Arthritis Vs. Osteoporosis: Understanding the Difference

Arthritis and osteoporosis are two very common diseases yet they are very different. Arthritis and Osteoporosis are two diseases that commonly get confused among patients.

Arthritis is actually a broad term used to describe certain conditions that affect the joints and their surrounding tissues. If you are unsure of what joints are they are the area in the body where bones connect. The most common arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

• Osteoarthritis also known as degenerative joint disease and osteoarthrosis occurs from the wearing down of cartilage over time. This disease can be very painful and there is no known cure. Medications can help alleviate the pain for osteoarthritis along with braces, physical therapy and avoiding over stressing the joints.

Risk Factors: Sex, age, deformities of the bone, obesity, injury to joints, occupations that require the constant use of certain joints, and various diseases.

Symptoms: Pain, Stiffness, grating sensation at the joint, tenderness, bone spurs and loss of being able to flex the joint.

• Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disorder that most often affects the smaller joints in feet and hands. With RA the lining of the joints are effected which in return causes swelling that is painful and the end result is joint deformity and erosion of the bone. Medications, surgery and physical therapy help slow down the process of RA joint damage.

Risk Factors: Sex, family history, age and smoking

Symptoms: Joint swelling, fatigue, fever, joint pain, tender to the touch joints, stiffness in the morning, puffy hands, red hands, and firm bumps under the skin on the arms.

Osteoporosis simply means "porous bones" this is when the bones become brittle and weak. One of the leading causes to osteoporosis is having low levels of calcium in your bones. The biggest complication from osteoporosis is fractures. Osteoporosis is treated with medications, physical therapy and hormone therapy.

Risk Factors: Smoking, low calcium intake, excessive use of alcohol, sedentary life styles, long term use of corticosteroid medications and eating disorders. Other risk factors you cannot change are family history, plentiful thyroid hormone, age, being female, and different types of disease that affect a person's bone health.

Symptoms: back pain, height loss, fractures and stopped vertebra

Source:

http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/Conditions_Behaviors/osteoporosis_arthritis.asp