Some patients were diagnosed with "arthropathy" and others with "arthritis" due to complaints of joint pain.When they met and exchanged descriptions of symptoms in conversation, they suddenly came to the conclusion that there was only one disease, since it appeared almost identically in both cases!Here’s the question: So, what’s the difference between arthritis and joint disease?In fact, many people confuse these diseases, but despite similar symptoms, arthritis and joints are different diseases with significant differences in clinical course.That is, understanding the causes of disease, the mechanisms by which it occurs and develops can lead to effective treatment.
Arthritis and Arthropathy: What They Have in Common
Arthritis and joint disease can occur due to a single factor or a combination of causes.Both diseases can occur under the influence of factors such as injury or diabetes.In both cases, patients experience degenerative dystrophic changes in the articular cartilage, resulting in severe pain and, in some cases, limited mobility.The disease targets the joints and periarticular tissues of the body, particularly the knee joints.Patients sometimes fight through pain and care for themselves, but without effective treatment, all their efforts can be in vain.The patient loses the ability to work and becomes disabled instead.
According to the accepted ICD-10 classification, arthritis and arthropathy are combined into a subgroup of “arthropathies”—diseases that primarily affect the peripheral joints (limbs).
Arthritis and Arthropathy: Differences
It is sometimes impossible to pinpoint the trigger for either condition, but the consequences are the same: pain and stiffness in the joints, swelling of the skin in the affected area, edema, redness, congestion, etc.In fact, only someone without medical education could confuse these two completely different diseases, but doctors can easily distinguish one from the other.
The main difference is that if the direct cause of the joint disease is mechanical damage, excessive or disproportionate load on the joint organs, age-related changes, then arthritis manifests itself as an inflammatory process in the joints and periarticular tissues.With arthropathy, blood cell counts are normal and damage to other organs and systems does not occur.With arthritis, the opposite is observed: specific proteins, increased ESR and white blood cells are detected in the blood.The pathological process involves the heart, kidneys, and genitourinary system.
Another difference is that arthropathy primarily affects the knee and hip joints, which bear a large supporting stabilizing load.Arthritis tends to occur in the small joints of the hands, feet, and wrists, and less commonly affects the elbows, knees, and hips.
What causes arthritis?
Experts define arthropathy as a non-inflammatory joint disease with a chronic progressive course.Articular cartilage is destroyed due to degenerative dystrophic changes.Arthropathy is often accompanied by inflammation of the synovial membrane of joints or ligaments (synovitis), which also increases the destruction of joint structures.
It is because of synovitis that osteoarthritis is called osteoarthritis in English medical literature, using the suffix "-itis" to indicate the presence of an inflammatory process.Although synovitis is not a component of arthropathy, synovitis may occur in the absence of arthropathy.
Arthropathy is believed to be a common disease among the elderly.In fact, the risk of joint damage increases steadily with age, but athletes are at high risk of contracting the disease due to excessive physical exertion or poor technique (such as strength exercises).Additionally, disruption of the articular ligamentous apparatus may result in:
- genetic predisposition,
- Congenital or acquired joint developmental abnormalities (dysplasia, epiphyseal detachment, joint hypermobility, etc.),
- The presence of metabolic and hormonal disorders, such as diabetes,
- Overweight and obesity.
Danish scientists studied risk factors for primary osteoarthritis of the hip and knee.The results suggest that genetic factors and the environment have different effects on large weight-bearing joints.For the hip joint, the most important factors in the development of pathology are genetic (47%) and environmental (22%) factors.At the same time, for the development of the same pathology in the knee joint, age and gender differences, especially after the age of 50, as well as various environmental factors are most important.
Inflammatory diseases of bones and joints (gout, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.) can also lead to the destruction of cartilage tissue.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is often referred to as an overall inflammatory joint disease.If the disease affects one joint, it is monoarthritis; more than one joint is polyarthritis.Arthritis is distinguished between independent diseases and manifestations of other pathologies.In the first case we are talking about rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, gout.The second one - about psoriasis and reactive arthritis.Inflammatory processes in the joints may also be the result of hepatitis, Lyme disease (tick-borne borreliosis), or granulomatous disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which a patient's immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissue.In this case, in addition to inflammatory reactions in other organs, inflammation of the joint synovium can occur in the absence of invasion of microbial pathogens.The joints become swollen, painful, and have impaired mobility.
Another form of arthritis is gout, a systemic disease caused by improper metabolism.Excess uric acid deposits on joint surfaces, causing inflammation.Genetics, hormonal factors (most often in men) and poor nutrition are important in the development of the disease.Gout is often confused with joint disease in the big toe area.
The development of some types of arthritis is caused by the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms (most commonly bacteria) into the joint space.