Question: What is the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?

Jasmine Penny answered on 18 Jun 2013:

Great question! Rheumatoid arthritis is known as an ‘autoimmune disease’. This is when your own immune system reacts to something in your body and attacks it. Osteoarthritis is known as a ‘degenerative disease’. This means that parts of the joint degrade or break down over time. Both diseases cause the sufferers a lot of pain in their joints but they do so in different ways!