Arthritis, Osteoarthritis and Osteoporosis….What’s the Difference anyway?

In this post we will provide some simple definitions for similar sounding terms that are related to the knee joint and overall bone/joint health.

Arthritis

The term simply means an inflammation (-itis) of a joint (arthro-). There are over 100 kinds of arthritis. A joint is an area in the body where two bones meet. In the knee, there are actually three bones which come together. There is the mating of the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone) forming the tibio-femoral joint and the mating of the femur with the patella (knee cap) forming the patella-femoral joint. Either one or both of these joints can be inflamed and, therefore, be arthritic.

Osteoarthritis

is a specific type of arthritis caused by the breakdown and possibly eventual loss of articular cartilage. Articular cartilage is a special kind of cartilage that covers the ends of the bones where they meet or articulate. In the knee, articular cartilage is found at the mating ends of the femur, tibia and patella. When this cartilage begins to wear down (which can be caused by a number of things such as age and obesity), pain, stiffness, and swelling (arthritis), can occur. This type of arthritis is also called degenerative arthritis, and as the name suggests, usually worsens over time. If it becomes severe enough, Total Knee Replacement may be indicated. For more information, see our section on Osteoarthritis.

Osteoporosis

Unlike arthritis and osteoarthritis, is not related to the joints or joint degradation. It is a change in the actual structure of bone itself. Our bone is a living, dynamic tissue that changes over time. It has a complex structure specifically designed to serve its weight bearing function. Within a long bone like the femur, for example, there are two types of bony structures. Cancellous or spongy bone is found in the interior near the ends of the bones. This type of bone is porous, hence the name. This porous interior is covered by a layer of dense bone known as cortical or compact bone. This bone also forms the hallow shaft of long bones. The picture below shows a cut away view of bone and it various structures.

illu_compact_spongy_bone

In osteoporosis, the major impact on bone is that the porosity of the spongy bone increases. That is, the pores or holes in the “sponge” get bigger. This leads to an overall weakening of the bone and can result in fractures. Common sites for such fractures are the vertebrae, hips and forearm. For more information on Osteoporosis, visit our dedicated section on that topic.

Hopefully these descriptions will clarify some confusion related to these similar terms and conditions.

Posted by | Filed Under What's New? | 2 Comments 

Osteoporosis

Introduction

is a serious health care problem. It affects the fastest growing segment of our population, the elderly.

Osteoporosis is characterized by debilitating fractures. These fractures occur most often at the hip, spine and/or wrist..

See  Statistics on Osteoporosis

What is Osteoporosis?

In people with osteoporosis, bone mass is reduced.  Normal bone is composed of an organic phase and a mineral phase.

The mineral component occupies roughly 50% of bone volume and nearly 75% of normal bone mass. It is the mineral component that gives bone its characteristic strength and rigidity.

Whole bones consist of two types of infrastructure. Cortical or compact bone which can be found in the shafts of long bones like the femur (thigh) and trabecular or spongy bone which is found at the ends of the long bones or in specialized bones like the vertebrae. Trabecular bone is porous and is similar in appearance to coral In osteoporosis, the trabecular bone porosity increases. The mass of bone in a unit volume decreases. This weakens the overall structure, making it more susceptible to fracture.

In osteoporosis, the trabecular bone porosity increases. The mass of bone in a unit volume decreases. This weakens the overall structure,making it more susceptible to fracture.

Detecting Osteoporosis

Posted by | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment