Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease in which there is damage to the structure of the connective tissue of the musculoskeletal system. The disease is characterized by a progressive course, against which the cartilage tissue is gradually destroyed. This pathology is diagnosed in many people over the age of 65, since one of the factors contributing to the development of this condition is the natural aging process in the body.
causes of the disease
Osteoarthritis is commonly referred to as joint disease and destruction of cartilage tissue. This is due to a deterioration in blood flow, cartilage metabolism and trauma. They lose their elasticity, become brittle and deform. The synovial fluid is practically not produced, the joints stop sliding during movement, and friction appears between them. These factors cause a feeling of pain, inflammation begins.
Causes of osteoarthritis:
- Great strain on the joints. Osteoarthritis is common in athletes and people who do heavy physical work. Being overweight also increases the stress significantly.
- Poor diet. In order for cartilage tissues and joints to receive the necessary amount of calcium, potassium and other useful minerals and substances, a person must receive them in sufficient quantities with food.
- Diseases such as scoliosis or flat feet also have a negative effect on the joints. Because the stress caused by a defect in the musculature is unevenly distributed, the joints suffer. Osteoarthritis begins to develop in the joint where the load was greater.
- Cartilage injuries do not go unnoticed. They disturb the metabolism, the elasticity and lead to inflammation.
- Constant stress messes up the metabolism of the whole body and joints. the muscles in particular are under tension. All of this leads to arthritis.
- Age. As we get older, our joints wear out more and more.
- Diseases associated with inflammation in the body can lead to osteoarthritis. These include: tuberculosis, purulent arthritis, syphilis.
- Joint dysplasia, which is caused by abnormal formation of joints in the womb.
Some of these traits, like metabolism and certain diseases, are often classified as a separate group: hereditary causes.
stages of development of arthrosis
Osteoarthritis does not appear suddenly, without causes and symptoms. In its development, 3 stages can be traced:
- Pain occurs after exercise when walking long distances. After rest, the pain goes away. At this stage, the cartilage begins to disintegrate, synovial fluid is secreted in insufficient quantities. Muscles change, become weaker.
- Pain occurs not only after exercise, but also at rest. Even a night's sleep brings no significant relief. Bony growths begin to form at the joints. When the joint moves, a crunch is heard. Some swelling of the surrounding tissue is visible.
- The muscular apparatus is significantly weakened, the synovial fluid is not released due to impaired metabolism, the cartilage is deformed. Bone growths during movement cause excruciating pain. The swelling of the periarticular tissue increases and the temperature is high.
Unfortunately, many only go to the doctor when the arthrosis reaches grade 3. People do not pay attention or try to treat only the symptoms, but not the disease itself. However, treatment will be much more effective and faster if you start it at the first sign of the disease.
The main types of diseases
Depending on the area in which the joint is affected, there are several types of osteoarthritis:
- Osteoarthritis is an inflammation of the joint tissue of the knee. Most commonly occurs in people who are overweight or have varicose veins. Injuries are also one of the main reasons.
- Arthrosis of the ankle - most often occurs due to injuries, dislocations. Athletes and people who do physical work are very susceptible to this arthrosis. Obese people also suffer from pathology.
- Coxarthrosis - thinning of the connective tissue of the hip joint. It is difficult to notice the onset of the disease. There are no obvious symptoms: no swelling, no lameness, only occasional pain. But, despite the lack of external signs, there are serious internal changes. Muscles weaken, pain intensifies, lameness appears. Most often, drug treatment at this stage is ineffective. The way out is joint prosthetics.
- Arthrosis of the shoulder joint occurs when it is worn out as a result of heavy loads, injuries, disorders of the endocrine system. It is characterized by severe pain in the shoulder, reduced mobility of the joints. One of the most important treatment methods is exercise therapy.
- Spondyloarthrosis - osteoarthritis of the spine. Most often occurs in people with sedentary jobs and with loads on their backs (e. g. movers). Overweight people with poor posture also suffer from spondylarthrosis because the cartilage wears out prematurely, causing microtraumas and inflammation. Good ways to relieve pain include exercise therapy, swimming, and acupuncture.
- Uncoarthrosis - destruction of the intervertebral discs of the cervical spine. It occurs due to congenital malformations, obesity, low physical activity, injuries. It is dangerous because it causes loss of some reflexes, leads to dizziness, fainting and high blood pressure. Treatment of this arthrosis should be complex: medication, physiotherapy. In addition, to reduce the stress on the neck area, it is recommended to wear a special collar. It also contributes to a slight stretching of the muscles.
For diagnosis, you need to contact an arthrologist or rheumatologist.
Which doctor treats?
How to treat arthrosis, only a doctor will tell. But which doctor you turn to for osteoarthritis depends on how far the disease has progressed.
- If a person has osteoarthritis of the first degree, the pain is just beginning and there are no serious changes in the joint, then a rheumatologist should begin treatment. He will prescribe the necessary medication and procedures.
- If the pain becomes more intense and prolonged, changes in internal tissues begin, arthrosis of the 2nd degree appears, you need to contact an orthopedist. He, in addition to medication, can prescribe the conduct of a physiotherapy complex and massage.
- Then, when the arthrosis has started and has already reached the 3rd degree, only a surgeon can help. Otherwise, the patient is threatened with disability. Repairing the destroyed cartilage and joints is sometimes only possible through surgery.
In the event that arthrosis occurs after a joint injury, you should contact a traumatologist. Depending on the injuries, the traumatologist may refer the patient to other profiling specialists.
prevention
To prevent arthrosis, you need to take the following measures:
- Monitor your diet and make it as useful as possible.
- prevent the formation of obesity;
- Properly distribute the load on the joints, do not overload them.
- after physical activity, a massage is necessary so that there are no circulatory disorders.
Such arthrosis prevention helps to avoid not only diseases of the musculoskeletal system, but also other systems and organs.
treatment of osteoarthritis
Everyone who has been diagnosed with this would first like to get an answer to the question, is arthrosis curable? Treatment of arthrosis is always a whole set of drugs, procedures, exercises, folk methods and a lot of time. Unfortunately, arthrosis cannot be cured in a two-week course of medication. Even if the pain subsides and some signs of osteoarthritis begin to disappear, this does not mean the beginning of a full recovery.
Important! Treatment can last six months or more. Therefore, you should be patient and follow all doctor's orders consistently.
Medical therapy
The treatment of osteoarthritis with medication is carried out in stages. Each phase aims to solve a specific problem:
- Relief of pain and inflammation. Before starting treatment directly on the joint and cartilage, you need to eliminate pain and eliminate inflammation. This is achieved through the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Restoration of cartilage tissue with the help of chondroprotective preparations containing chondroitin.
- Joint repair by injection into the area of the diseased joint. Corticosteroids may also be prescribed. They relieve inflammation (when tablets and ointments have not coped with it) and restore mobility to the affected joint.
- Filling of the joint cavity with hyaluronic acid. It encourages the production of new fluid and prevents friction from one joint to another.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to fully restore the joint, even after going through the entire course of treatment indicated above. Additional procedures and methods are required.
Medical and physical culture complex, gymnastics and massage for arthrosis
Exercise therapy is an integral part of osteoarthritis treatment. The instructor creates an individual training program based on the diagnosis and recommendations of the attending physician. Since there are several types of osteoarthritis, the exercises are aimed at different muscle groups, at the development of different joints and ligaments. When compiling a set of exercises, it is necessary to take into account the age of a person suffering from arthrosis, the presence of excess weight and other factors.
For example, to develop the muscles and ligaments of the shoulder girdle, there is an effective set of Popov exercises. It is based on the repetition of smooth movements with slowly increasing amplitude.
It is possible to start exercise therapy only after eliminating pain and inflammation.
Important! During the exacerbation of the disease, exercise therapy, gymnastics and massage are contraindicated!
Gymnastics should be done at home several times a day. It is better to warm it up a little before each load on the sore joint, making slight movements up and down to the sides, twisting in circles.
It is also recommended to start a massage course after reducing pain and inflammation. All movements should be light, stroking, without excessive effort and pressure.
Folk methods of treatment
Alternative methods are not a panacea for arthrosis, and we cannot hope for a cure through conventional medicine alone. They are an excellent adjunct to conservative treatment, but not a species in their own right.
The most effective folk remedies for osteoarthritis are compresses and rubbing. The following compresses have proven to be the best:
- A compress of cabbage juice or cabbage leaf smeared with honey.
- Compress from the horseradish root, chopped on a grater.
- Compress made from boiled oatmeal.
- A compress made from freshly mashed potatoes.
Among the frictions considered the most effective are the following:
- Rub with honey, vinegar (or alcohol), iodine and glycerin. Improves blood circulation, relieves pain.
- Rubbing raw chicken eggs, turpentine and ammonia. Apply 3-4 days before bedtime, no more.
- Grating from propolis and vegetable oil (sunflower, olive).
- Alcoholic infusion of elecampane roots.
For osteoarthritis, some decoctions and tinctures are used orally. They help to improve metabolism and provide the body of a person suffering from arthrosis with the necessary substances. Particularly popular are:
- decoction of bay leaf;
- a mixture of garlic and olive oil (corn oil);
- a mixture of calcined cottage cheese (homemade), honey, and horseradish root.
A bath with hay dust has a positive effect on joint pain. It is also useful to do exercises to develop muscles and ligaments.
Important! Before starting treatment with medicinal herbs, you need to make sure that there are no allergic reactions to the components of decoctions, tinctures and compresses.
Treatment with stem cells
The human body contains stem cells. The unique ability of these cells is that they can transform into any cell in the body. This property was taken as the basis for the development of a method for treating osteoarthritis of the joints with stem cells. The procedure consists in isolating a certain amount of stem cells from the human bone marrow. Then they are grown under special conditions for 2 months, sometimes less. After that, they are inserted into the cavity of the diseased joint.
Stem cells improve metabolism and blood flow in the affected area, reducing inflammation and pain. Thanks to them, cartilage and joint tissues are restored. After a few months, a second injection of stem cells into the joint area is required. 6 months after this procedure, we can accurately speak about the effect achieved, although improvements are visible almost in the first days after the introduction of the cells.
surgical treatment
An operative method of treating arthrosis of the joints is resorted to when conservative methods do not bring the expected results: inflammation is not removed, pain is not stopped. The essence of it lies in the introduction of the necessary tools to the area of \u200b\u200bthe affected joint and manipulation that will help restore all tissues and their functions. Sometimes this is not enough for a full recovery. Then a method such as joint replacement is used. In this case, instead of cartilage, special plates made of metal or plastic are installed.
disability from arthritis
With this disease, a person is often tormented by such severe pain that he is ready to ask for a disability finding. After all, these pains do not allow him to qualitatively and adequately perform labor and household functions. But doctors are in no hurry to determine the disability, because with the right treatment and the accurate implementation of all the recommendations, the pain stops, the inflammation decreases, and motor activity is restored. If the diagnosis is "stage 1 osteoarthritis" or "stage 2 osteoarthritis" then it is almost impossible to get a category.
Important! Disability is allowed only for irreversible changes in deformity in the joints.
And yet, with advanced arthrosis, when it is not possible to get rid of even the symptoms of the disease, there is hope for disability. But it will be temporary. During the medical and social examination, you must undergo regular follow-up examinations. If the patient has undergone endoprosthetic surgery and his motor functions are fully restored, the disability will be eliminated.