Osteoarthritis vs Rheumatoid Arthritis – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 462
arthritis
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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I am often asked about the difference between osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Today, I want to break that down for you so you have a better understanding. At the end of the day, we know that inflammation is associated with both of those, so I want to really differentiate between what is OA and what is RA.†
Inflammation, autoimmune conditions and arthritis
When it comes to osteoarthritis, we know that this is the most common form of arthritis. This generally affects your more weight-bearing joints, as well as the hands. But this is where the confusion lies in the overlapping of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.†
For many years, people thought that rheumatoid arthritis was just an autoimmune condition. We know that this is our immune system attacking the joint spaces. But we now recognize that osteoarthritis also has this autoimmune component to it. We have to think about inflammation in general and in this case, our immune system can be driving that.†
Supporting the health of the joints
When we think about the joints, we have to think about what can exacerbate our issues there. Different activities throughout our lives can create more wear and tear. This can impact both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. We also have to look at diet. If we’re eating a pro-inflammatory diet, then that’s not going to be helping our joints in any way. That can exacerbate the inflammatory processes. Age and weight also play a factor in arthritis.†
We know that for both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, the main focus needs to be targeting inflammation and maintaining stability within the immune system. This is why different nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, that help to target inflammation are so important.†
Vitamin D can also play a role. Research has shown that if someone is insufficient or deficient in this vitamin, this is a problem and impacts pain. Vitamin D also plays a really important role in our immune system, so for anyone who has RA, having your serum Vitamin D levels is essential.†
We want to be able to target pro-inflammatory cytokines and help downregulate this. We can look at things such as curcumin extract, boswellia extract and green tea extract. These have all been shown to be highly effective in targeting both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.†
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In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH explains the differences between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. She discusses factors that can worsen these issues within the body and also lists several nutrients that can help fend off the inflammation.†
Key Topics:
- The history of OA and RA
- How other health conditions can contribute to inflammation in the joints
- The anatomy of our joints
- The symptoms that go along with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
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