What is the Difference Between Arthritis and Arthropathy

The key difference between arthritis and arthropathy is that arthropathy is a joint disease that can be associated with a hematologic disorder or an infection, while arthritis is a joint disease that causes inflammation within a joint.

Arthropathy is a disease of one joint or many joints in the human body. Arthritis is a form of arthropathy. It involves inflammation of one or more joints. Therefore, arthritis and arthropathy are two associated medical conditions.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Arthritis  
3. What is Arthropathy
4. Similarities – Arthritis and Arthropathy
5. Arthritis vs Arthropathy in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Arthritis and Arthropathy

What is Arthritis?

Arthritis is a common disorder that affects the joints in the human body. It involves the inflammation of one or many joints in the body. It is most common in areas such as the feet, hands, hips, knees, and lower back. There are different types of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and psoriatic arthritis. Approximately about 50 million adults and 300,000 children have some form of arthritis.

Arthritis is caused by genetics, too much uric acid in the body, having a job or playing a sport that places repeated stress on joints, and certain autoimmune diseases or viral infections. The risk factors for this condition include age (increases with age), lifestyle (smoking or lack of exercise), sex (women have more chance of getting arthritis), and overweight. Moreover, the symptoms of arthritis may include joint discomfort, pain, redness, stiffness, swelling, tenderness, and warmth.

Arthritis can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, X-ray, MRI, or ultrasound. Furthermore, treatment options for arthritis may include medication (anti-inflammatory and pain medications), physical therapy, therapeutic injections (cortisone shots), and surgery (joint fusion or replacement).

What is Arthropathy?

Arthropathy is a joint disease that can affect a single joint or many joints. When it affects one joint, it is called monoarticular arthropathy or monoarthropathy, and when it affects many joints, it is called polyarticular arthropathy or polyarthropathy. There are many types of arthropathy, which include arthritis, hemarthrosis (joint bleeding), synovitis (inflammation of the synovial membrane), and joint dislocation. The signs and symptoms of arthropathy may include joint pain, decreased range of motion around the joints, stiffness, effusion, pneumarthrosis or air in a joint, bone erosion, and fatigue. This condition can be caused by infections, the accumulation of tiny crystals in one or more joints, other medical conditions like diabetes mellitus, bleeding disorders, trauma, autoimmune conditions, and overuse of joints. The risk factors for arthropathy include aging, repetitive stress, obesity, traumatic injuries, synovial cyst, family history, and being overweight.

Moreover, arthropathy can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, blood tests, and medical imaging (X-ray). Furthermore, treatment options for arthropathy may include medicines and physical therapy to maintain motion and ease pain and swelling and surgery.

What are the Similarities Between Arthritis and Arthropathy?

• Arthritis and arthropathy are two associated medical conditions.
• Arthritis is a form of arthropathy.
• Both conditions share similar characteristics, such as joint pain, swelling, motion problems, etc.
• Both conditions can be diagnosed through physical examination and imaging tests.
• They can be treated through medications, physical therapy, and surgeries.

What is the Difference Between Arthritis and Arthropathy?

Arthropathy is a joint disease that can be associated with a hematologic disorder or an infection, while arthritis is a joint disease that causes inflammation within a joint. Thus, this is the key difference between arthritis and arthropathy. Furthermore, arthritis is caused by genetics, too much uric acid in the body, a job or sport that puts joints under repeated stress, and certain autoimmune diseases or viral infections. On the other hand, arthropathy is caused by infections, the accumulation of tiny crystals in one or more joints, other medical conditions like diabetes mellitus, bleeding disorders, trauma, autoimmune conditions, and overuse of joints.

The below infographic presents the differences between arthritis and arthropathy in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Arthritis vs Arthropathy

Arthropathy is a joint disease, and arthritis is one main types in this category. Therefore, arthritis and arthropathy are two associated medical conditions. Arthropathy can be associated with a hematologic disorder or an infection, while arthritis causes inflammation within a joint. So, this summarizes the difference between arthritis and arthropathy.

Reference:

1. “Arthropathy.” Johns Hopkins Medicine.
2. “Arthritis: Symptoms, Causes, Types & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Charcot arthropathy X-ray” By J. Terrence Jose Jerome – Divergent Lisfranc’s Dislocation and Fracture in the Charcot Foot: A case report. Foot and Ankle Online Journal (FAOJ). 1 (6): 3. (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Osteoarthritis” By BruceBlaus – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia