Arthritis involves an amalgamation of conditions which cause particular damage to various joints of your body. In knee arthritis, one generally experiences two types of problems.

These comprise of mechanical knee problems, and inflammatory knee problems, which are a direct result of some past injury, like a sudden blow or straining movements which harm the joints and muscles of the knees.

If the knee is harmed to such an extent, which is well beyond its normal range, one might experience several knee problems, including arthritis.

Arthritis in the knees generally refers to osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis, in the knees, is usually experienced by a patient due to the wear and tear of the joints in the knee.

In such a condition, the cartilage in the joints slowly but surely wears away Extreme conditions like rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation and damages the knee to a greater extent.

Arthritis not only affects the joint of the knee but also is responsible for damaging the other supporting structures of your knee like the tendons, ligaments and muscles.

Difference

Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis, being two different states of knee arthritis are distinguishable. The results and causes of these two conditions are totally dissimilar.

In Osteoarthritis, excess stress on the joint results from deformity .This is caused by excess weight of the person, or repeated injury in the same place. Middle aged and older people are the victims of osteoarthritis, more often.

However, young people may also develop this condition of Osteoarthritis, which would be inherited through some form of disease, or may have developed full fledged due to persistent nuisance from a torn meniscus, which is not fully repaired. In contrast, rheumatoid arthritis is a condition which affects people at a stage which comes much before osteoarthritis.

Symptoms, Signs And Diagnosis of Arthritis in The Knees

General difficulty in motion, swelling and pain are some of the symbols experienced by a person who has arthritis. Morning stiffness is a common symptom that the person is familiar with which makes it all the more difficult and painful for him to move around.

The doctor takes charge of the situation by conducting a physical examination along with X rays, which display a loss of joint space and examine the other knee disorders as well.

Other than this, general blood tests may be useful to detect and analyse rheumatoid arthritis. If the doctor analyses a motion of fluid from the respective knee joint, other forms of arthritis might also be detected and treated upon.

Arthritis can be treated in terms of reducing and decreasing the pain experienced by the patient. This involves salicylates like aspirin acetaminophen and the non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs).

Also, at the same time, the physician suggests the patient to indulge in necessary exercise which changes and restores the relaxation of the joint movements, and is also beneficial in strengthening your knee.

As one of the chief reasons of arthritis is excess weight, the loss of this weight proves to be of help in reducing pain and assists people with osteoarthritis a great deal.