Osteoarthritis (osteoarthrosis) is a disease of the joints that leads to their destruction.It affects 10% of the world's population.
When diagnosed with osteoarthritis, the symptoms are severe and treatment of the disease must be comprehensive.
It is necessary to reduce stress, normalize nutrition, remove inflammation and relieve muscle spasms.What are the characteristics of osteoarthritis, how to determine its occurrence and which treatment to choose?
Arthrosis - what is it?
Osteoarthritis of the joints are degenerative changes in their structure, accompanied by pain and visible deformation.The second name of the disease, used in the international classification, is osteoarthritis.Let's look at the reasons why this occurs and how it is diagnosed.Osteoarthritis – what is it?
The disease begins with malnutrition of the cartilage and its destruction.The inner layer of cartilage becomes thin, the joint loses strength and the bone tissue becomes full of salts and bulges (to compensate for the force).
This is why osteoarthritis is called deforming osteoarthritis – as it develops, the joint takes on an ugly, “twisted” shape.
Deforming osteoarthritis has three stages of development:
- 1st degree osteoarthritis - has no noticeable symptoms, except for slight clicking and periodic pain when moving;
- Osteoarthritis of the 2nd degree - accompanied by the formation of growths, the appearance of noticeable pain, increased crunching, weakening of muscles;
- Arthrosis of the 3rd degree is called the acute form of the disease.Acute osteoarthritis is accompanied by the appearance of joint deformities and limited mobility.
Which joints does osteoarthritis affect?
Deformation and inflammation most often affect the joints of the lower extremities - hip, knee, toes (usually the big toe).Less commonly – ankles and fingers.
However, it is possible for the disease to develop in other parts of the body.
In Coxarthrosis, the hip joints are affected (often the cause of Coxarthrosis is untreated congenital dysplasia).Destruction of the vertebral joints is called spondyloarthrosis, and destruction of the knee joints is called gonarthrosis.Damage to multiple joints is called polyarthrosis.
Symptoms of polyarthrosis are the severity of the general condition, the prevalence of the process, curvature and pain in several joints at once (legs, arms, fingers, spine).
Inflammation in polyarthrosis spreads asymmetrically, affecting different bone joints in different ways.Once polyarthrosis is diagnosed, treatment varies in duration.
Causes of osteoarthritis
The formation of arthrosis is promoted by two reasons - stress and lack of adequate nutrition, which provides vitamins and minerals for tissue restoration.Every person's joints endure stress.For athletes and dancers, during physical work the load on the legs is greater, which means that the bone joints wear out more quickly and require quality nutrition.With a calm lifestyle, the supporting apparatus wears out more slowly, but it also requires periodic tissue renewal.
Therefore, the main condition for the destruction and deformation of joints is malnutrition and lack of absorption of useful components, which often occurs due to metabolic disorders.
We list the factors that contribute to joint wear and metabolic disorders:
- Muscle weakness and inadequate joint load.Weakness of one or more muscles increases the load on the joint and distributes it unevenly within the bony joint.In addition, inadequate muscle loading occurs with flat feet and scoliosis;therefore, with these “harmless” diseases, cartilaginous tissue wears out with age and osteoarthritis appears.
The likelihood of osteoarthritis increases with intense physical activity.
If daily loads exceed the capabilities of bone tissues, they formmicrotraumas.Thickening appears at the injury sites, which grow over time and deform the joint;
- Metabolic disorders (gastrointestinal diseases - bile stagnation, dysbiosis, gastritis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, metabolic disease - diabetes);
- Psychosomatic causes - psychosomatics of arthrosis confirms that a negative emotional state also becomes the cause of the disease.Stress forms muscle spasms, constant stress disrupts the nutrition of all tissues (internal organs, bones, joints);
- Heredity (the type of metabolism and its possible disorders are hereditary, a tendency to muscle weakness or inadequate formation of the bone apparatus, to poor digestion - which is the basis for the development of arthrosis in old age).
Osteoarthritis is a disease of worn-out joints that have lost a significant supply of minerals and the ability to resist stress and destruction.
Therefore, with age, susceptibility to the disease increases.After 70 years, osteoarthritis is diagnosed in every second retiree.Since the maximum load falls on the legs (the person moves - walks, stands, runs, jumps), it is here that the first signs of arthrosis are formed.
Osteoarthritis symptoms
Joint disease can be diagnosed by a number of painful symptoms - pain, swelling, clicking.
Symptom #1: Pain
The main symptom of the disease is joint pain.Its appearance is associated with the deformation of the joint capsules and the formation of bulges.
If you have osteoarthritis, pain symptoms increase with movement and decrease with rest.
Or appear in an uncomfortable position and disappear by choosing a position that is comfortable for the leg and joint.In this way, osteoarthritis differs from arthritis, in that it hurts, on the contrary, more often at night, at rest, and hurts less during the day, when the person is “walking from one side to the other”.
At the beginning of the disease, pain appears periodically (with movement or uncomfortable position).As the disease progresses, the pain is felt more frequently and becomes stronger.It gets to the point where rest doesn't bring relief, the joints hurt even at rest.As blood circulation is already impaired at this point, the joint becomes “sensitive” to climate changes (“twisting”, pain).
Symptom #2: Crunching
Crunching occurs due to the loose mutual arrangement of the bones in the diseased joint relative to each other.
However, a slight crunch is also possible in healthy joint capsules (with weak ligaments, with hereditarily mobile joints).
The osteoarthritis crisis is characterized by growth.Over time, it intensifies, becomes louder and more distinct.
Symptom #3: Joint deformation and reduced mobility
This symptom appears as the disease progresses.It progresses along with increasing pain and is associated with the growth of salt accumulations, which prevent the joint from fully bending and straightening.The deformity becomes noticeable in the later stages of the disease.First, the joint swells, then “bumps” appear, an unhealthy curvature is formed, “twisting” the joint capsule.
Treatment of joints with osteoarthritis
Treatment of arthrosis (osteoarthrosis) is based on two postulates - eliminating stress and providing the joints with adequate nutrition.How to treat osteoarthritis to achieve sustainable improvement and prevent the destruction of cartilage and degeneration of bone tissue?The treatment of deforming osteoarthritis uses a complex approach.The patient is given pills and injections, compresses and physiotherapy.
When diagnosed with osteoarthritis, treatment cannot be unilateral.
You cannot simply nourish the cartilaginous tissue with chondroprotectors or just relax the muscles.Unilateral measures will not help to cope with such a serious illness.
How to treat osteoarthritis correctly?During treatment, several areas of therapy are selected:
- Drug therapy: pills, injections, blockages.For osteoarthritis, treatment with tablets, powders and capsules provides the body with chondroprotectors.Preparations with chondroitin increase the synthesis of collagen, which nourishes and restores cartilaginous tissue.These are glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.They are produced in the form of tablets for osteoarthritis, capsules or powders.They help in the initial stages of the disease and lose effectiveness in advanced conditions, when the cartilage is almost completely worn out or destroyed.In this case, the patient undergoes surgery (endoprosthesis), replacing the destroyed joint with artificial tissue.Injections with anti-inflammatory and analgesic components – blockades – are also prescribed.And joint injections.In the case of arthrosis, with their help, gels are introduced into the bone joint, simulating intra-articular fluid, as well as analgesics and anti-inflammatories.
Injections into the joint ensure that the medicine reaches the center of inflammation.
The use of such injections allows you to reduce the number of tablets for arthrosis.Additionally, vitamin and mineral complexes are prescribed to nourish tissues;
- Exercise therapy.With arthrosis, the attending physician selects a set of gymnastic exercises to perform independently at home.You can learn how to perform them in exercise therapy classes at the clinic.
Gymnastics for arthrosis helps restore muscle tone and eliminate one of the causes of the disease - weakness of muscle fibers;
- Physiotherapy treatment.These include shock wave therapy (destroys large salt deposits, normalizes blood flow, activates the synthesis of its own collagen), oxygen therapy (saturation of the joint with oxygen), massage (relaxation of muscles and unloading of joints), electrotherapy, wave techniques;
- Diet food.When osteoarthritis is diagnosed, the course of the disease depends on nutrition.For osteoarthritis, the diet excludes any nightshade plants (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants).Also, nutrition for arthrosis limits alcohol, sugar, bakery and confectionery products;
- Using additional amplifiers(orthopedic joint support corsets - orthoses);
- Alternative treatments.These include acupuncture (acupressure on reflex points that activate blood flow in certain parts of the body), homeopathic treatment and hirudotherapy.
To successfully treat arthrosis, it is necessary to apply the entire complex of listed procedures and measures for several months (from 4 to 7).
Who treats osteoarthritis
Which doctor specializes in treating osteoarthritis?We list the experts who can provide you with effective assistance:
- The rheumatologist is the doctor who treats with therapeutic methods (pills, injections, physiotherapy);
- The arthrologist is a doctor specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of joint diseases, he masters conservative and surgical treatment methods, an unfortunately rare specialty;
- Orthopedist – most often sees patients on an outpatient basis, but in specialized research institutes, orthopedic surgeons perform surgical treatment;
- Therapist and surgeon are doctors available at any clinic;They are the ones you need to contact to receive a referral for examination and initial treatment.
Treatment of arthrosis with folk remedies
What can you do alone?When diagnosed with osteoarthritis, treatment with folk remedies at home can often reduce pain and maintain mobility.
Osteoarthritis is often treated with gelatin (which the body uses to restore cartilage tissue).
Osteoarthritis prevention
Prevention of deforming osteoarthritis consists of the following measures:
- Load limitation;
- Massage after physical activity;
- A healthy menu complete with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and bacteria (fermented dairy products), carbohydrates, fats and proteins;
- Controlling excess weight.
When osteoarthritis is diagnosed, the course of the disease depends on preventive measures, nutrition and the presence of physical (emotional) stress.
Prevention of the disease is recommended for those people whose work and daily activities involve increased stress on the joints.And also for those over 45 years of age.
Osteoarthritis is easier to prevent than to treat.It is easier to maintain a healthy joint than to restore cartilaginous tissue after its destruction.