Your joint is painful, swollen or difficult to move. What to do? Which doctor should I contact with this problem? What is the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis? In our body, everything works, works and, therefore, wears out. Healthy cells repair themselves, but if this does not happen, the cause and treatment must be found.
Attention! Do not self-medicate, you can remove the symptoms, but the cause remains!
In small towns or villages, first of all, they go to a general practitioner, if a child has problems - to a pediatrician, and he already determines which narrow specialist to refer to.
If you have been diagnosed with arthritis, do not confuse it with osteoarthritis. What is the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis? Now we will understand how these diseases differ.
What is the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis?
First difference in etiology:
- Arthritis can occur as a result of injury or infection, malfunction of the metabolic system and is characterized by an inflammatory process.
- Arthrosis - is chronic, with it the joints wear out and become deformed.
Symptoms of diseases are also different - this is the second sign:
- Arthritis - can occur in a latent (chronic) form or make itself felt immediately (acute form). It is manifested by pain, fever, swelling, changes in skin color.
- Osteoarthritis does not necessarily come with painful symptoms. Sometimes the pain occurs after a long rest, but disappears after development, there is a creak or snap when moving.
Osteoarthritis affects people over 50, sportsmen or the consequence of a severe fracture - after 40 years.
The third is the nature of bodily harm:
- Arthritis affects the whole body. The inflammatory process affects the functioning of internal organs: the heart, liver, kidneys.
- Arthrosis - only affects the joint.
Fourth - how exactly the joints are damaged:
- Any joint can be affected by arthritis.
- Arthrosis likes to affect connective tissues, which are most affected by the load. These are the knee, ankle, hip and also the big toe joint.
Moreover, scientific studies have shown that arthritis patients on Earth make up 2% of the population, and arthrosis - 10%.
What is the diagnosis based on?
General blood test - blood from a finger. If arthrosis, as a rule, does not change the composition of the blood, then with arthritis the content of leukocytes and erythrocytes increases.
Rheumatic tests and biochemical analyzes are carried out - it is taken from a vein on an empty stomach.
Arthrosis does not change the structure of the blood, with arthritis the markers of inflammation increase.
Rheumatoid arthritis is manifested by the appearance of rheumatoid factor in the blood and gout - increased uric acid.
X-ray - shows at what stage the disease, whether there is a change in the structure of the bone - arthrosis. MRIs and CT scans can also be ordered.
Which doctor treats arthritis and osteoarthritis?
As mentioned before, we first visit a general practitioner. He examines and refers to a rheumatologist, he examines, diagnoses and plans treatment.
What is the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis? If the doctor has diagnosed osteoarthritis, he prescribes additional tests to establish the stage of the disease.
Treatment occurs only with drugs, with the help of injections, ointments. First of all, the doctor advises to reduce the load and take chondroprotectors. To improve blood circulation, a series of exercises is advised.
The treatment should be complex, so the following doctors of a narrow specialization may also be involved: a physiotherapist, a massage therapist, a specialist in physiotherapy exercises, a surgeon.
In case of connective tissue diseases, they can be sent to a sanatorium for further treatment and recovery.
An arthrologist is a doctor who works with joint problems. However, such specialists are found only in large clinics and it is difficult to get there.
If the disease progresses and has passed into a difficult stage, you need to contact an orthopedic surgeon. Depending on the need for the treatment, he can perform two types of surgery: organ preservation and endoprosthetics.
For the best treatment at each stage, specialists from different fields are involved, but the therapist or rheumatologist supervises the entire treatment.
Which doctor will treat arthritis depends on the cause.
- With an injury that served as an impetus, for development, it will be necessary to consult a traumatologist.
- Rheumatoid - immune disease specialists.
- Metabolic disorders (gout) - nutritionist, endocrinologist, rheumatologist.
- Problems with the maxillofacial joint: dentist, ENT.
- With purulent - the intervention of a surgeon is necessary for the operation.
The doctor carries out treatment in several directions: to stop the destruction and restore the ability of connective tissues.
Treatment should begin as soon as discomfort arises. Thus, you will quickly feel relief, and the disease will cause minimal damage to the body.
Treatment plan
In each case, the doctor carries out treatment depending on the cause of arthritis, but there is a standard scheme:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). First, a course of intramuscular, intravenous or intra-articular injections is carried out, for further treatment, ointments can be used.
- Antispasmodics (for muscle spasms).
- Antidepressants.
- Anesthetics.
- Gastroprotectors, to protect the stomach.
- A vitamin complex is prescribed.
- Chondroprotectors - they improve the quality of cartilage tissue.
- Therapeutic diet.
- Physiotherapy.
- Massage, acupuncture.
This treatment regimen is supplemented depending on the course of the disease. The recovery process is long and laborious, rehabilitation will also require a lot of work from you.