 1 tsp. Healing mother;Patch with pepper or mustard compress as thermal procedure;Baths based on a decoction of mint leaves or soda-salt solution.
All recipes can be used for both diseases, but only after consulting the attending physician. Home treatment can help, eliminating unpleasant sensations and damage, causing an allergic reaction and exacerbation.ResultThe difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis is significant. Knowing the characteristics of joint diseases will help the patient control the course of the pathological process, uses all the available treatment methods with competence. Under the direction of an experienced doctor, you can face any joint pathology.In order to prevent diseases, attention must be given to a healthy lifestyle. A balanced meal and systematic physical exercises will increase the life of the joints, and this is necessary to strengthen whole health.