Arthrosis (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 the treatment of the disease must be comprehensive.
It is necessary to reduce stress, normalize nutrition, remove inflammation and relieve muscle spasms.What are the features of arthrosis, how to determine its appearance and what treatment to choose?
Arthrosis - what is it?
Arthrosis of the joints is degenerative changes in their structure, which are accompanied by pain and visible deformities.The second name of the disease, which is used in the international classification, is osteoarthritis.Let's see the reasons why it happens and how it is diagnosed.Osteoarthritis - what is it?
The disease begins with a malnutrition of the cartilage and its destruction.The inner layer of cartilage becomes thin, the joint loses strength, and the bone tissue fills with salts and growth (to compensate for the strength).
This is why arthrosis is called deforming arthrosis - as it develops, the joint takes on an ugly "twisted" shape.
Deformative arthrosis has three stages of development:
- Osteoarthritis of the 1st degree - there are no visible symptoms, except for a slight creaking and periodic pain during movement;
- Osteoarthritis of the 2nd degree - accompanied by the formation of growths, the appearance of obvious pain, increased creaking, muscle weakness;
- Arthrosis of the 3rd degree is called the acute form of the disease.Acute arthrosis is associated with joint deformities and limited movement.
What joints does arthrosis affect?
Deformation and inflammation most often affects the joints of the lower extremities - hip, knee, fingers (usually the big toe).Less often - wrists and fingers.
However, it is possible for the disease to develop in other parts of the body.
With coxarthrosis, the hip joints are affected (often the cause of coxarthrosis is untreated congenital dysplasia).The destruction of the vertebral joints is called spondyloarthrosis, and the destruction of the knee joints is called gonarthrosis.Damage to some 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 the same time (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 arthrosis
The formation of arthrosis is triggered by two reasons - stress and lack of adequate food, which supplies vitamins and minerals for tissue restoration.Every person's joints cope with stress.For athletes and dancers, during physical work the load on the legs is greater, which means that the bone joints wear out faster and require quality nutrition.With a quiet lifestyle, the supporting apparatus wears out more slowly, but also requires periodic tissue renewal.
Therefore, the main condition for the destruction and deformation of joints is malnutrition and non-absorption of useful components, which often occurs due to metabolic disorders.
We list the factors that contribute to joint wear and tear and metabolic disorders:
- Muscle weakness and improper joint loading.Weakness of one or more muscles increases the load on the joint and distributes it unevenly within the bone joint.Also, improper muscle loading occurs with flat feet and scoliosis, so with these "harmless" diseases, cartilage tissue wears out with age and arthrosis appears.
The possibility of arthrosis increases with intense physical activity.
If daily loads exceed the capabilities of bone tissue, they formmicrotraumas.In places of injury, thickenings appear, which grow over time and deform the joint;
- Metabolic disorders (gastrointestinal disease - biliary stagnation, dysbacteriosis, gastritis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, metabolic disease - diabetes);
- Psychosomatic causes - psychosomatics of arthrosis confirms that the cause of the disease is also a negative emotional state.Stress forms muscle spasms, continuous stress disrupts the nutrition of all tissues (internal organs, bones, joints);
- Heredity (the type of metabolism and its possible disorders are inherited, a tendency for muscle weakness or improper formation of the bone apparatus, for poor digestion - which is the basis for the development of arthrosis in old age).
Osteoarthritis is a disease of worn joints that have lost a significant supply of minerals and the ability to withstand stress and destruction.
Therefore, with age, susceptibility to the disease increases.After 70 years, arthrosis is diagnosed in every second pensioner.Since the maximum load falls on the feet (a person moves - walks, stands, runs, dances), this is where the first signs of arthrosis are formed.
Symptoms of arthrosis
Joint disease can be diagnosed by a number of painful symptoms - pain, swelling, cracking.
Symptom #1: Pain
The main symptom of the disease is joint pain.Its appearance is associated with deformation of joint capsules and the formation of growths.
If you have osteoarthritis, pain symptoms will increase with movement and decrease with rest.
Or appear in an uncomfortable position and disappear when you choose a position that is comfortable for the foot and ankle.In this way, arthrosis differs from arthritis, in which it hurts, on the contrary, more often at night, at rest, and less during the day, when a person is "speeding up".
At the beginning of the disease, pain appears periodically (with movement or an uncomfortable position).As the disease progresses, the pain is felt more often and becomes stronger.It gets to the point where rest does not bring relief, the joints hurt even when resting.Since at this time the blood circulation is already damaged, the joint becomes "sensitive" to weather changes ("twist", hurts).
Symptom no.2: crackle
Crackling occurs due to the mutual loose adjustment of the bones in the diseased joint in relation to each other.
However, light cracking is also possible in healthy joint capsules (with weak ligaments, with mobile hereditary joints).
The crisis of arthrosis is characterized by growth.Over time, it intensifies, becomes louder and more distinct.
Symptom no.3: joint deformity and reduced mobility
This symptom appears when the disease progresses.It progresses along with increased pain and is accompanied by increased salt accumulation, which prevents full flexion and direction of the joint.The deformity becomes visible in the later stages of the disease.First, the joint swells, then "lumps" appear, an unhealthy curve is formed, the "twist" of the joint capsule.
Treatment of joints with osteoarthritis
The treatment of arthrosis (osteoarthrosis) is based on two postulates - eliminating stress and providing the joints with adequate nutrition.How to treat osteoarthritis in order to achieve lasting improvement and stop the destruction of cartilage and degeneration of bone tissue?Treatment of deforming arthrosis uses a complex approach.The patient is prescribed tablets and injections, compresses and physiotherapy.
When diagnosed with osteoarthritis, treatment cannot be unilateral.
You can't just feed the cartilage tissue with chondroprotectors or simply relax the muscles.Unilateral measures will not help to cope with such a serious disease.
How to properly treat arthrosis?During treatment, several areas of therapy are selected:
- Drug therapy: pills, injections, blockades.For arthrosis, treatment with tablets, powders and capsules supplies the body with chondroprotectors.Preparations with chondroitin improve collagen synthesis, which nourishes and restores cartilage tissue.These are glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.They are produced in the form of tablets for arthrosis, 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 away or destroyed.In this case, the patient undergoes an operation (endoprosthetics), replacing the destroyed joint with artificial tissue.Injections with anti-inflammatory and analgesic components - blockades - are also prescribed.And joint injections.In case of arthrosis, with their help, gels are inserted into the bone joint, simulating intra-articular fluid, as well as painkillers and anti-inflammatory substances.
Injections into the joint ensure that the drug reaches the center of inflammation.
The use of such injections allows you to reduce the number of tablets for arthrosis.Also, vitamin-mineral complexes are prescribed to nourish tissues;
- Exercise therapy.For arthrosis, the attending physician selects a group 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 remove one of the causes of the disease - the weakness of muscle fibers;
- Physiotherapy treatment.This includes shock wave therapy (destroys large salt deposits, normalizes blood circulation, activates own collagen synthesis), oxygen therapy (saturation of the joint with oxygen), massage (muscle relaxation and joint unloading), electrotherapy, wave techniques;
- Diet food.When osteoarthritis is diagnosed, the course of the disease depends on nutrition.For osteoarthritis, the diet excludes any night plants (potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplants).Also, food for arthrosis limits alcohol, sugar, baked products, sweets;
- Use of additional amplifiers(orthopedic corset to support joints - orthosis);
- Alternative treatments.These include acupuncture (acupressure on reflex points that activate blood flow to 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 arthrosis
Which doctor is a specialist in the treatment of arthrosis?We list the specialists who can provide you with effective help:
- A rheumatologist is a doctor who treats with therapeutic methods (tablets, injections, physiotherapy);
- An arthrologist is a doctor specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of joint diseases, he possesses conservative and surgical treatment methods, unfortunately, a rare specialty;
- Orthopedist - most often works with patients on an outpatient basis, but in specialized research institutes orthopedic surgeons perform surgical treatment;
- Therapist and surgeon are doctors who are available in every clinic;they are the ones you should contact to get a referral for screening and initial treatment.
Treatment of arthrosis with folk remedies
What can you do yourself?When diagnosed with osteoarthritis, treatment with home remedies can often reduce pain and maintain mobility.
Osteoarthritis is often treated with gelatin (which the body uses to restore cartilage tissue).
Prevention of osteoarthritis
Prevention of deforming osteoarthritis consists of the following measures:
- Load limitation;
- Massage after physical activity;
- A complete healthy menu with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and bacteria (fermented milk 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.
Disease prevention is recommended for those people whose work and daily activities involve increased stress on the joints.And also for those whose age exceeds 45 years.
Osteoarthritis is easier to prevent than to treat.It is easier to keep a joint in a healthy state than to restore cartilage tissue after its destruction.