Meanwhile, these diseases have a completely different nature and different treatment.To know these differences means not to give a disease a chance to prevail over you.
Difference 1. Source of the problem
Arthrosis is a degenerative process, accompanied by deformation and abrasion of the joint capsule, which allows the joints to move easily and freely.In addition to the elderly, arthrosis often suffers from athletes who, due to constant overloads, cartilage, covering the surface of the joints, cracks, thinning.
Arthritis is an inflammatory disease associated either with a failure in the immune system (rheumatoid arthritis), or with an infection - genitourinary, 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 joints affected by arthrosis at first click and crunch, to which the potential victims of the disease do not pay any attention, continuing to load the worn joint.
Arthritis begins with sharp pain, swelling, redness of the skin around the diseased 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, an infection - a cold, cystitis.
Difference 3. The nature of the joint damage
Arthrosis most often affects the joints of the legs (hip, knee, ankle), which account for the maximum load.
With rheumatoid arthritis, joints of a brush or feet, wrists suffer.Then the elbow and knee joints are affected (usually symmetrically), and sometimes the disease affects internal organs (liver, kidneys).
With reactive arthritis, the inflammation of the joints is more often asymmetric in nature: not both joints suffer, but one.The pain runs, like in the steps, from foot to foot.
Difference 4. Treatment
Arthrosis, especially in a neglected state, is impossible to finally cure.But with a competent and constant intake of oral drugs that stimulate cartilage regeneration, it is possible to significantly slow down its development and improve the quality of the patient’s life.Anti-inflammatory drugs with arthrosis play an auxiliary role due to their negative effect on the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract.
Arthritis of infectious origin is completely cured if treatment is started in time with drugs that affect immunity, antibiotics.In especially severe, advanced cases, the course of treatment is repeated several times.
It will be necessary to treat rheumatoid arthritis for lifelong doses of corticosteroids, anti -inflammatory drugs, cytostatics.But other medicines appear.So, in the mid-90s, the era of genetically engineering biological drugs began, which allow to achieve prolonged remission of the disease, as well as reduce the dose of hormonal agents.