The similarities & differences of Osteoarthritis & Rheumatoid Arthritis | Doc Cherry

When you hear the word arthritis, it is actually an umbrella term that is used to describe an affectation of your joints. What you might not be aware of is the fact that there are many forms of arthritis, and rheumatoid and osteoarthritis are only the most common forms, and they are often termed interchangeably. But you need to be educated on how to differentiate one from the other because only when you understand the condition can you manage your symptoms more effectively. Greetings to everyone, this is Doc Cherry, doctor of physical therapy. I know it would be quite confusing for you to differentiate symptoms caused by rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, or maybe for some they don't even bother knowing. But tell you, you need to understand these conditions because one of these conditions does not only affect your joints, but has the capacity of affecting your heart and your lungs as well. In this video, I will teach you how to spot the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis by discussing their similarities and their symptoms for you to get effective and proper treatment. If you're new here to my channel, please click the subscribe and the bell button so you will be updated with my latest videos. There are five symptoms that are said to be similar and can be found in both osteo and rheumatoid arthritis. They can both affect your joints. You may feel stiffness and pain in your affected joints. You can feel warmth and tenderness in your affected area. You will manifest with limitation of motion that would make it difficult for you to move around doing activities in your household, in your workplace, and even in your communities. And lastly, in both conditions, you can surely feel increase of your symptoms first thing in the morning. Now let's discuss about the differences of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. One important thing that I need you to know is the cause of this condition. Osteoarthritis is caused by the degeneration of your cartilage in between your two bones. It is caused by wear and tear. That is why this had been implicated with aging. With rheumatoid arthritis though, it is an autoimmune dysfunction. When we say autoimmune dysfunction, your immune system attacks healthy tissues of your body by mistake. So in a healthy adult, your immune system would attack foreign invaders such as virus and bacteria. However, in an autoimmune condition such that of rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system attacks Your synovium is the lining between your joints which produces fluid. And this fluid helps you to move body parts smoothly. Because of this autoimmune response, your synovium thickens. And because of this, you will experience swelling. That is the reason why you might be wondering why you manifest with swelling while some of your friends that you might know of who also complains of arthritis does not have any swelling at all. Second important factor that you need to know and you need to differentiate is the fact that rheumatoid arthritis is systemic. When we say systemic, it means that it does not only affect your joints but it has the capacity of affecting any organs in your body such as your eyes, your lungs, and your heart. Unlike osteoarthritis which mainly only affects your joints. And since rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic condition, you may feel or you may notice that you easily feel tired all throughout the day. That you would have body malaise or muscle pain. That you may manifest with weight loss. That you can experience anemia. This is because of the decreasing red blood cells in your blood. That you may experience dryness in your mouth. You may also feel that there is difficulty and pain and sensitivity to your eyes or difficulty seeing. And you may also experience inflammation of your lungs that would lead to shortness of breath or difficulty breathing and would eventually lead to varied lung conditions. You may also experience inflammation of your blood vessels that may lead to an affectation of your skin and your different organs of the body. Lastly, it can also manifest with inflammation of your heart muscle that would eventually affect your heart and its surrounding structure. Mind you again, these systemic conditions are not present in osteoarthritis. And these systemic conditions of patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis come and they go. That is why it's very important and I want you to understand the nature of this condition so that you will be properly evaluated and that you get the right and the correct treatment. Other important facts that would help you determine or differentiate if you have rheumatoid or osteoarthritis would include morning stiffness. If your morning stiffness or the increase of your symptoms usually lasts more than one hour, then you probably must have rheumatoid arthritis. But if your morning stiffness resolves less than one hour after you wake up in the morning, then you probably must have osteoarthritis. It is also very important to note that at the onset or initial stage of the symptoms with rheumatoid arthritis, you would already have affectation on both sides of your body, which means that for example if you have rheumatoid arthritis in your wrist and your hands, both of your hands will manifest with swelling and both of them will be stiff and be painful. While with osteoarthritis on the other hand, the initial onset of osteoarthritis only affects one side of your body. So for example if you have osteoarthritis of your right knee, only the right knee is initially affected. Over time, maybe over years or months, if you do not treat your symptoms well, then the left knee would also develop osteoarthritis. But initially, symptoms of osteoarthritis only affects one side of your body, while that of rheumatoid arthritis already affects both sides of your body. Another thing that you would be mindful of is your age. Rheumatoid arthritis can affect anyone at any point in their lives. It may even affect children. However, with osteoarthritis, it is common to those persons over 45 years old. Thus, it is termed as degenerative joint disease and has been implicated with aging. Try to also check if your symptom starts over weeks or months. If you do, then you probably have rheumatoid arthritis. But if your symptoms develop over time, such as months to years, then that may indicate that you have osteoarthritis. Lastly, try to also check if you have lumps under your skin near the joints because majority of patients with rheumatoid arthritis have these lumps which are called rheumatoid nodules which are only pathognomic to rheumatoid arthritis and you cannot see this in patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Lastly, diagnostic tests such as x-ray, ultrasound, and MRI can also be done to check if you have ongoing bony erosions. What this diagnostic imaging can also do is to compare how well you are going with your treatment. The goal of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is to decrease your inflammation or to reduce it to the lowest level possible, to manage your symptoms, to prevent joint and organ damage, to improve your function and general well-being, and to prevent the complications brought about by rheumatoid arthritis. Since rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune dysfunction, up to now studies have not really shown what are the exact ways to prevent rheumatoid arthritis. However, if you think you are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, there are things that you can do at home to help manage your symptoms. Take a well-balanced and nutritious diet. This would help you maintain an ideal and healthy weight. Rest. Rest is very important for you especially on episodes where you have increased of your symptoms. You should also make activity or exercise as part of your daily routine. So for example, if you don't have any symptoms felt, instead of taking an elevator, you can just walk the stairs. Your body will thank you for it. You can also use hot compress or lukewarm water to soothe, stiffen, and painful muscles. However, always remember that at the first 72 hours when you start feeling pain and if there is swelling, you should just only use cold compress so that you will not aggravate your symptoms. In addition, you can also supplement with omega-3 fatty acids and brew yourself some fresh turmeric because turmeric has natural anti-inflammatory properties. Lastly, in addition for these techniques and advices, you could also benefit from physical therapy. Physical therapy can help you elevate your symptoms conservatively and help you protect your joints. This is it for this video. I hope that you find this video helpful. I hope that by now you would understand how to differentiate if your symptoms is that of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis and if so, please have yourself checked and evaluated so you will be managed more effectively. Please share this video to your friends or other family members who would benefit from this. Should you want to have properly progressed treatment which is guided by a licensed professional, please feel free to contact any licensed physical therapist near you. This is again Doc Sherry. Stay healthy. God bless you.