Musculoskeletal diseases have severely restricted human activities. In order not to complicate the situation, timely treatment is necessary. Arthritis of the knee joint is the most common form of damage to bones and joints, and it is also the most common cause of disability. But seeing a doctor in time can eliminate this disease.
General information
Knee joint disease is an informal name for the disease. In medicine, it is called osteoarthritis. This word is composed of two ancient Greek words-bones and joints. Other synonyms:
- The abbreviated form of osteoarthritis deformans or DOA (the first word in the name reflects the main clinical symptom-joint deformity);
- Gonorrhea (from the ancient Greek combination of "knee" and "joint").
Sometimes the disease is incorrectly referred to as arthritis, although traditionally the term refers to connective tissue diseases not related to arthritis.
The essence of joint disease is the destruction of the cartilage tissue lining the surface of the joint. As a result, inflammation begins, disrupting the work of the joint and causing pain. Unfortunately, this is a very common pathology, diagnosed mainly in elderly (especially overweight) and young athletes due to injuries.
For effective treatment, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination of patients with arthritis, especially to determine the cause of the musculoskeletal system problems. Usually, the following factors cause the disease:
Causes and symptoms
For effective treatment, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination of patients with arthritis, especially to determine the cause of the musculoskeletal system problems. Usually, the following factors cause the disease:
- Broken leg;
- Dislocation, cartilage damage, inflammation;
- Impaired metabolism;
- Endocrine diseases;
- Weak ligament;
- Genetic susceptibility;
- Autoimmune diseases and infections that cause joint tissue damage.
Delayed medical treatment may cause persistent pain in the knee area and total loss of joint mobility.To prevent this from happening, if you bend your knees while walking and feel more pain when going down or climbing stairs, you need to consult a specialist. If treatment is not started at this stage, the situation will worsen-the pain will no longer pass, movement will be restricted, and the knee will deform.
The longer you have not seen a doctor, the more difficult, time-consuming and expensive it is to treat corneal diseases.
Degree of disease
Arthritis is diagnosed by a doctor. He can not only identify the disease, but also determine its extent. There are three of them:
- First of all. This disease can be cured because there is no abnormal tissue morphology, muscle weakness but not changed, and due to the synovial dysfunction and the biochemical components of the cavity fluid that provides nutrition for cartilage and cartilage, the joints begin to bear the meniscus more seriously. Overuse can cause inflammation and pain.
- Second. At this stage, the cartilage and meniscus begin to collapse, and their load causes pathological growth on the bone tissue and the joint space narrows. Therefore, the knee becomes larger and looks deformed. Compared with the first stage, the treatment of bilateral knee joint disease of the second degree has been more difficult. Pain and inflammation become chronic.
- Third. This level has been considered serious. At the same time, it clearly shows that the bones deform and change the axis of the limbs, so the mechanical load is not properly distributed. As a result, the ligaments of the joint become shorter, natural movement is restricted, and then the leg may become completely still. Because the disease is very serious, it is impossible to treat grade 3 arthritis of the knee joint without surgery.
If it seems that the pain can be tolerated for a long time, people think that arthritis is only in the first stage, and therefore postpone seeing a doctor. But this view is incorrect. Every day, the load on the main elements of the joints has begun to collapse and increase, and pathological changes will cause the complete destruction of the joints and severe limb dysfunction.
Clinical current
Disease progression is accompanied by characteristic symptoms. Even if the leg is still, the pain will occur late at night. Feel stiffness in the morning.
After passing a certain distance and then at the beginning of the exercise, walking becomes difficult. In severe cases, a person cannot walk 100 meters normally, and it is painful to stand and sit. You must move with special equipment.
Then there was a slight laxity in the first stage. As a result, walking, using public transportation, performing professional duties, family functions and even self-service may become completely impossible.
Treatment method
Folk recipes, medicinal dressings and ointments do not help to get rid of the disease, because this method must be comprehensive.Generally, doctors can treat knee joint disease only after rehabilitation in the hospital.Based on the main complaint pointed out and the accompanying illness, he will give the patient what advice. Generally, the following points must be observed:
- Reduce the load on the joints;
- Observe the orthopedics system;
- Physiotherapy (exercise therapy);
- is receiving physical therapy.
All of these help slow down the progression of arthritis and prevent loss of motor function. It should be understood that the method used will largely depend on the capabilities of the hospital and the availability of one or the other physical therapy equipment. It is best to give patients the opportunity to go to spa treatment or go to a specialized orthopedic clinic, which will provide a modern choice of drugs, diet, technology and other methods.
Use of drugs
Without medications such as tablets, creams, ointments and injections, the inflammatory process and pain will make the treatment of knee osteoarthritis impossible. In the first stage, you can use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs-diclofenac, indomethacin, nimesulide, etc. In the second and third stages, you usually have to use steroid drugs to fight inflammation-triamcinolone, hydrocortisone. These same hormones are used during acute pain.
In addition, you need intramuscular and intra-articular injections of drugs that can improve the condition of cartilage tissue (vasodilators and chondroprotectants).
Physical therapy methods
Physical therapy can be significantly improved. The following techniques are considered the most effective:
- Shockwave therapy. In the past 20 years, this method has been effective. Its essence is to use a special device to affect the affected area. The device emits radial sound waves to activate the blood supply and stimulate tissue repair.
- Muscle stimulation. This therapy targets the muscles around the joints. Low current pulses increase leg mobility, reduce pain and increase endurance during physical activity.
- Make a sound. This technology integrates ultrasound therapy with the use of products in the form of ointments, gels and creams. Generally, this dosage form is only absorbed by 5-7%, but high-frequency ultrasonic vibration heats the tissue and the absorption increases several times. In addition to good therapeutic effects, this also saves the consumption of expensive drugs.
- Ozone therapy. By using active oxygen to act on the joints, it can achieve anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. This is a good supplement and in some cases can replace taking hormone drugs.
Medical exercise
Pain when the body is tired on the joints can cause people to try to avoid this. In the long run, this threatens lack of exercise, leading to muscle atrophy and ligament weakness. Of course, during the exacerbation of the disease, the burden on the joints must be completely eliminated, but a few days after the inflammation and pain are eliminated, it is necessary to start physical therapy exercises.
It is believed that correct and continuous exercise therapy can save patients from surgical intervention. At present, experienced experts have developed many special daily training methods that can strengthen muscles, increase strength and endurance, inhibit pathological tissue damage, and restore joint range of motion and range of motion.
The most important thing in this type of treatment is regularity.Only those patients who understand the needs of lifestyle changes and strictly follow the doctor's advice on the proportion of physical exercise and the proportion of joint rest time can achieve good results.
Passive exercise therapy
Lymphatic drainage, massage, manual therapy are good supplements to medicine, physical therapy and exercise therapy. They are essential for sedentary patients and can improve the condition of their muscles, joints and ligaments.
Another passive exercise therapy is mechanical therapy. It uses special equipment-vibration simulator, weight material, mechanical massager to improve the treatment effect.
The extension of the joints in which the mechanical properties of the cavities increase, freeing you from pain and stopping the destructive process. Regular use of this therapy can prolong knee health for many years.
In line with eating habits
Since obesity is usually the cause of arthritis, patients with this diagnosis need to pay attention to weight loss. Losing weight will reduce stress on the joints and make it easier to undergo physical therapy. Sometimes diet is not enough and bariatric surgery is needed, but this is rare.
Another indication for sticking to a certain diet may be any pathology related to arthritis. If you do not have obesity or other diseases, but you need to change your eating habits, you do not need a special diet. However, you can add collagen-rich foods to your diet, including jelly and aspic, fish oil, berries, and fruits to help your body strengthen the affected cartilage tissue. It is best not to consume unhealthy foods such as sugar, carbonated drinks and alcoholic beverages.
Surgical intervention
In advanced situations, the quick solution to musculoskeletal problems is to perform operations. For arthritis, the following types of surgical intervention are required:
- The puncture allows you to get rid of the accumulation of fluid in the joint cavity. As a result, inflammation is reduced, thereby restoring knee mobility.
- Periarticular osteotomy allows you to change the angle of one of the bones forming the knee joint, thereby redistributing the load, increasing mobility and reducing pain. Since the bones must be sawed, this intervention is very painful.
- Internal repair can replace the diseased joint with a biocompatible structure. At the same time, the previous range of motion is restored, but the operation is very new and very complicated, and it takes a long time to recover afterwards.
Surgery is rarely needed in the first stage. Second, it is only occasionally needed, but third, it cannot be done without it.
Patient Evaluation
Which of the multiple treatments will be used in each situation depends on the doctor. The expert will choose the best method, and the patient’s task is to strictly follow the orthopedist’s recommendations. This is the only way to get good results quickly. The patients diagnosed with gonorrhea confirmed this.