“Arthritis” is an umbrella term used to describe inflammation of the joints. However, there are different kinds of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA).
AlthoughRA和OAboth affect your joints, they’re very different forms of arthritis.
RA is anautoimmune disorder这发生在你的免疫系统攻击tissues lining your joints.
OAis primarily a degenerative joint disorder caused bywear and tear on your cartilage.
More than
类风湿性关节炎是一种自身免疫性疾病, which means your body begins to attack itself. If you have RA, your body interprets the soft lining around your joints as a threat, similar to a virus or bacteria, and attacks it.
这种攻击导致流体在关节内积聚，这是由发炎组织产生的。这swelling和fluid buildup also causes:
OA, the most common form of arthritis, is primarily a degenerative joint disorder. People with OA experience a breakdown of the cartilage that cushions their joints. The wearing down of cartilage causes the bones to rub against each other. This exposes small nerves, causing pain.
OAdoesn’t involve an autoimmune process like RA does, but mild inflammation also occurs.
“Fatigue was my first major symptom. They did all sorts of tests, including testing my thyroid. Then, they suggested an HIV test. When joint pain started, they thought it was a blood clot in my knee. Finally, I was referred to a rheumatologist.”—Anonymous, living with rheumatoid arthritis
Both types of arthritis are more commonin womenthan in men. RA and OA are more common in older adults, but RA can developat any age.
RA可以run in families. You have a higher chance of developing the condition if a parent, child, or sibling has it.
You’remore likely to develop OA如果你有：
-
overweight or obesity - joint deformities
- diabetes
- 痛风
- experienced traumatic injuries to your joints
Many of the basic
- 痛苦，僵硬的关节
- 有限的活动范围
- warmthor tenderness in the affected area
- increased intensity of symptomsfirst thing在里面morning
| Rheumatoid arthritis | Osteoarthritis | |
| When it starts | Any age. | Usually later in life. |
| How it develops | Fairly quickly, over weeks or months. | 慢慢多年。 |
| 风险因素 | Can run in families. RA is 2–3 times more common in women. | Overweight and obesity, joint deformities, traumatic joint injuries, diabetes, and gout. It’s more common in men under age 45 and women older than 45. |
| Symptoms | In addition to joint pain and swelling, you may have a low-grade fever, muscle aches, and fatigue. RA can affect your entire body, including your heart and lungs. In advanced cases, hard lumps called rheumatoid nodules may develop under the skin near joints. | Mostly limited to joint pain. Excessive bone growths called bone spurs may develop on the edges affected joints. |
| Joints affected | Usually begins in smaller joints, especially in the fingers. Symptoms are symmetrical (on both sides of the body) and may later develop in larger joints. | Often joints in the hands and fingers, but less symmetrical than RA. Also affects the knees, spine, and hips. |
| 治疗 | 针对免疫系统的疾病改良药物和生物制剂。 | Anti-inflammatory and corticosteroid medications. |
RA的特征
Each kind of arthritis also has its own unique set of symptoms. RA is a systemic disease, which means it can affect your entire body — lungs, heart, eyes — and not just your joints.RA的早期迹象can include:
- low-grade fever, especiallyin children
- muscle aches
- excessive fatigue
People with advanced stages of RA may notice hard lumps underneath the skin near joints. The lumps, calledrheumatoid nodules，可能是嫩的。
办公自动化的特点
People with OA are unlikely to experience systemic symptoms. The degenerative nature of OA is limited solely to the joints.
You might develop lumps under the skin around joints, but these lumps are different from rheumatoid nodules. People with OA tend to developbone spurs, or excess bone growth at the edges of the affected joints.Learn more about the symptoms of OA.
RA and OA may affect different joints.
Affected joints in RA
RA usually begins in the smaller joints. You’re likely to have pain, stiffness, andswelling在里面finger joints. As RA progresses, symptoms can develop in larger joints such asknees,shoulders， 和ankles.
RA is a symmetrical disease. That means you’ll experience symptoms on both sides of your body at the same time.
Affected joints in OA
OAis less symmetrical. You might have pain in both your left and rightknee, for example, but one side or one joint is worse.
OA, like RA, is common in thehand和fingers. OA often affects thespine和hipsin addition to the knees.
这primary goal in treating both OA and RA is to:
- 减轻疼痛
- improve function
- 最大程度地减少对关节的伤害
Your doctor will approach these goals differently, depending on which condition you have.
Anti-inflammatory and corticosteroid medications are generally effective for bothOA和RA, but use of corticosteroids is minimized.
If you have RA, drugs thatsuppress your immune systemcan prevent damage by stopping your body from attacking your joints, and prevent joint damage.
这following are some of the questions you may have about RA and OA:
您可以同时使用RA和OA吗？
是的，有可能同时拥有RA和OA。
While OA usually develops after years of wear and tear on cartilage, people with RA may have it earlier in life due tocausessuch as sports injuries that result in damage to the cartilage, joints, or ligaments.
People with RA may also develop OA as they get older.
可能有OA的65岁以上的人也可以发展出一种称为
Which is more painful?
Arthritis pain varies in intensity among people who have it.
People with either OA or RA may have pain that’s mild to severe, and difficulty moving affected joints.
While people with OA may have morning stiffness that lasts fewer than30 minutes, it lasts longer for people with RA.
RA may also cause other uncomfortable symptoms such as fever and fatigue.
Although they’re different forms of arthritis, both RA and OA affect your joints.治疗sare available to help reduce the symptoms of both conditions.
Contact your doctor if you think you’re experiencing symptoms of RA or OA. If needed, they can refer you to a specialist who can help you find the right treatment to manage your condition.