Treating Arthritis: Is it all the same?

Treating Arthritis Name: Institution: Arthritis is an umbrella term that is used to refer to the joints diseases which are associated with stiffness, pain and an inflation of the joints. It is reported that there are actually over a hundred strains of these disease. Out of this group there are two most common ones that have been recorded to affect majority of the patients who show up at health care centres complaining of the symptoms. These strains are the Oesteoarthritis (OA) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). As much as these two are part of the same broader disease, they have very clear differences (Dunkin, 2013). To start with, RA affects the immune system while the OA degenerates the bones. RA causes the body to attach itself, by targeting the synovium, which is the lining between the joints. When the synovuim is attacked, it is treated by the body’s immune system as a pathogen. As a result fluids accumulate at the joints causing the symptoms of pain, stiffness and inflammation (Eustice, 2013). On the other hand the OA leads to the degeneration of the cartilage tissues around the joints, which provide cushion. This leads to fiction between the bones and hence the pain and inflammation. Since the RA has the common symptom of developing a lot of pain and continued joint damage, much of the nursing interventions revolve around injecting the pat...