Complaining of joint pain, some patients face 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, since it manifests itself almost the same in both cases!The question arises: what then are the differences between arthritis and arthrosis?Indeed, many people confuse these diseases, but despite the similarity of symptoms, arthritis and arthrosis are different diseases with significant differences in the clinical course.Namely, understanding the cause of the disease, the mechanism of its occurrence and development leads to effective therapy.
Arthritis and arthrosis: what they have in common
The onset of arthritis and arthrosis can be caused by either a single factor or a combination of multiple causes.Both diseases can develop under the influence of, for example, an injury or diabetes.In both cases, patients experience degenerative-dystrophic changes in the articular cartilage that lead to severe pain and, in some cases, to limited mobility.The target of the disease is the joints and peri-articular tissues of the body, especially the knee joint.Patients, sometimes overcoming pain, take care of themselves, and without effective therapy, all their efforts are in vain.The patient loses his ability to work and instead acquires a disability.
According to the accepted ICD-10 classification, arthritis and arthrosis are united in one subgroup "Arthropathy" - diseases that mainly affect peripheral joints (extremities).
Arthritis and arthrosis: differences
Sometimes it is impossible to determine exactly the cause that started one of these two diseases, but the consequences develop the same: pain and stiffness are felt in the joint, swelling, edema, redness, hyperemia of the skin over the affected area, etc.In fact, only a person without a medical education 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, too great or disproportionate load on the joint apparatus, age-related changes, then arthritis manifests itself as an inflammatory process in the joint and periarticular tissues.In arthrosis, the blood count is normal, there is no damage to other organs and systems.In arthritis, the opposite picture is observed: specific proteins, increased ESR and leukocytes will be found in the blood.The pathological process affects the heart, kidneys and genitourinary system.
Another difference is that osteoarthritis primarily affects the knee and hip joints, which carry a large supporting stabilizing load.Arthritis favors the small joints of the hands, feet, wrist, and less commonly affects the elbow, knee, and hip.
What causes osteoarthritis?
Arthrosis is defined by specialists as a non-inflammatory joint disease that has a chronic and progressive course.As a result of degenerative-dystrophic changes, the articular cartilage is destroyed.Osteoarthritis is often accompanied by inflammation of the synovial membrane of joints or ligaments (synovitis), which also contributes by increasing the destruction of joint structures.
It is precisely because of synovitis that osteoarthritis is called osteoarthritis in the English-language medical literature, using the suffix "-itis" for the presence of an inflammatory process.Although synovitis is not an integral part of osteoarthritis, it can occur without it.
Osteoarthritis is believed to be the fate of the elderly.Indeed, as we age, the risk of joint damage steadily increases, but athletes are also at high risk of contracting the disease due to excessive physical exertion or poor technique, such as strength training.In addition, the destruction of the articular-ligamentous apparatus can lead to:
- hereditary predisposition
- congenital or acquired pathologies of joint development (dysplasia, separation of the epiphysis of the bone, joint hypermobility, etc.),
- the presence of metabolic and hormonal disorders such as diabetes mellitus,
- overweight and obesity.
Danish scientists conducted a study of risk factors for primary osteoarthritis of the hip and knee joints.The results revealed that genetic and environmental factors have different effects on large weight-bearing joints.As for the hip joint, the most significant factors for the development of the pathology are genetic (47%) and environmental components (22%).Meanwhile, for the development of the same pathology in the knee joint, age and gender differences, especially after 50 years, as well as various environmental factors are of great importance.
The destruction of cartilage tissue can also develop as a result of inflammatory diseases of the bones and joints (gout, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.).
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is commonly referred to as the whole spectrum of inflammatory joint diseases.If the disease affects one joint, it is monoarthritis;more than one is polyarthritis.Arthritis is distinguished as an independent disease and as a manifestation of other pathologies.In the first case, we are talking about rheumatoid, septic arthritis, gout.In the second - for psoriatic and reactive arthritis.The inflammatory process in the joints can also be a consequence of hepatitis, Lyme disease (borreliosis transmitted by ticks) or granulomatosis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which a person's immune system mistakenly attacks tissue in their own body.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, mobility is impaired.
Another form of arthritis is gout, a systemic disease due to improper metabolism.Excess uric acid is deposited on the joint surface, causing inflammation.Heredity, hormonal factors (in most cases men get sick), improper nutrition are of great importance for the development of the disease.Gout is often confused with arthritic lesions in the area of the big toe.
The development of some types of arthritis is provoked by the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms, most often bacteria, into the joint gap.