Difference between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

There are a lot of things to worry about once you hit middle age, and joint diseases are not the least of them. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are two of the more common types of these diseases, but dont go mistaking one for the other. One major difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is the location and level of pain associated with each of them. A person suffering from osteoarthritis, for example, may experience pain in only one knee, while someone with rheumatoid arthritis will generally feel pain in both knees.

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis, also known by the names “degenerative arthritis” or “degenerative joint disease”, involves the degradation of joints in a body. The symptoms commonly associated with this disease include joint pain, stiffness, tenderness, and the presence of increased intra-articular fluid. There are many causes of osteoarthritis and the loss of cartilage that accompanies it. The disease may be hereditary, developmental, metabolic, or mechanical, with the primary cause being wear and tear on the joints. Osteoarthritis may be treated through a combination of exercise, analgesics or painkillers, and a change in lifestyle. In extreme cases, a person suffering from osteoarthritis may undergo joint replacement surgery to alleviate the pain and help make life just easier in general for them.

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic auto-immune disease, meaning your body is the one that attacks and destroys its own joint cartilage. This is another key difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. What causes rheumatoid arthritis is still unknown, but estimates put about 1 percent of the world’s population as being afflicted by this disease. Just about anybody of any age can be affected, but the disease is most likely to emerge between the ages of 40 and 50. It is a very painful condition and, if left untreated, can lead to heavily reduced functions and mobility. Similar to osteoarthritis, analgesics and anti-imflammatory drugs can help alleviate the pain that comes with rheumatoid arthritis. Physical and nutritional therapies can also help but not stop the disease. For that, rhumatologists generally turn to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.