no but they can have similar symptoms in the joints. tendonitis involves tendons (muscles and their connective tissue) and arthritis involves the bony aspect of joint. a person can have both and to a certain extent both may be treated similarly depending on the location and severity. tendinitis can be a symptom associated with arthritis. they are learning more and more about arthritis every day. osteoarthritis (oa) is a wearing down of the cartilage that protects the bone ends. arthritis causes the cartilage to breakdown and then you have bone rubbing on bone and the bone then tries to protect itself by growing more bone this is called "osteophytes" and this is quite painful because this re grown bone is not nice and smooth but is lumpy and bumpy. cartilage is soft tissue not bone. some new research is suggesting that there may symptoms in the tendons and muscles which attach at or near the bone ends prior to xray evidence of oa. pain tendinitis bursitis can be a signal that something is wrong with the joint. i have severe generalized multi-site osteoarthritis (this oa is inherited most often bilateral: hands knees hips and so on) and i can tell you that this is so true. i knew that my knees were bad before there was xray evidence just due to the pain type and location. my elbows both have been so painful and i know that it is working on the joints while there is still no xray evidence it will be there soon. although they are saying that the elbows are not included in this form of oa i can tell you that they are by my own observations. my elbows can be so painful that i wake in the mornings just about screaming in pain when i try to move one or both. see a doctor before it becomes chronic pain. good luck to you.
is tendinits and arthritist the same