Osteoarthritis. Differentiation from rheumatoid arthritis, causes of pain, treatment.

Osteoarthritis affects a majority of the elderly population in one form or another. It must be differentiated from rheumatoid arthritis because treatment of the two diseases is quite different. Once the diagnosis of osteoarthritis has been established, treatment should include a combination of physical, medicinal, psychological, and surgical measures to improve the patient's quality of life. The future may bring new approaches to interrupt pathogenetic factors in the disease.