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ARTHRITIS:
Arthritis isn’t a single disease; the term refers to joint pain or joint disease. People of all ages, races and sexes live with arthritis, and it is the leading cause of disability. Although it’s not a disease of aging, some types of arthritis occur in older people more than younger people.
Common arthritis symptoms include swelling, pain, stiffness and diminished range of motion in joints. Symptoms vary from mild to severe and may come and go. Some may stay about the same for years, but symptoms can also progress and get worse over time. Severe arthritis can result in chronic pain, difficulty performing daily activities and make walking and climbing stairs painful and grueling.
Arthritis can also cause permanent joint changes. These may be visible, such as knobby finger joints, but often the damage can be seen only on X-rays. Some types of arthritis affect the heart, eyes, lungs, kidneys and skin as well as the joints.
TYPES
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is by far the most common type of arthritis. It can damage almost any joint but mainly occurs in the hands, spine, hips and knees. OA was once considered a wear-and-tear disease in which cartilage — the protective layer on the ends of bones — wore down after years of use. But with further research, the thinking about OA has changed. Doctors now know that OA is a disease of the whole joint, not just cartilage. Bones in affected joints become weaker, the connective tissue that holds the joint together deteriorates and inflammation damages the joint lining. Contrary to decades of belief, inflammation plays a key role in OA, just as it does in most other types of arthritis.
Autoimmune Inflammatory Arthritis
A healthy immune system is protective. It generates inflammation to clear infections and heal injuries. But in inflammatory arthritis, the immune system is overactive, attacking healthy tissue, including joints in the spine, hands and feet. In some people, inflammation becomes systemic, damaging the eyes, skin, heart and other organs. Many, but not all types of inflammatory arthritis are considered autoimmune diseases because the immune system loses the ability to distinguish self from not-self and attacks the body it’s supposed to protect.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common form of autoimmune inflammatory arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), gout and juvenile arthritis are less common and can be more challenging to diagnose.
SPONDYLOSIS:
Spondylosis is a type of arthritis spurred by wear and tear to the spine. It happens when discs and joints degenerate, when bone spurs grow on the vertebrae, or both. These changes can impair the spine’s movement and affect the nerves and other functions.
Cervical spondylosis is the most common type of progressive disorder that affects the neck during aging.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, more than 85 percent of people older than 60 have cervical spondylosis.
Other types of spondylosis develop in different parts of the spine:
Thoracic spondylosis affects the middle of the spine.
Lumbar spondylosis affects the lower back.
Multilevel spondylosis affects more than one part of the spine.
The effects of spondylosis vary among individuals, but they do not usually cause serious problems.
When a person has symptoms, these are often pain and stiffness that tend to come and go.
Spinal osteoarthritis is another term for spondylosis. Osteoarthritis describes arthritis that results from wear and tear. It can affect any joint in the body.
CAUSES
As a person ages, the discs become drier, thinner, and harder, and they lose some of their cushioning ability. This is why an older person is more likely to have a compression fracture of the vertebra than a younger person.
A vertebral compression fracture results from bone collapsing in the spine. It commonly occurs with osteoporosis.
The facet joints between the vertebrae also function less well with age because of wear and tear on their cartilage surfaces.
As the cartilage erodes, the bones start to rub together, causing friction. This can result in the formation of bony growths, called bone spurs.
The loss of rubbery tissues and the development of spurs make the spine stiffer. Back movement also becomes less smooth, and friction increases.
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