Your wrist 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 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 the cause and treat it.
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 the general practitioner, if the child has problems - to the pediatrician, and he already determines to which specialist he will refer you.
If you have been diagnosed with arthritis, do not confuse it with osteoarthritis. 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 an 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 the disease are also different - this is another sign:
- Arthritis - can occur in a latent form (chronic) or immediately felt (acute form). It is manifested by pain, temperature, swelling, change in skin color.
- Arthrosis does not necessarily have to be accompanied by painful symptoms. Sometimes the pain occurs after a long rest, but disappears after development, there is a creaking or clicking sound when moving.
Arthrosis affects people over 50, athletes or is the result 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 work of internal organs: heart, liver, kidneys.
- Arthrosis - affects only the joint.
Fourth - how exactly are the joints damaged:
- Any joint can get sick with arthritis.
- Arthrosis likes to affect the connective tissues, which are most affected by the load. These are the knee, ankle, hip, and also the big toe joint.
Also, scientific studies have shown that patients with arthritis 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 the content of leukocytes and erythrocytes increases with arthritis.
Rheumatic tests and biochemical analyzes are performed - it is taken from a vein on an empty stomach.
Arthrosis does not change the structure of the blood, with arthritis, markers of inflammation increase.
Rheumatoid arthritis is manifested by the appearance of rheumatoid factor in the blood, and in gout - by an increase in uric acid.
X-ray - shows the stage of the disease, if there is a change in the bone structure - arthrosis. MRI and CT can also be ordered.
Which doctor treats arthritis and arthrosis?
As mentioned earlier, first of all we go to see a general practitioner. Examines and refers to a rheumatologist, who 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.
Treatment takes place only with drugs, with the help of injections, ointments. First of all, the doctor advises reducing the workload and taking chondroprotectors. A set of exercises is advised to improve blood circulation.
The treatment should be complex, so doctors of narrower specialization can be additionally involved: physiotherapist, masseur, specialist in physiotherapy exercises, surgeon.
In case of connective tissue disease, 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 are hard to come by.
If the disease progresses and has passed into a severe stage, then you should consult an orthopedist. He can perform, depending on the need for treatment, two types of surgery: organ preservation and endoprosthetics.
For the best treatment in each phase, specialists from different fields are involved, but a therapist or rheumatologist supervises the entire treatment.
Which doctor will treat arthritis depends on the cause.
- With the injury that served as an incentive, it will be necessary to visit a traumatologist for development.
- Rheumatoid - a specialist in immune diseases.
- Metabolic disorders (gout) - nutritionist, endocrinologist, rheumatologist.
- Problems with the maxillofacial joint: dentist, ENT.
- In purulent cases - surgery requires the intervention of a surgeon.
The doctor carries out treatment in several directions: to stop further destruction and restore the capacity of the connective tissue.
Treatment should be started as soon as discomfort is felt. So you will quickly feel relief, and the disease will bring minimal damage 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 performed, ointments can be used for subsequent treatment.
- 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 supplemented depending on the course of the disease. The recovery process is long and arduous, and rehabilitation will also require a lot of work on your part.