Your joint is sore, swollen, or hard to move. What should be done? Which doctor should I contact about this problem? What is the difference between arthritis and arthrosis? In our body, everything works, works and, accordingly, wears out. Healthy cells repair themselves, but if this does not happen, it is necessary to look for its cause and treat it.
Careful! 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 specialist to refer you to.
If you have been diagnosed with arthritis, do not confuse it with arthrosis. What is the difference between arthritis and arthrosis? Now we will understand how these diseases differ.
What is the difference between arthritis and arthrosis?
The first difference in etiology:
- Arthritis can occur due to injury or infection, a malfunction in the metabolic system and is characterized by an inflammatory process.
- Osteoarthritis - is chronic, with it the joints wear out and deform.
Symptoms of diseases are also different - this is the second sign:
- Arthritis - can occur in a latent form (chronic form) or be felt immediately (acute form). Appears with pain, fever, swelling, changes in skin color.
- Arthritis may not necessarily be associated with painful symptoms. Sometimes the pain occurs after a long rest, but disappears after development, there is a crackle or click when you move.
Arthrosis affects people over 50, athletes or the consequences of a severe fracture - after 40.
The third is the nature of the damage to the body:
- Arthritis affects the whole body. The inflammatory process affects the functioning of internal organs: heart, liver, kidneys.
- Arthrosis - affects only the joint.
Fourth - how exactly are the joints damaged:
- Any joint can get arthritis.
- Osteoarthritis likes to affect the connective tissues, which are most affected by the load. These are the knee, ankle, hip, and big toe joint.
Also, 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 analysis are performed - 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 the rheumatoid factor in the blood, and with gout - an increase in uric acid.
X-ray - shows at what stage the disease, if there is a change in the bone structure - arthrosis. MRI and CT scans may also be ordered.
Which doctor treats arthritis and arthrosis?
As mentioned earlier, first of all we visit a general practitioner. He examines and refers to a rheumatologist, he examines, diagnoses and plans treatment.
What is the difference between arthritis and arthrosis? If the doctor has diagnosed arthrosis, he prescribes additional examinations to determine the stage of the disease.
The treatment is done only with medicines, with the help of injections, ointments. First of all, the doctor advises to reduce the load and take chondroprotectors. To improve blood circulation, a set of exercises is advised.
The treatment should be complex, so the following doctors of a narrow specialization may be additionally 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, these specialists are only found in large clinics and it is difficult to reach them.
If the disease progresses, and has passed to a difficult stage, then you should contact an orthopedic surgeon. He can perform, depending on the need for treatment, two types of operations: organ-preserving and endoprosthetics.
For the best treatment at each stage, specialists from different fields are involved, but the therapist or rheumatologist oversees 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 visit a traumatologist.
- Rheumatoid - specialists in immune diseases.
- Metabolic disorders (gout) - nutritionist, endocrinologist, rheumatologist.
- Problems with the maxillofacial joint: dentist, ENT.
- With purulent - the intervention of a surgeon is necessary for surgery.
The doctor carries out the treatment in several directions: to stop further destruction and to restore the capacity of the connective tissues.
Treatment should begin as soon as discomfort is felt. Thus, you will quickly feel relief and the disease will bring minimal harm to the body.
Treatment regimen
In any case, the doctor carries out treatment depending on the cause of arthritis, but there is a standard scheme:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). First, a course of intramuscular, intravenous or intra-articular injections is made, for subsequent treatment, ointments can be used.
- Antispasmodics (for muscle spasms).
- Antidepressants.
- Anesthetics.
- Gastroprotectors, to protect the stomach.
- A vitamin complex is prescribed.
- Chondroprotectors - improve the quality of cartilage tissue.
- Therapeutic diet.
- Physiotherapy.
- Massage, acupuncture.
This treatment regimen is completed depending on the course of the disease. The recovery process is long and arduous, rehabilitation will also require a lot of work on your part.