Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease in which there is a lesion in the connective tissue structure 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 65, as one of the factors that contributes to the formation 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 deterioration of blood circulation, cartilage metabolism, trauma. They lose their elasticity, become brittle, deform. The joint fluid is practically not produced, the joints cease to slip during movement and friction occurs between them. These factors cause a sensation of pain, inflammation begins.
Causes of osteoarthritis:
- Great stress on the joints. Osteoarthritis often occurs in athletes and people with strenuous physical work. Excess weight also significantly increases the load.
- Bad food. In order for cartilage tissues and joints to receive the necessary amount of calcium, potassium and minerals and other beneficial substances, a person must get them in sufficient quantities with food.
- Diseases like scoliosis or flat feet also negatively affect the joints. Because the load is unevenly distributed due to a muscle defect, the joints suffer. Osteoarthritis will begin to develop in the joint where the load was greatest.
- Cartilage injuries do not go unnoticed. They disrupt metabolism, elasticity and lead to inflammation.
- Prolonged stress disrupts the metabolism of the whole body and joints. in particular, the muscles are in tension. All this leads to arthritis.
- Mosha. The closer you get to old age, the more your joints wear out.
- Diseases associated with inflammation in the body can lead to osteoarthritis. These include: tuberculosis, purulent arthritis, syphilis.
- Joint dysplasia caused by abnormal joint formation in the uterus.
Some of these traits, such as metabolism and certain diseases, are often classified as a separate group: hereditary causes.
Degrees of development of osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis does not occur suddenly, without causes and symptoms. In its development, 3 stages can be traced:
- The pain begins to appear after exercise, walking long distances. After resting, the pain disappears. At this stage, the cartilage begins to break down, synovial fluid is secreted in insufficient amounts. Muscles undergo changes, weaken.
- The pain is felt not only after exercise, but also at rest. Even sleeping at night does not bring significant relief. Bone growths begin to form in the joints. When the node moves, a crack is heard. There is some swelling of the surrounding tissue.
- The muscular apparatus is significantly weakened, synovial fluid is not released due to impaired metabolism, cartilage is deformed. Bone growths during movement cause excruciating pain. Swelling of the periarticular tissue becomes more pronounced and the temperature is high.
Unfortunately, many go to the doctor only when osteoarthritis reaches grade 3. People do not pay attention or try to treat only the symptoms but not the disease itself. Although treatment will be much more effective and faster if you start at the first sign of illness.
The main types of the disease
Depending on the area in which the joint is affected, there are several types of osteoarthritis:
- Gonarthrosis is inflammation of the articular tissue of the knee. It most often occurs in people with high body weight or with varicose veins. Injuries are also one of the main reasons.
- Ankle osteoarthritis - occurs most often due to injuries, dislocations. Athletes and people engaged in physical work are very susceptible to this type of osteoarthritis. Overweight people also suffer from pathology.
- Coksarthrosis - 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 the ankle prosthesis.
- Osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint occurs when it is consumed due to heavy loads, injuries, disruption of the endocrine system. Characterized by severe pain in the shoulder, joint mobility becomes limited. One of the main methods of treatment is exercise therapy.
- Spondyloarthritis - osteoarthritis of the spine. Most often it occurs in people with sitting work and with loads on the back (for example, movers). Spondylarthrosis also affects overweight people with poor posture, as their cartilage is consumed prematurely, microtrauma and inflammation are formed. A good way to relieve pain is exercise therapy, swimming and acupuncture.
- Uncoarthrosis - destruction of the intervertebral discs of the cervical spine. Occurs due to congenital malformations, overweight, 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 type of osteoarthritis should be complex: medication, physiotherapy. In addition, to reduce the load on the cervical region, it is recommended to wear a special collar. It also contributes to a slight muscle stretch.
For diagnosis, you should contact an arthrologist or rheumatologist.
Which doctor is treating you?
How to treat osteoarthritis, only a doctor will tell. But which doctor to go to for osteoarthritis depends on the degree to which the disease has reached.
- If a person has first-degree osteoarthritis, the pain is just beginning and there are no serious changes in the joints, then treatment should be taken by a rheumatologist. He will prescribe the necessary medications and procedures.
- When the pain becomes more intense and prolonged, changes in the internal tissues begin, grade 2 osteoarthritis appears, then you should contact an orthopedist. He, in addition to medication, may prescribe the application of a physiotherapy complex and a massage course.
- Then, when the osteoarthritis starts and has already reached the 3rd degree, only the surgeon can help. Otherwise, the patient is at risk of disability. Restoration of damaged cartilage and joints is sometimes possible only by resorting to surgical intervention.
In case osteoarthritis appears after a joint injury, then you should contact a traumatologist. Depending on the injury, the traumatologist may refer the patient to other profiling specialists.
prevention
To avoid osteoarthritis, you should take the following measures:
- monitor your diet, make it as beneficial as possible;
- preventing the formation of excess body weight;
- distribute the load correctly at the joints, do not overload them;
- after physical activity it is necessary to massage so that there are no circulatory disturbances.
Such prevention of osteoarthritis will help avoid diseases not only of the musculoskeletal system, but also of other systems and organs.
Treatment of osteoarthritis
Every person who has been diagnosed with this, first of all wants to get an answer to the question, is it possible to cure osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis treatment is always a whole range of medicines, procedures, exercises, folk methods and a huge amount of time. Unfortunately, osteoarthritis cannot be cured in a two-week course of treatment. Even if the pain subsides and some signs of osteoarthritis begin to disappear, it does not mean the beginning of a full recovery.
Important! Treatment can last from six months or more. Therefore, you need to be patient and resolutely follow all the doctor's prescriptions.
Medical therapy
Treatment of osteoarthritis with medication takes place in stages. Each stage aims to solve a specific problem:
- Pain relief and inflammation relief. Before starting treatment directly on the joints and cartilage, it is necessary to eliminate the pain and eliminate the inflammation. This is achieved through the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Cartilage tissue restoration with the help of chondroprotective preparations containing chondroitin.
- Injectable joint restoration in the diseased ankle area. Corticosteroids may also be prescribed. They relieve inflammation (if tablets and ointments have not coped with this) and restore the mobility of the affected joint.
- Filling the ankle cavity with hyaluronic acid. Promotes the production of new fluids and prevents friction from one joint to another.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely restore the joint, even after you have completed the entire course of treatment shown above. Additional procedures and methods are needed.
Therapeutic and physical culture complex, gymnastics and massage for osteoarthritis
Exercise therapy is an integral part of treating osteoarthritis. The instructor, based on the diagnosis and recommendations of the attending physician, designs an individual training program. Since there are several types of osteoarthritis, the exercises will target different muscle groups, in the development of different joints and ligaments. When compiling a set of exercises, the age of a person suffering from osteoarthritis, the presence of overweight and other factors should be taken into account.
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 a slow increase in amplitude.
It is possible to start exercising therapy only after removing the pain and inflammation.
Important! During the aggravation of the disease, exercise therapy, gymnastics and massage are contraindicated!
Gymnastics should be performed at home several times a day. It is best to warm up slightly before each load on the injured joint, making light movements up and down, to the sides, turning in a circle.
It is also recommended to start a massage course after relieving pain and inflammation. All movements should be light, caressing, without unnecessary effort and pressure.
Popular methods of treatment
Alternative methods are not a cure for osteoarthritis, one can not hope for a cure using only traditional medicine. They are an excellent addition to conservative treatment, but not an independent species.
The most effective folk remedies for osteoarthritis are compresses and rubbing. The following compresses have proven themselves best:
- A compress with cabbage juice or cabbage leaves smeared with honey.
- Compress from horseradish root, chopped on a grater.
- Boiled oat compress.
- A compress with fresh mashed potatoes.
Among the most effective frictions are the following:
- Rubbing 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.
- Rubbing from propolis and vegetable oil (sunflower, olive).
- Alcoholic infusion of elecampane roots.
With osteoarthritis, some decoctions and tinctures are used orally. They help improve metabolism and supply the necessary substances in the body of a person suffering from osteoarthritis. Particularly popular are:
- decoction of laurel leaf;
- a mixture of garlic and olive (corn) oil;
- a mixture of calcined cottage cheese (homemade), honey and horseradish root.
Taking a bath with hay powder has a positive effect on joint pain. It is also helpful to perform exercises to develop muscles and ligaments.
Important! Before starting treatment with medicinal herbs, you should make sure that there are no allergic reactions to the ingredients of decoctions, tinctures and compresses.
Stem cell treatment
The human body contains stem cells. The unique ability of these cells is that they can be transformed into any cell in the body. This property was taken as the basis for the development of a method for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the joints with stem cells. The method consists in the fact that a certain amount of stem cells is isolated from the human bone marrow. Then, under special conditions, they grow for 2 months, sometimes less. After that, they are inserted into the cavity of the diseased joint.
Stem cells improve metabolism and blood circulation in the affected area, relieve inflammation and pain. Thanks to them, cartilage and articular tissue have been restored. After a few months, a second injection of stem cells into the wrist area will be required. After 6 months after this procedure, we can talk accurately about the effect obtained, although the improvements are noticeable almost in the first days after cell insertion.
Surgical treatment
An operative method for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the joints is used when conservative methods do not bring the expected results: the inflammation is not removed, the pain does not stop. Their essence lies in the introduction of the necessary tools in the area of the affected joint and manipulation, which helps to restore all the tissues and their functions. Sometimes this is not enough for a full recovery. A method such as joint replacement is then used. In this case, special plates made of metal or plastic are installed instead of cartilage.
Disability due to arthritis
Often, with this disease, a person suffers from pain so severe that he is ready to seek the placement of a disability. After all, these pains do not allow him to perform work and home functions qualitatively and in the right volume. But doctors do not rush with the statement of disability, because with proper treatment and correct implementation of all recommendations, the pain stops, inflammation decreases and motor activity returns. If the diagnosis is "first degree osteoarthritis" or "second degree osteoarthritis", then it is almost impossible to get a category.
Important! Disability is only allowed for irreversible deforming changes in the joints.
And yet, with advanced osteoarthritis, if it is impossible to even remove the symptoms of the disease, there is a hope of getting a disability. But it will be temporary. You will need to undergo regular re-examination at the medical and social examination. If the patient has undergone an endoprosthetic surgery, and his motor functions are fully restored, then the disability will be removed.