The Osteoarthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Difference

Osteoarthritis happens to be a common arthritis type and has similar symptoms like rheumatoid arthritis. However, rheumatoid arthritis leads to a more crippling and disabling condition and is more of severe form.

The Difference

Osteoarthritis, which is also known to be a degenerative disease of the joints or the wear-and-tear arthritis, is caused due to the breaking down of the joint cartilages. Cartilage is almost like that of a cushion between our bones that forms the joints. The loss of cartilage can result in the rubbing of one bone with the other in our joints; this indeed is a very painful condition. Osteoarthritis generally initiates in one single joint.

On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis is more of a chronic condition and is an inflammatory arthritis type. It is an autoimmune disease in which the immune cells tend to attack the own body’s healthy tissues. The synovium, which is the lining of our joints, is mostly affected in rheumatoid arthritis, but all the other internal organs are at equal risk of being affected. Rheumatoid arthritis involves multiple joints and the damage caused can lead to impaired mobility.

The Cause:

Osteoarthritis is usually associated with age and can be called a consequence. In this case, the water content of the cartilage tends to decrease while the protein composition of the same tends to degenerate. Some other common factors responsible for the development of osteoarthritis are:

Joint injury
Over-stressing the joints or repetitive use of the injured joints
Body weight; over weight people are likely to develop this disease.
Genetic factors/ family history.

Osteoarthritis has some definite reasons to support the cause, but it is not the same with rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers have been trying very hard to identify the actual case of this autoimmune response and its abnormalities. No particular cause could be recognized. However, some of the common theories suggest that genetic predisposition can be responsible for causing the disease.

The Common Symptoms:

Osteoarthritis affects our joints primarily. One of the common symptoms that manifests when a person is suffering from osteoarthritis would be pain in the joints right after activity or repetitive use. Morning stiffness also is common in case of osteoarthritis and tends to last for just about half an hour or even lesser than that. The pain in the joints tends to worsen in the later part of the day. Also, osteoarthritis is characterized by bony enlargements like Bouchard’s nodes and Heberden’s nodes and restricted movement.

The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, however, are:

Joint pain
Effusion or joint swelling
Stiffness of the joints
Redness and warmth round the joints
Restricted movement and the motion range.

Incase of rheumatoid arthritis, morning stiffness tends to last for more than one hour and also involves the small bones present in our hands and our feet. These symptoms are associated with extreme fatigue, symmetrical involvement of joint and rheumatoid nodules. The disease might as well involve your lungs, kidneys and the heart.

Though there is a huge difference between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, but the symptoms are quite similar and that might lead to some confusion. So a proper diagnosis becomes essential in the initial stages. Treating both these diseases isn’t much of a problem and can be done with drugs and medications.

Summary:

Though the symptoms are likely to be the same, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have totally different cause of occurrence. Osteoarthritis is more of a disease that comes with age, while rheumatoid arthritis can strike a child, a young adult and the elderly as well.