Osteoarthritis is also called degenerative joint disease or degenerative arthritis.
Osteoarthritis results from overuse of joints. It can be the consequence of demanding sports,obesity, or aging. If you were an athlete or dancer in high school or college, you may be wondering why your knee or hip aches when you climb out of bed in the morning. Ask your doctor about osteoarthritis. It can strike earlier in life with athletes or those who suffered an injury in young adulthood. Osteoarthritis in the hands is frequently inherited and often happens in middle-aged women.
Osteoarthritis is most common in joints that bear weight -- such as the knees, hips, feet, and spine. It often comes on gradually over months or even years. Except for the pain in the affected joint, you usually do not feel sick, and there is no unusual fatigue or tiredness as there is with some other types of arthritis.
With osteoarthritis, the cartilage gradually breaks down. Cartilage is a slippery material that covers the ends of bones and serves as the body's shock absorber. As more damage occurs, the cartilage starts to wear away, or it doesn't work as well as it once did to cushion the joint. As an example, the extra stress on knees from being overweight can cause damage to knee cartilage. That, in turn, causes the cartilage to wear out faster than normal.
As the cartilage becomes worn, cushioning effect of the joint is lost. The result is pain when the joint is moved. Along with the pain, sometimes you may hear a grating sound when the roughened cartilage on the surface of the bones rubs together. Painful spurs or bumps may appear on the end of the bones, especially on the fingers and feet. While not a major symptom of osteoarthritis, inflammation may occur in the joint lining as a response to the breakdown of cartilage.
Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are the two most common types of arthritis, a condition that damages joints and affects their function.
The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis involves wear-and-tear damage to the cartilage that caps the bones in your joints. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of your joints, causing a painful swelling that can eventually result in joint deformity.
While both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis can affect the small joints of the hand, there are differences. Rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect the middle joints of the fingers and the joints where the fingers attach to the hand. Osteoarthritis more commonly affects the joints at the ends of the fingers and at the base of the thumb.
In rheumatoid arthritis, the same joints usually are affected on both sides of the body. This symmetry doesn't typically occur in osteoarthritis, so it's common for only one hand or knee to be painful.
Joints damaged by osteoarthritis may be stiff in the morning, but they usually feel better in about 20 minutes. Joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, often hurt for more than 45 minutes after you get out of bed.
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What is the difference between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Don't confuse the two -- osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are not the same condition. Osteoarthritis is the result of wear and tear on your joints, which causes weakening and deterioration of your cartilage. Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, is an auto-immune disorder, whereby your body attacks and destroys joint cartilage. Both conditions, however, share common symptoms, including joint paint, stiffness and swelling.
The risk factors for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are fairly different. Osteoarthritis is most common in old age; in fact, almost everyone in their golden years will show some sign of osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis, unlike like osteoarthritis, is not a golden-age condition. The typical age of onset for rheumatoid arthritis is mid-life, although children and adolescents can also develop the condition. Rheumatoid arthritis is generally caused by genetic factors; in fact, there is a particular gene responsible for this auto-immune disorder. Osteoarthritis is also caused by a genetic predisposition, but other factors also come into play, such as obesity, over-use of the joint and injury. Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are more common in women than in men.
Osteoarthritis typically affects the hands, knees, hips, neck and lower back. Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, tends to affect primarily the wrist and finger joints. Interestingly, rheumatoid arthritis is symmetrical in its development: If your right hand has arthritis, so will your left hand. Rheumatoid arthritis also causes other symptoms that are unrelated to joint deterioration, such as fatigue, fever and a vague feeling of sickness. The symptoms of osteoarthritis get progressively worse as you age. The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, however, can flare up and dissipate. Some people with rheumatoid arthritis experience flare-ups that last a few months or a year.
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