Osteoarthritis & rheumatoid arthritis: What's the difference?

[crimson]

Here's one topic that I would like to share also, the difference between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. I hope this could also help my fellow community.

Here is the link Difference (http://www.philstar.com/article.aspx?articleid=522457&publicationsubcategoryid=75)

[kageyd]

Thanks, Crimson, that is a very worthwhile article to inform us on this Forum. I do have one small issue with it. It says that typically the osteoarthritis sufferer is stiff in the morning, but that the stiffness goes away during the day with activity. No Way!!! Having suffered with osteoarthritis for over 40 years, with knee surgeries and an artificial hip along the way, I can affirm that for most osteoarthritis sufferers the pain may reduce a little with movement, but it does not go away, period. If anything, after an active day, the pain can be worse at night. Most osteo aufferers find the best pain medication for themselves, usually NSAIDs but sometimes stronger, and just live with it until the joint totally wears out, at which time it is replaced.

Otherwise, the distinction between osteo, which is "wear and tear," and RA, which is an autoimmune attack on the joints, is right on target. For those of us who have both osteo and RA, it is often impossible to tell which is the source of pain, making it difficult to decide how vigorously, and with what meds, to fight the RA.

I just love to see good information made available because the causes and courses of illness are very complicated and we all need as much info as we can get. Doctors are not always the best source (though the good ones of course are excellent sources, but you can't always tell who is "good" just by listening, you have to read on your own).

Thanks!! Kageyd

[naturelover]

Definitely, both are not welcomed any more (pun intended, as this only can be said now, since already suffering from RA). Hi Kageyd, it's a self-explanatory which is more than sufficient to understand the pain with name sake as RA and Osteoarthritis.

[crimson]

Thanks for the insight there Kageyd and this is what the community is all about, sharing your views and insights to the community so everybody could really understand what is it all about.

[prasanth5]

As far as I know the major difference is this. Arthritis is the pain of the joints due to inflamation and in osteoarthritis, the density of the bones gets reduced and there is the likelihood of the bones getting broken like wodden sticks! Osteoarthritis is more dangerous than arthritis I believe.

[kageyd]

As I understand it, in osteoarthritis the cartilage shreds and tears and disintegrates, and as a result the ends of the bones grate against one another, and that's what causes fragility at the ends of the bones - where small fractures and chips can and do occur. Typically osteo is a slow, lifelong process.