Arthritis or Arthritis? What is the difference between two common joint diseases?

The human musculoskeletal system is often affected by diseases such as arthritis and joint disease. Patients confuse these diagnoses because of their similar names, even though in reality they have little in common.Despite these differences, only a specialist can accurately determine the disease after a series of examinations and tests, so do not postpone a visit to the clinic at the first signs of joint pathology. Let's consider in detail the symptoms, specific development and treatment of arthrosis and arthritis.

Characteristics of disease pathogenesis

development of joint disease

Arthropathy (or osteoarthritis) is a chronic degenerative disease of the joints that most often occurs due to age-related changes in the body. Wear and tear on the joints leads to degenerative processes: bone growth ("salt deposition"), friction and trauma to the cartilage, and replacement of joint tissue by connective or ossified tissue. The disease develops slowly and gradually, with only mild discomfort and joint creaking experienced at first.Osteoarthritis is most common in older adults, but professional athletes and people with injuries are also at risk. This disease usually affects one or more large joints.

development of arthritis

Unlike joint disease, arthritis is inflammatory in nature and can occur in people of any age. The disease is systemic and can affect joints and other body organs: heart, kidneys, nervous system. Arthritis is very obvious—even laypeople notice it.Arthritis most often occurs in the context of an infectious or bacterial disease, but it can also be a sign of an autoimmune disease.If joint inflammation is caused by pathogenic activity or infection, the disease often begins suddenly and can affect a large number of joints simultaneously, involving both large and small joints in the process.

Both disorders cause acquired chronic pain and are now considered separate clinical syndromes.

Comparing Arthropathy and Arthritis

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Compare features	joint	arthritis
Case age	Most cases - 65-75 years old	any
reason	Degenerative malnutrition changes due to metabolic disorders and deterioration of blood supply to joints	Inflammatory process caused by infectious, bacterial, or autoimmune diseases
involved joints	one or more large joints	A large number of large and small joints are usually affected symmetrically
blood test results	There is no change in the average statistics	Inflammatory processes are detected, sometimes with increased rheumatoid factor values
painful feeling	The pain worsens and appears after exercise. At the initial stage, there is only discomfort and a crunching feeling.	Pain can occur immediately after sleep, is often migratory, and is felt intensely from the onset of the disease
external changes	In the early stages - no, in post-traumatic situations swelling may occur	Sometimes the skin around the joints becomes red and may be swollen
joint pictures	Deformations, joint space narrowing, bone spurs, growths can be tracked; most commonly, diagnostic X-rays can clearly show the changes that have occurred	In the initial stages, there are no visible changes; in advanced cases, bone erosion and ankylosis may occur
medical treatement	Preparations of chondroitin and glucosamine, symptomatic - nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, rapid progression - corticosteroids.	Symptomatic treatment - NSAIDs, sometimes - antibiotics, treatment of autoimmune diseases - corticosteroids

Cause of disease

Causes of Arthropathy

Arthropathy is a chronic process that always develops slowly. The blood supply to the joints gradually deteriorates, preventing the tissues from receiving necessary nutrients. The cartilage changes its structure, becomes rough, and rubs against it. The main carriers of this disease are the elderly, whose body metabolism slows down with age, and overload, overweight and injuries can also make themselves felt.Diseases that occur due to metabolic disorders are called primary arthropathy.Statistically, degenerative changes in joints most often affect older women who are overweight. In most cases, such patients have a genetic predisposition to develop this disease.In addition to the elderly, in rare cases, arthropathy may also occur in middle-aged and even young adults. The most common reasons include:

• Professional sports that place heavy loads on joints;
• Heavy physical labor;
• Advanced arthritis;
• Previous injury or surgery.

In the above cases, the arthrosis will be secondary. The predisposing factor for the development of the disease is obesity. Sometimes this type of disorder can be the result of damage to the nervous system, resulting in a lack of sensitivity in the joints. Additionally, the disease may be caused by systemic damage to connective tissue.

causes of arthritis

Unlike joint disease, arthritis has many different forms and manifestations that only an experienced specialist can distinguish. Each type has its own reasons:

• Reactivity- Occurs as a complication of infections and bacterial infections, most commonly of the intestinal and genitourinary systems.
• RheumatoidIt is an independent autoimmune disease that affects the joints symmetrically.
• contagious- Characterized by joint inflammation due to pathogenic bacterial activity and infection. In addition, in the adult population you can also find arthritis that occurs against the background of viral hepatitis.
• gout- Gout appears as a result of the accumulation of urate in joint tissue.
• psoriasis- A result of manifestations of psoriasis, which is observed in approximately 10-15% of people with this diagnosis.
• Traumatic- May occur due to damage to the joints or tissues surrounding the joints.
• Rheumatism- Is a consequence of rheumatism, most commonly caused by streptococcal infection.

In addition, there are diseases that are specific to children, such as juvenile arthritis, which often occur in the context of infections, fungal or bacterial diseases.

symptom

Symptoms of Arthropathy

Joint pain depends directly on the intensity of movement and physical activity and is the main symptom of arthropathy. The disease often manifests in the knee, hip, and ankle joints. Small joints are rarely affected.The discomfort and pain of this disease disappear at rest but gradually increase when activity is attempted. Apart from joint pain, patients do not have to worry about anything else. There is no increase in body temperature, fever or joint swelling. Over time, as the joint develops, the crunching and clicking sounds in the joint become more distinct and movement becomes progressively restricted.

arthritis symptoms

Prolonged inflammation of the joints leads to arthropathy, and conversely, inflammatory processes occur if degenerative dystrophic changes in the joint space are not appropriately treated. The symptoms of arthritis are completely different from the signs of joint disease. First, these diseases have different types of joint pain. With arthritis, pain is usually not related to physical activity and may occur at rest or at night. The pain may be paroxysmal, "flying" and move from one joint to another. The inflammation in this disease also extends to the tissues surrounding the joints.Secondly, arthritis can be distinguished from arthrosis by many other symptoms: general malaise, weakness, increased body temperature, involvement of small joints (fingers, wrists) in the process.

treatment method

relief the pain

For arthritis and joint disease, the primary goal of pharmacotherapy remains to relieve painful symptoms. According to research, the most effective are phenylacetic acid-based NSAIDs, which have been successfully used to treat musculoskeletal disorders. Additionally, these NSAIDs have fewer side effects and complications than other drugs in the same spectrum.NSAID research is based on drugs from the phenylacetic acid derivative group, which have become the standard in the treatment of acute and chronic pain. This drug has been around for more than 45 years, but in that time it has not lost its efficacy even when compared to the latest painkillers.Additionally, a few years ago, the medical journal The Lancet published a study comparing the effectiveness of various NSAIDs in treating osteoarthritis. The most effective drugs are phenylacetic acid derivatives, which not only relieve pain but also improve joint function.In addition to NSAIDs, other medications are used to treat arthritis and joint disease.

arthritis treatment

Proper treatment of arthritis is always complex, long-term and systematic. Its purpose should be to eliminate its cause and reduce pain and inflammation.Some of these types, including infectious ones, can only be treated in a hospital setting. To eliminate the cause, broad-spectrum antibiotics, antifungals, and analgesics are used depending on the source of the disease.In the treatment of reactive arthritis, the main task remains to destroy the infection that causes the arthritis. The most common causes are intestinal or genitourinary diseases: chlamydia, salmonellosis, etc.Gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis occur in the context of an exacerbation of the chronic disease of the same name, so stable remission must first be achieved. For this purpose, special medications are needed to treat these diseases, as well as physical therapy methods and special diets.Treatment for rheumatoid disease includes sulfa drugs and immunosuppressants. When treating this autoimmune disease, it's important to maintain precise medication dosing. In severe cases, corticosteroids—hormone medications that can slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis but have many side effects—may be used.

Treatment of Arthropathy

In the case of arthropathy, the cartilage requires additional nutrition and repair, so it is often treated with chondroprotective drugs containing chondroitin and glucosamine. This is the main medical therapy prescribed to patients with this diagnosis.In its initial stages, the main role is the physical therapy procedures: electrophoresis, magnet therapy as well as therapeutic exercises, diet and massage.

Which doctor should I contact?

If you have been diagnosed with joint disease

If arthrosis is in its first stages, when the disease has not yet progressed, treatment can be provided by a local therapist or general practitioner.In the initial stages of the disease, the joints need improved blood supply and increased synovial fluid production. In addition, if the disease has not yet progressed, surrounding muscles and ligaments need to be strengthened to stabilize the joint. Medical treatment includes chondroprotectants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and drugs with vasodilatory effects. Therapeutic gymnastics, physiotherapy sessions and massage have proven successful. For overweight patients, diet is recommended to reduce weight and reduce joint load.Second and third degree arthropathy, in which degenerative dystrophic changes are strongly expressed, is always monitored by rheumatologists, arthrologists, orthopedic traumatologists and surgeons. Most often, during these stages, the process begins to progress rapidly, and conservative treatment has only a symptomatic effect.The final stage of the disease, in which the affected joints of the limb can be completely immobilized, usually means the need for surgical intervention and internal prosthetics.

If you have been diagnosed with arthritis

In the case of arthritis, the list of treating doctors increases significantly, since there are many causes of this disease. However, in this case, the first person to be examined should be a local therapist, who will determine based on the medical history which specialist should be contacted next.Autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis are always treated by rheumatologists and immunologists. In the case of psoriasis, a dermatologist is added to these doctors.Chiropractors specialize in spinal disorders and treating patients with spinal arthritis.In rheumatism, consultation and observation by a cardiologist are required. If arthritis is caused by an intestinal or genitourinary infection, the primary treating specialist will be a gastroenterologist, urologist, or gynecologist.

prevention

First, women over 45 and men over 55 need to consider preventing joint disease and arthritis—the time when hormones in the body begin to change, metabolism slows down, and blood flow increases. Deterioration of joints. Preventive measures are particularly important for those with a genetic predisposition to endocrine and metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases, and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.Special caution is also needed for those whose jobs are closely associated with physical activities that have a negative impact on joints.

The main measures for primary prevention are:

• Weight Control: Excess weight puts additional stress on joints and the entire musculoskeletal system;
• A balanced diet with an appropriate balance of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, as well as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants;
• Moderate physical activity: gymnastics, daily exercise, swimming, walking;
• Quit bad habits: Alcohol and tobacco products disrupt the body's metabolism and suppress the immune system.

If symptoms of joint disease have been detected, secondary prevention measures are applicable:

• Adhere to primary prevention measures;
• Therapeutic exercises prescribed by a doctor and performed during exacerbations of the condition;
• Use of special orthopedic devices: canes, insoles, bandages, corsets;
• Course or continuation of medication;
• Regular preventive inspections by experts.