Because of the similar names, many people don't always understand the difference between arthritis and joint disease.Both diseases are related to the joints, but their causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments are fundamentally different.It is important to determine the nature of the disease in its initial stages so that appropriate treatment can be initiated.
Arthritis, arthritis and its effects on joints
To begin treating a joint properly, you must first determine what disease it is susceptible to.To do this, you need to understand for yourself the difference between arthritis and joint disease.
Both diseases affect the joints but have different symptoms and causes.
What is joint disease
About 10% of the population will develop joint disease sooner or later, most commonly as they age.Arthropathy is joint deformation and reduced mobility.Its correct name would be osteoarthritis.
The main symptoms are pain and loss of mobility during movement, a reduced range of motion in the affected joint, and an unpleasant, dry, sharp crunching sound when moving.Deformations can also be observed in osteoarthritis.For example, it's easy to notice changes in the shape of your knee joint.
Osteoarthritis can be detected in its early stages.The diagnosis is complicated only by the patient's own negligent attitude towards health.In the early stage, pain only occurs when exerting force, so many people do not pay attention to it, causing the condition to worsen and treatment to become complicated.
Arthritis and its symptoms
While arthrosis is just a disease of the joints, arthritis is often contagious and affects the entire body.This type of disease is one of the manifestations of the overall condition of the body.Treatment and diagnosis are both more difficult.Joint pain is accompanied by swelling and inflammation; the pain does not go away, it only gets worse, much faster than joint disease.Infectious arthritis not only affects cartilage tissue but can also negatively impact the heart, kidneys, and liver.Although arthritis is about 5 times less common than arthropathy, it is much more difficult to treat, poses a huge risk to the patient's life, and has many causes.
The main symptoms of arthritis are:
- high temperature;
- Skin inflammation, psoriasis;
- General weakness of body;
- Eye discomfort;
- discharge from the genitals;
- Chills and increased sweating.
The skin around the joints is particularly hot and swollen.
What is the difference in the nature of the disease between arthritis and joint disease?
In order to better understand the causes of such diseases, you need to understand their nature and classify them.
All joint diseases can be divided into two categories: inflammatory processes and dystrophic diseases.
In order to determine the nature of a disease whose symptoms are similar to those of another disease, it is important to diagnose and determine the cause of a specific process in the body.
The main problem with both diseases is an imbalance between the destruction and repair processes of the joints.The more severe the imbalance, the faster bone tissue is destroyed, which manifests itself on a cellular level as a lack of oxygen and nutrients, as well as poor production of healthy components of bone tissue.
Most of the time, this process goes unnoticed and pain occurs when the number of dead cells exceeds normal levels.Therefore, the body attempts to "complain" of excessive stress and seek help.
malnutrition diseases
Most often, such diseases have characteristic names with the same ending: arthrosis, osteochondrosis, ligamentosis, osteoarthrosis.These diseases appear with age or continued physical activity.For example, football players often suffer from knee osteoarthritis even at a young age.Most athletes are susceptible to knee problems.
Joints can experience painful symptoms due to thinning of cartilage tissue (called degeneration).Such diseases occur due to the general aging of the body, a sedentary lifestyle and the contagious nature of the disease that accompanies the development of osteoarthritis, osteochondrosis and similar diseases, only accelerating the degenerative process.The body does not have time to replace dead cells, i.e. regeneration, and the opposite process occurs.The hardest thing to stop is tissue degeneration in the knee joint, which is very common.
inflammatory diseases
Such diseases have similar endings and often end in -it.Bacteria or viruses are often contagious and can cause inflammation of one or more joints, causing symptoms such as:
- temperature rise;
- swelling;
- sweating
When the body fights its own cells, they can also be autoimmune or allergic-infectious in nature.In this case, knee pain and swelling may indicate a serious problem with the immune system.If you have pain in your knees or any joint, you should consult a doctor immediately for a complete diagnosis of your body.
Often, the cause of joint pain can be salt deposits in the cavities and tissues surrounding the joints.In this case, metabolic disorders may occur.
Osteoarthritis and Arthritis - Treatment
Since the causes of the diseases are completely different (osteoarthritis is mechanical wear and tear of the joints, arthritis is contagious), the treatments are also completely different.That's why it's so important to differentiate between the two diseases.
Let’s consider treatment using the knee joint as an example.In both cases, the load needs to be reduced as much as possible.There is no cure for arthrosis of the knee or any other joint because the process is irreversible.However, regular use of chondroprotectants can slow this process, stimulate cartilage regeneration and reduce knee pain.
Infectious arthritis can be treated with antibiotics and medications that affect the immune system.In some cases, the treatment process must be repeated, but the disease itself is completely curable.
If the diagnosis reveals rheumatoid arthritis, long-term treatment with low-dose cytostatics and corticosteroids is necessary.All of these are used in combination with anti-inflammatory medications.Modern treatments can achieve long-term remission and reduce the use of hormonal medications to a minimum.