Complaining of pain in the joints, some patients are faced with the diagnosis of "arthrosis", others - "arthritis".When they met, having exchanged descriptions of their symptoms in conversation, they suddenly concluded that there was only one disease, because it manifested itself almost the same in both cases!The question arises: what, then, is the difference 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.That is, 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 occurrence of arthritis and arthrosis can be caused by either one factor or a combination of various causes.Both diseases can develop under the influence of, for example, injury or diabetes.In both cases, patients experience degenerative-dystrophic changes in the articular cartilage, which leads to severe pain and, in some cases, to limited mobility.The target of the disease is the joints and periarticular 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 suffers from disability.
According to the accepted ICD-10 classification, arthritis and arthrosis are combined into one subgroup "Arthropathy" - a disorder that mainly affects peripheral (extremity) joints.
Arthritis and arthrosis: the difference
Sometimes it is impossible to determine exactly the trigger that started one of these two diseases, but the consequences develop the same: pain and stiffness are felt in the joints, swelling, edema, redness, hyperemia of the skin in the affected area, etc.In fact, only a person without medical education can confuse these two completely different pathologies, but doctors can easily separate one from the other.
The main difference is that if the direct cause of arthrosis is mechanical damage, excessive or unbalanced load on the articular apparatus, age-related changes, then arthritis manifests itself as an inflammatory process in the joints and in the periarticular tissue.With arthrosis, the blood count is normal, damage to other organs and systems does not occur.With arthritis, the opposite picture is observed: specific proteins, increased ESR and leukocytes will be detected in the blood.The pathological process involves the heart, kidneys, and genitourinary system.
Another difference is that arthrosis mainly affects the knee and hip joints, which bear a large load of support stabilization.Arthritis favors the small joints of the hands, feet, wrist joints, and less frequently affects the elbows, knees, and hips.
What causes arthrosis?
Arthrosis is defined by experts as a non-inflammatory joint disease that has a chronic and progressive course.As a result of degenerative-dystrophic changes, articular cartilage is destroyed.Arthrosis is often accompanied by inflammation of the synovial membrane of the joint or ligaments (synovitis), which also contributes by increasing the destruction of the articular structure.
It is precisely because of synovitis that in the English medical literature osteoarthritis is called osteoarthritis, using the suffix "-itis" to indicate the presence of an inflammatory process.Although synovitis is not part of arthrosis, it may occur without it.
It is believed that arthrosis is a lot of older people.Indeed, with age, the risk of joint damage increases, but athletes are also at high risk of contracting this disease due to excessive physical exercise or poor technique, such as strength training.In addition, the destruction of the articular-ligamentous apparatus can cause:
- hereditary predisposition,
- congenital or acquired pathology of joint development (dysplasia, detachment of bone epiphysis, 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.When it comes to the hip joint, the most important factors for the development of pathology are the genetic component (47%) and the environment (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 the most important.
Cartilage tissue destruction can also develop as a result of bone and joint inflammation (gout, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.).
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is commonly referred to as the entire 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 - about psoriatic and reactive arthritis.The inflammatory process in the joints can also be a result of hepatitis, Lyme disease (tick-borne borreliosis), or granulomatosis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which a person's immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own tissues.In this case, in addition to inflammatory reactions in other organs, inflammation of the synovial membrane of the joint occurs without the penetration of microbial pathogens into it.Joints swell, pain appears, and mobility is impaired.
Another form of arthritis is gout, a systemic disease due to improper metabolism.Excess uric acid deposits on the articular surface, causing inflammation.Heredity, hormonal factors (men get sick in most cases), and poor nutrition are very important for the development of this disease.Gout is often confused with arthrosis lesions in the big toe area.
The development of some types of arthritis is provoked by the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the joint space, most often bacteria.