Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are both forms of arthritis but differ significantly in their causes, symptoms, and effects on the body.
1. Cause:
- Osteoarthritis (OA): OA is primarily a degenerative joint disease caused by the wear and tear of cartilage, the tissue that cushions the ends of bones in joints. This wear leads to bone-on-bone friction, causing pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. It generally affects older adults and is often associated with aging or joint injury. -
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): RA is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system mistakenly attacks the synovium, the lining of the membranes that surround the joints. This leads to inflammation, which can cause joint damage, pain, swelling, and deformity. RA can affect people of any age and often involves multiple joints symmetrically.
2. Symptoms:
- Osteoarthritis (OA): Symptoms include joint pain, stiffness (especially after periods of inactivity or in the morning), swelling, and reduced range of motion. OA typically affects joints that bear weight, like the knees, hips, and spine, but can also affect the hands.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): RA symptoms include joint pain, swelling, stiffness (usually lasting longer than an hour in the morning), and fatigue. RA can also cause systemic symptoms like fever and affect other organs, such as the lungs, heart, and eyes. It often affects smaller joints first, such as those in the hands and feet.
3. Joint Pattern:
- Osteoarthritis (OA): OA usually affects individual joints and is more likely to occur on one side of the body. It commonly affects the joints used most often, like the knees, hips, and hands.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): RA tends to affect joints symmetrically, meaning if one hand is affected, the other likely is too. It often starts in the smaller joints (like those in the fingers and toes) and can progress to larger joints over time.
4. Treatment:
- Osteoarthritis (OA): Treatment focuses on managing symptoms and improving joint function through pain relief (e.g., NSAIDs), physical therapy, lifestyle modifications (e.g., weight loss, exercise), and sometimes joint replacement surgery.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): RA treatment often involves disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to slow the disease’s progression, biologic agents, NSAIDs for pain relief, and corticosteroids to reduce inflammation. Early and aggressive treatment can help prevent severe joint damage.
5. Systemic Effects:
- Osteoarthritis (OA): OA is generally localized to the joints and doesn’t have widespread effects on other organs.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): RA is a systemic disease and can affect other parts of the body, such as the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, and blood vessels. In summary, while both OA and RA affect the joints and can cause pain and disability, their causes, patterns of joint involvement, progression, and systemic effects are different.
