Knee joint osteoarthritis: causes, symptoms and treatment

A healthy person perceives the ability to walk and run as something natural and simple.But those who have encountered diseases of the musculoskeletal system know the number of difficulties that the temporary or constant restriction of mobility is.Meanwhile, each second person over 50 suffers from joint inflammation, and osteoarthritis of the knee joint is one of the main causes of disability in women and men.

The causes of osteoarthritis of the knee joint

Despite the generalized prevalence of osteoarthritis, there is always confusion with the name of this disease.He is officially called "distorting osteoarthritis".But even from the lips of doctors, you can hear the word "arthritis" - there is no significant error here, although most often this term is used in relation to rheumatoid arthritis: another disease which presents an origin and different symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Deformation of osteoarthritis is a progressive lesion of cartilage lining the surface of the joint, which leads to a violation of its work and its pain.

It is an extremely common pathology, which is more frequent in advanced women suffering from overweight.However, sometimes distorting osteoarthritis is also observed in young athletes: the impulse for the development of the disease is a sporting trauma caused by excessive charges in the gymnasium.

In addition, gonarthrosis occurs for the following reasons:

• Leg fractures and knee joint dislocation;
• Meniscus injections;
• Inflammatory joint diseases (rheumatism, drop, Bekhterev's disease, etc.);
• metabolic violation;
• Congenital weakness of the ligament system (hypermobility of the joints);
• Hereditary predisposition to osteoarthritis of the knee joint.

Honartrose can develop in us - Experts note that this is an increase in the average life expectancy of the population: our joints fail before we feel like elderly and refusals.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee joint

Osteoarthritis never happens suddenly.The first symptom that occurs long before the acceleum of the disease is a slight pain in the knee during walking, intensifying during the uprising and descent on the stairs.The unpleasant sensations, as a rule, appear at the start of the movement, disappear after a short walk, and after a long load on the articulation, they return again.

Over time, if osteoarthritis is not treated, the symptoms are aggravated - the pain becomes continuous, the movements in the knee joint are increasingly limited and the knee increases.Doctors advise not to stop at the hospital already when the first unpleasant sensations appear.This will occur without prolonged and expensive treatment: with the development of the disease, getting rid of it is increasingly difficult.

Degree of gonarthrosis

There are three degrees of osteoarthritis of the knee joint:

• 1 degree of gonarthrosis is a gap in the first symptoms of the disease to the appearance of bone deformations, which are perceptible during examination or on X -rays.In this case, the knee can change its form during the first months of osteoarthritis, but due to the accumulation of liquid in the articulation (this phenomenon is called synovitis).1 degree of gonarthrosis is mainly characterized by a different intensity pain that occurs during movement.
• 2 The degree of osteoarthritis of the knee joint is accompanied by unpleasant sensations at the slightest load, a crunch in the knee during walking and squatting and a decrease in joint mobility.On the X -ray, the growth of the bone tissue along the edges of the joint and the narrowing of the joint deviation are visible.Externally, the knee with 2 degrees of gonarthrosis also seems to be deformed and increased in size.
• With 3 degrees of gonarthrosis of the cartilage fabric, there is almost no rest inside the joint and in the severe form of osteoarthrosis, the bones develop together, which leads to the complete immobility of the sick leg.It is difficult for a person with such a disease to take a position in which pain disappears - a dream is disturbed, and it becomes impossible to move without believing or stick.

Only a doctor is capable of establishing the degree of osteoarthritis of the knee joint after studying radiography: there are cases where light characteristic symptoms of the first degree are accompanied by far from the destruction of intra-articular cartilage.

Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint

If the diagnosis has detected gonartrose, it is necessary to approach the treatment to come in a responsible manner.Do not expect the nearest pharmacy compresses or ointments to solve the problem - this disease requires an integrated approach and compliance with the recommendations of a specialist.

There is not and there should not be a single "scenario" of the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint - the orthopedist is obliged to take into account the complaints of the patient, to pay attention to the concomitant pathology and to take into account the arsenal of the physiotherapeutic techniques available in the medical establishment.The best option is the treatment of gonarthrosis in a specialized orthopedic clinic.

Drug treatment (drugs for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint)

Medicines are important in the treatment of gonarthrosis, especially in situations where you have to urgently relieve symptoms of acute pain and reduce inflammation.To this end, doctors prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): Diclofenac, Indomethacin, Nimesulide and others.To combat a severe inflammatory process, steroids are prescribed and to improve the condition of the cartilage fabric - drugs for joints and vasodilating drugs.All these drugs are prescribed both in the form of tablet and in the form of creams, ointments, solutions injectors (with any degree of arthritis of the knee joint).

A special mention is deserved by the plasmolifting method - the introduction of the blood plasma of the patient enriched with plasma in the knee joint affected by osteoarthritis.This technique is successfully used in sports medicine, where special attention is paid to the fast food of the musculoskeletal system.

It has long been considered one of the main folk remedies for osteoarthritis: it has been used both for infusions (for example, from Linden flowers) and for wraps and massage.It is difficult to say how honey helps to eliminate the causes of the disease, but this tool will certainly not hurt - even doctors say.

Surgical treatment

Variable degree objects of invasiveness are designed not only to alleviate the symptoms of the disease, but also to eliminate its causes.

• Puncture.To get rid of excess liquid in the joint cavity, surgeons use perforation - such a mini -invasive intervention reduces inflammation and restores knee mobility.
• Arthroscopy.If osteoarthritis requires surgical operation (generally with 2 degrees of severity), it can be carried out in endoscopy - this technique does not require dissection of the joint cavity, and all manipulations are carried out by thin flexible tools under the control of micro -caméras control.Arthroscopy implies the purification of joint surfaces from the fragments of the destroyed cartilage.
• Osteotomy near the joints is a more traumatic intervention.During the operation, one of the bones forming the knee joint is cut, then fixed again, but at a different angle.This approach allows you to redistribute the load on the knee, which reduces pain syndrome and increases knee mobility.Osteotomy is generally used for 1 and 2 degrees of osteoarthrosis of the knee joint.
• The endoprothetics implies replacing the knee joint with an organic compatible design, providing the previous volume of movements.This complex surgical intervention requires prolonged rehabilitation, therefore, as a rule, patients with 3 degrees of gonartrose are decided.

Non -surgical methods for the treatment of distorting osteoarthritis

But still, any operation is a serious body test, so people with osteoarthritis of the knee joint prefer conservative treatment.The practice shows that physiotherapeutic and others methods, as well as a lifestyle change, lead to a tangible improvement, with the minimization of the use of pharmaceuticals.

Physiotherapy

• Shock wave therapy (UVT) has been used in clinics for 20 years.During the procedure, the doctor acts on the area affected with a device generating radial acoustic waves (2000–4000 pulses by procedure).The therapeutic effect is obtained due to the activation of blood supply in the joint and stimulation of bone and cartilage restoration processes.
• Myostimulation implies the effect of the muscles surrounding the joint with impulses of the weak current, because of which mobility in the painful leg increases, the pain disappears and the removal of endurance to physical activity.
• Phonophoresis - A combination of ultrasound therapy and the effects of drugs, which is very effective for gonarthrosis.We know that normally, only 5 to 7% of the drug in the form of ointments, gel or cream is absorbed by the skin.With this procedure, high frequency vibrations heat the knee joint tissues and improve the absorption of the drug, saving on expensive drugs, while obtaining a good result.
• Ozonotherapy.The effect of active oxygen on the fabric has an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect, by which with osteoarthritis of the knee joint, you can refuse to take hormonal medications or reduce their dosage.

Kines Nichotherapy

• Medical physical education (exercise therapy), according to doctors, allows a responsible and worker patient with osteoarthritis of "escaping" from the operation.Daily workouts according to a special technique gently strengthen the leg muscles, which, in some cases, goes up the pathological process, returning the patient to previous mobility.The key success factor is a competent sequence of exercises that says an experienced exercise therapy instructor.
• Massage (including lymphatic drainage) and manual therapy - Passive methods of effect on the patient's muscles, joints and ligaments.They are suitable for sedentary patients and are perfectly combined with the treatment of the exercise, physiotherapy and drug treatment for the deformation of osteoarthrosis.
• Mechanotherapy implies the use of special devices that improve the effect of exercise and massage therapy - vibration simulators, weighting and mechanical massors.
• Joint traffic is a mechanical increase in the space of their cavity, due to which pain starts and the destruction of the joint slows down.The application of the course of this technique allows several years to delay the progression of osteoarthritis of the knee joint.

Diet

Consultation with a nutritionist and a subsequent treatment of overweight and obesity is an effective addition to the main methods of fighting osteoarthritis of any location.Weight loss relieves load on joints and facilitates exercise therapy in fats.Often, the radical treatment of obesity - bariatric surgery - allows you to make a diagnosis in people who suffer from osteoarthritis for many years.

Orthopeda doctors recommend thinking about knee health before you even feel pain in this area.The recommendations are simple: to monitor the weight, carefully choose appropriate shoes, rationally approach physical training, engage in swimming (it removes the load of all joints at the same time), avoid the hypothermia of the legs and abandon smoking.