The tissues of healthy joints are made up of cells capable of recovering from damage - regeneration. Bones, cartilage, synovium, and other components can become unhealthy. Dead and damaged cells accumulate in certain tissues. They do not have the ability to divide, which inhibits regeneration. They are difficult to remove, which is the main problem in restoring joint health.
Under any physical exertion, strong mechanical stress can damage cells and lead to their death. It is difficult for an already diseased joint to support the load. It is very difficult to heal. To avoid or overcome the disease, it is necessary to understand the defense mechanisms of the tissues and joint cells. In the area of joint damage, a distinction is made between arthritis, osteoarthritis, polyarthritis and other conditions. Let's take a look at the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis in detail.
Leading cause of illness
The joint is protected by neuromuscular padding. Thanks to the muscle contraction control system, the shock effect does not occur or is attenuated. The nervous system ensures smooth movements and load distribution. In a calm state, the muscles also stimulate microvibrations, leading to the release of lubricant, the removal of dead cells.
Impaired neuromuscular damping occurs due to poor conduction of nerve pathways. For example, fatigue weakens the defenses of a joint. Dead cells start to accumulate without having time to be excreted. The result is inflammation. The weakening of the protection accelerates the degradation not only of the joints, but also of the spine.
There are a number of factors that increase the risk of joint disease, starting with strokes, bruising, overload, hypothermia. Arthritis occurs - a process of inflammation. If it is impossible to cure it for months, deformities begin - osteoarthritis.
What is arthritis: causes, symptoms
Reasons for the occurrence can be specified:
- Incorrect food.
- Bad habits: alcohol, tobacco.
- Systematic hypothermia.
- Injuries.
- Excessive stress on the joints.
- Consequences of past illnesses, infections.
The disease is detected by the following symptoms:
- Swelling of the joint area, painful sensations, increased tenderness, limited mobility (i. e. synovitis).
- Sharp pains on movement and at rest.
- Stiffness in the morning due to swelling at night. An hour after departure, the activity passes.
In addition to the signs listed, symptoms of inflammation may appear: weakness, sweating, chills, fever. Some have headaches, weight loss. Sometimes concomitant diseases occur: the heart and lungs are affected.
What is osteoarthritis: causes and symptoms
Due to progressive arthritis, symptoms of osteoarthritis in most cases do not appear until after the age of 40.
The disease is characterized by the following manifestations:
- Pain does not appear in a calm state, but during exertion. Unpleasant sensations occur in the hip or knee joint while walking, using a ladder, or exercising. This initial pain may go away with further movements. There is also a strong painful sensation, accompanied by a cracking, when bending, bending.
- Pain when starting to move after rest occurs as a result of the deposit on the rubbing surfaces of detritus - products of destruction of cartilage and bones. The sensation may stop after 15 minutes as this sediment is expelled.
- A dull ache at night occurs as a result of venous congestion.
With osteoarthritis, inflammation often occurs. Along with painful sensations, swelling is observed (as in arthritis). If symptoms of both conditions are present, arthritis-arthritis is diagnosed.
The long-term course of osteoarthritis can lead to limited mobility. In muscles, tendons, degenerative changes (contractures) begin, then deformity. In this case, the diagnosis is made - deforming osteoarthritis or arthritis.
Distinguish between the stages of the disease, which are determined by X-ray images, as a result of computed tomography:
- 1 degree- slight changes in cartilage, bones. Painful swelling occurs with moderate exertion, decreasing after a period of rest.
- 2 degrees- destruction of cartilage, growth of bone tissue on the edges in the form of osteophytes. Narrowing of the joint space, accompanied by constant pain. The pockets also become stable.
- 3, 4 degrees- extensive destruction of cartilage and bones. The swelling does not go away, ligaments and muscles do not work properly, and deformity occurs. The load axis is disturbed in the joint.
The risk factors leading to osteoarthritis are:
- Insufficient mobility.
- Overweight.
- Age factors.
- Infections due to insufficient blood and lymphatic circulation, stagnation.
In all situations, the tissues do not have time to recover during the process of joint destruction.
Differences between arthritis and osteoarthritis
Arthritis and osteoarthritis are becoming increasingly common diseases. Conditions affecting the joints have similar names. The differences lie in the nature of the negative changes that occur during the onset and development of symptoms. Pain in arthritis is a consequence of the inflammation of the tissues. The synovium is affected, its blood supply, the lymph is disturbed, the disease affects the nerve endings. The joint stops eating properly and does not produce lubricant either. The cartilage suffers.
The disease can be observed not only in adults, but also in children (juvenile form). The lesion affects all joints, even the smallest such as the fingers, and may also cover several (polyarthritis).
Osteoarthritis occurs after prolonged arthritis. Cartilage and the entire joint do not receive nutrition from synovial fluid (lubricant) for a long time. Often there are exacerbations in the form of inflammation. First, the cartilage is destroyed, like the lining of the bone, and in the following stages, the bone tissue may suffer. Cartilage areas do not have time to regenerate, they soften. Due to the violation of the sliding surfaces in the joint, pain appears.
This disease occurs after 40 years. Affecting large joints (hip - coxarthrosis or knee - knee osteoarthritis), it can cause disability, making a person disabled. The fingers (osteoarthritis) and feet are less frequently affected. And also the disease can be observed in temporomandibular joints, elbow, shoulder and others.
Thus, osteoarthritis is a consequence of the development of arthritis symptoms, taking a destructive stage.
Prevention and treatment
Nutritional deficiencies of cartilage and joints in arthritis should not be made worse by inflammation. At the same time as the reimbursement of the outbreaks with anti-inflammatory drugs, the cause must be eliminated. If you don't take action, the disease can turn into osteoarthritis. If you suspect both ailments, you need to correctly diagnose, for which you need to consult a specialist doctor. This is done by a rheumatologist, an orthopedic traumatologist and a surgeon. It is necessary to visit the clinic. And in some diagnostic centers, these patients are served by an arthrologist.
An important principle of healing is to stop destruction while stimulating recovery. This approach will help to avoid irreversible changes. To do this, the tissues are cleaned of damaged cells resulting from injury or infection. Increase blood and lymphatic flow, nutrition. Insufficient conduction of nerve connections in the spine is often the cause of the development of arthritis and osteoarthritis. When signs of disease appear, it is necessary to reduce the load on the joint.
Pharmacotherapy includes:
- Nonsteroidal drugs that inhibit inflammation, relieve pain.
- Hormonal preparations in the form of injections.
- Cytostatics reduce the number of antibodies that kill cells.
- Cartilage and synovial fluid are restored with chondoprotectors.
Lymphatic flow, which cleanses the tissues of affected cells, is not stimulated. But there is a method of vibroacoustic therapy, which consists of exposure to microvibrations from vibroacoustic therapy (from 30 to 20, 000 Hz). And also physiotherapy, exercises are used. At 3 and 4 stages of the disease, they resort to prosthetics.
Conclusion
Painful sensations in the joints and dysfunctions of their functions cause many serious disorders. But an even bigger problem is the process of inflammation that occurs in them, the destruction that restricts movement, leads to deformities, disability. It is important to correctly identify the disease so that the treatment can be carried out in time. It is necessary to understand the causes of these problems, as well as to know the available means to overcome them.