Osteoarthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

Osteoarthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

If in a conversation, the topic of Arthritis comes up a lot of people seem to have it but a lot of the time they do not realize that there are differences between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. In this article I will do my best to explain the differences, symptoms and also some common treatments that might help you with your illness.

What Is Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is caused by over use of your joint. This can be a repetitive movement or some sort of injury or other trauma to your joints. A lot of athletes will get osteoarthritis with time due to the impact that their joints usually receive. This is because with both age and wear your cartilage can start to breakdown or become more stiff, the worst case scenario the cartilage will completely wear off and your bones will actually rub against each other, this is when pain and stiffness usually occurs.

Symptoms for Osteoarthritis

Symptoms can include pain across your joints as well as stiffness and other form of pain on your joints.

You might get small lumps across your finger joints and you might also experience swelling.

The most common areas to get Osteoarthritis is Neck, spine and hips but also your knees, fingers and toes as well as elbows.

The best natural treatment for Osteoarthritis

One of the first things that you might be told as you begin to experience joint pains is to eat more omega 3. The oil works almost like grease and might actually be just what your joints need to keep going. In some cases either heat or cold packs might work.

The diet is recommended is very close to the same as with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Be sure to include lots of good oils such as omega 3s, that from avocados and nuts. You can also try to add glucosamine into your diet and my personal favorite spirulina and algae. Try to stay away from foods high in cholesterol and do try to exercise to the best of your abilities as added weight my add more stress to your joints. To help reduce pain having strong muscles around your joints will definitely help.

Please read my article on Vitamins for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease where your body’s immune system is attacking its joints, causing pain and inflammation to occur.



Symptoms for Rheumatoid Arthritis
The symptoms for R.A. are very similar to that of O.A. and the only way to truly determine if it is R.A. is by a blood test. The symptoms will include swelling, pain and stiffness of your joints, you can also experience tiredness and depression due to the amount of pain you can have.

Please read my article on Cortisone injections for rheumatoid arthritis where I talk more about the first signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis as well as treatment and my own experiences with juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

What is the treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis

There is a lot of treatment out there a lot of it can be very pricey and you might want to outweigh the risks with the gains.

A lot of the medications out there will target your cells, it will kill your cells, just like cancer treatment ( because it is, just a smaller dosage ).

The most popular ones right now are the injections such as Enbrel and Humira they are called TNF blockers and they “slow down” your immune system to where it is not attacking itself and therefore stopping or slowing down the inflammation.

Be aware that if your immune system is not on full work mode you might be susceptible to a nice variety of colds and other fun illnesses that one might get, just a lot worse and for longer time.

I have tried a variety of treatments, pills and injections but nothing has worked as well as just eating and living a healthy life.

If you want to read more about how to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis naturally please read my article on Foods to avoid with Rheumatoid Arthritis

What Is The Difference Between Osteoarthritis And Rheumatoid Arthritis

The main difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is that Osteoarthritis is caused by extensive use or other damage to the joints whilst Rheumatoid Arthritis is an auto-immune disease where the body basically is attacking itself and that leads to inflammation. Most people will have Rheumatoid Arthritis in there body to begin with and it is just a matter of time before it starts. Basically it is your cells that starts acting strange enough for your immune system to believe this is something foreign that we have to destroy.


Both of these conditions can be extremely painful and might cause you to reevaluate life, it can even lead to depression. It is very important to seek help if you are experiencing the symptoms mentioned above. To live a life in pain is very hard and is not something I would recommend anyone to go through if there are other alternatives and options for you.

I hope that you have enjoyed the reading. Please leave any questions or comments below and I will get back to you.

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10 thoughts on “Osteoarthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

  1. It is always good to know the difference between these two. One of my friends has rheumatiod arthritis and I can say that this illness is a heavy burden. In the early stages one can still function but the last stages are so awfull to look and experience through.

    Thank you for this informative article. I will share it to spread awareness.


    1. Hi,

      I hope that your friend will get better. It is hard to go through and I do believe it is almost as hard to watch someone go through it, unable to do anything. 

      Thank you so much for reading.

  2. After reading you article, I now know the difference betwee the two afflictions and thank you for pointing out the difference.  I was very pleased when I finally read after all the medication and treatments, that you endorse the best medicine as living a healthy and happy life whilst eating nutritious foods that alleviate and can eliminate some of the afflictions pain and disease of comfort.
    Thank you for taking the time and effort to compile this valuable information, for which we are all very grateful.

    1. Thank you for reading and I am glad that you learnt something from the article. I do believe that we can heal our bodies by just eating better and giving our bodies what they actually need.

  3. Hi Alexandra! By reading your post, I have learnt about the difference between these two. The symptoms are surely similar, and up to this point, I couldn’t tell the one from the other. But I now understand that what originates osteoarthritis is completely different from what originates rheumatoid arthritis. Thank you for this post!

    1. Hi Henry,

      It can be very tricky to know the difference because they do have similar symptoms. 

      Thank you for reading

  4. Thank you so much for describing the differences between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Many people do not know the differences even I do not know it before. But your suggestion of blood test is really going to help me now. I am suffering from Osteoarthritis and your suggestion to have omega 3 will really gona help me. I think after 30 years our bones are much more fragile and by taking regular exercise and healthy diet we can prevent it .

    Thanks again for the article. It is really helpful. Love it.

  5. Thank you for explaining their differences. I think the daughter of my mom’s friend has a symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis, and they just found it recently. Since it’s an autoimmune disease, is it hereditary? And yes, the treatment is quite pricey. She must go the hospital abroad because there isn’t enough medical equipment in our local hospital. I hope she will be alright. Is this disease can be cured? Thank you for your information

    1. Hi,

      I am sorry to hear. It does not necessarily mean that it is heredity but it can be. It is caused by an anomaly in your immune system. The disease can not be cured but it can be managed. 

      Thank you for reading I hope this will clear some things up for you.

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