Osteoarthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis

Introduction to Arthritis Types 0:00

Are your joints hurting? Is the stiffness making it harder to get out of bed early morning? You might think it is just normal wear and tear from getting older. But what is something entirely different? Today we are breaking down the critical difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Knowing which one you have changes everything about your treatment and your future. Here's my promise for you today. By the end of this video, you will know exactly the difference between osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

We'll discuss what causes each one of them, how they feel different and what to do next.

Osteoarthritis: Wear-and-Tear Joint Damage 0:48

No confusion, no medical jargon, just clarity. And thank you for watching this And I have two important gift for you. The first one is a free copy of our rheumatoid arthritis guidebook, as well as free anti-inflammatory smoothie that you can prepare early morning to fight inflammation. To add more, we have also created a school community where we discuss many topics about rheuma arthritis. Please join that community. Let me tell you a story about one of our patients. Let's call her Linda. Linda's hands were swollen like sausages.

She could not even open a jar or a bottle. For months, she assumed it was just aging. But when she finally came to me in the clinic, I had to tell her the truth. it was not just aging. There's actually over 100 different types of arthritis and the type you have dictated exactly how we fight this arthritis. Let me start with the most common variety of Arthritis, the osteoarthritis or short form OA. This is the common type affecting over more than millions of people around the world and almost 30 million people just in the US.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Autoimmune Joint Inflammation 2:03

Think of your joint as the tire in your car, and osteoarthritis is one of the problems that can happen with that tire. Over time, with miles driven, heavy loads, or maybe a few potholes, the tires wears out. And similar things happen in joints, your cartilages wear out as it wear outs bone also rub on bone and it is the mechanism what causes osteoarthritis and It is a mechanical problem of wear and tear over time that causes Osteoarthritis. Now let's look at the other arthritis the rheumatoid arthritis or RA in short form.

This is completely different arthritis RA is not just weird and tear. RA happens when your own immune system which is supposed to protect you from viruses and bacteria get confused. It is like your home security system suddenly calling the police on you. Your immune systems attacks the lining of your joints causing massive systemic inflammation that destroys the joint from the inside out causing the joints damage.

Symptoms and How They Feel Different 3:18

Because the causes are different, how they feel is completely different. So the next thing we'll talk about is how does it feel? What are the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis? With osteoaarthritis, your pain usually get worse with activity and feels better when you are resting. If you have morning stiffness it typically lasts for less than 30 minutes. The swelling feels hard and bony and it hits you in your joints like knees, the hips or the base of your thumb which are typically overused joints.

In rheumatoid arthritis it is just the opposite. The pain is worse in the morning or after resting. The morning stiffness, it even often lasts for several hours, but typically more than 30 minutes to an hour. Swelling feels soft, warm and puffy, and it usually attacks symmetrically, meaning If you have a wrist pain on the right side, it might also hurt similar on left side too. So it's a symmetric arthritis. And all of those signs I described are signs of inflammation, which is a primary problem in rheumatoid arthritis Now let's talk about how do we diagnose osteoarthritis and how we do diagnose rheumatoid arthritis.

Diagnosis and Treatment Differences 4:39

Diagnosing osteorarthitis is usually straightforward. We look at your symptom history and do a physical examination. we might do some x-rays to look into the narrowing of the joint space or the bone spurs. But here is the key. There is no blood test for osteoarthritis. That's why the diagnosis typically clinical diagnosis. The treatment is also very different. Treatment is all about managing the mechanics that includes weight management, physical therapy, safe use of anti-inflammatory medication and eventually if needed joint replacement, and we also manage those symptoms with those options.

You might wonder, how do we diagnose rheumatoid arthritis? Diagnosing rheuma arthritis requires a different toolkit, a difference approach. We look at your immune finger pins in your blood test, specifically rheume factor and anti-CCP test. And we also look at some blood markers of inflammation including C, reactive protein and sedimentation rate. And the treatment is very different. The treatment goal is much more aggressive in rheumatoid arthritis. We are not just managing your pain, we are trying to stop the overactive immune system and stopping it from destroying your joints.

We use some powerful medication called disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug like methotrexate or biologics to hit the breaks on the immune system that is attacking your joints. And here is the most important idea in rheumatoid arthritis and this is most that you need to hear. With rheumatoid arthritis, early treatment changes everything. We have a critical window of opportunity. If we start aggressive treatment within the first few months, typically 3 to 6 months of your symptoms, up to 90% of the patients can prevent joint damage, which are permanent.

Why Early RA Treatment Matters 6:39

If left untreated majority of the patient develop severe joint damage and deformities. That's why speed and early treatment is as important in rheumatoid arthritis. Now let me also leave you with a simple checklist and I want you to take the picture of this checklist so that when you go to see your doctors you can go over these symptoms. This is your osteoarthritis versus rheuropathy checklist. And look at your symptoms Are they matching the blue side of osteoarthritis box and the orange of rheumatoid arthritis box?

Bring this screenshot to your next doctor appointment. Be an advocate for your own health and ask your doctor directly, which type of arthritis do you have? All of you arthritis warriors, don't let joint pain steal your joy from your future.

Checklist and Closing Advice 7:27

Knowing your type or arthritis is the first step to take your life back. if you feel this video was helpful please hit the subscribe button so you don't miss any other videos like this and also check the description below i have some special gift for you the free copy of the book and then the recipe that you can use to fight rheumatoid arthritis inflammation and i'll see you in the next video bye bye