Arthrosis or arthritis?Why is it important to know your differences

Joint pain in the elderlyMeanwhile, these diseases have a completely different nature and different treatment.Knowing these differences means not giving a disease the chance to prevail over you.

Difference 1. Problem source

Arthrosis is a degenerative process, accompanied by deformation and abrasion of the joint capsule, which allows joints to move easily and freely.In addition to the elderly, arthrosis usually suffers from athletes that, due to constant overloads, cartilage, covering the surface of the joints, cracks, thinning.

Arthritis is an inflammatory disease associated with a failure in the immune system (rheumatoid arthritis) or with an infection - geniturinary, intestinal (reactive arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis).

Difference 2. Symptoms

Arthrosis does not always declare itself with pain that occurs during movement or morning stiffness, which disappears after several movements.The articulations affected by arthrosis in the first click and crisis, to which the potential victims of the disease do not pay attention, continuing to carry the spent joint.

Arthritis begins with acute pain, swelling, redness of the skin around the sick joint, fever.But at first it can occur in a hidden form.The impetus to the development of the disease can give stress, overwork, hypothermia, infection - a cold cystitis.

Difference 3. The nature of joint damage

Arthrosis usually affects the joints of the legs (hip, knee, ankle), which are responsible for the maximum load.

With rheumatoid arthritis, joints of a brush or feet, the wrists suffer.Then the elbow and knee joints are affected (usually symmetrically) and sometimes the disease affects the internal organs (liver, kidneys).

With reactive arthritis, joint inflammation is more often asymmetrical in nature: the two joints suffer, but one.The pain runs, as in the steps, from foot to foot.

Difference 4. Treatment

Arthrosis, especially in a neglected state, is impossible to finally heal.But with a competent and constant intake of oral medicines that stimulate cartilage regeneration, it is possible to significantly decrease its development and improve the patient's quality of life.Arthrosis anti-inflammatory drugs play an auxiliary role due to their negative effect on the gastrointestinal tract mucous membrane.

Arthritis of infectious origin is completely healed if treatment is started in time with medications that affect immunity, antibiotics.In especially severe and advanced cases, the course of treatment is repeated several times.

It will be necessary to treat rheumatoid arthritis for doses throughout the life of corticosteroids, anti -inflammatory, cytostatic.But other medications appear.Thus, in the mid -1990s, the age of genetically in engineering biological drugs began to achieve prolonged disease remission, as well as reducing the dose of hormonal agents.