Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease in which there is damage to 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 the age of 65, since one of the factors that contribute to the formation of this condition is the body's natural aging process.
Causes of disease
Osteoarthritis is commonly referred to as joint disease and the destruction of cartilage tissue. This is due to deterioration of blood circulation, metabolism in cartilage, trauma. They lose their elasticity, become brittle, deformed. Joint fluid is practically not produced, the joints stop sliding during movement and friction occurs between them. These factors cause a feeling of pain, inflammation begins.
Causes of osteoarthritis:
- Great stress on joints. Osteoarthritis usually occurs in athletes and in people with heavy physical work. Excess weight also significantly increases the load.
- Poor nutrition. In order for the cartilage tissues and joints to receive the necessary amount of calcium, potassium and other useful minerals and substances, a person must receive them in sufficient amounts with food.
- Diseases like scoliosis or flat feet also negatively affect the joints. As the load is unevenly distributed due to a defect in the muscles, the joints suffer. In the joint where the load was greatest, arthrosis will begin to develop.
- Cartilage injuries do not go unnoticed. They disturb metabolism, elasticity and lead to inflammation.
- Prolonged stress disrupts the metabolism of the entire body and joints. in particular, the muscles are in tension. All this leads to arthritis.
- It was. The closer you get to old age, the more your joints wear out.
- Diseases that are accompanied by inflammation in the body can lead to osteoarthritis. These include: tuberculosis, purulent arthritis, syphilis.
- Joint dysplasia caused by abnormal joint formation in the uterus.
Several of these traits, such as metabolism and certain diseases, are often classified as a separate group: hereditary causes.
Stages of osteoarthritis development
Osteoarthritis does not occur suddenly, without causes and symptoms. In its development, 3 stages can be traced:
- The pain starts to occur after exercising, walking long distances. After rest, the pain disappears. At this stage, cartilage begins to break down, synovial fluid is secreted in insufficient amounts. Muscles undergo changes, weaken.
- Pain is felt not only after exercise, but also at rest. Even a night's sleep does not bring significant relief. Bone growths begin to form in the joints. When the joint moves, a click is heard. Some swelling of the surrounding tissues is visible.
- 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. The swelling of the periarticular tissues becomes more pronounced and the temperature is high.
Unfortunately, many go to the doctor only when osteoarthritis reaches grade 3. People don't pay attention or try to treat only the symptoms, not the disease itself. Although the treatment is much more effective and faster if you start it at the first sign of illness.
The main types of diseases
Depending on the area where the joint is affected, there are several types of osteoarthritis:
- Gonarthrosis is inflammation of the knee joint tissue. It most often occurs in people with a large body weight or with varicose veins. Injuries are also one of the main reasons.
- Osteoarthritis of the ankle joint - most often occurs due to injuries, dislocations. Athletes and people involved in physical work are very susceptible to this type of osteoarthritis. Overweight people also suffer from pathology.
- Coxarthrosis - 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 occasionally pain occurs. But despite the absence of external signs, there are serious internal changes. Muscles weaken, pain intensifies, lameness occurs. Most of the time, drug treatment at this stage is ineffective. The way out is joint prostheses.
- Shoulder joint osteoarthritis occurs when it is worn out due to heavy loads, injuries, disruption of the endocrine system. It is characterized by severe shoulder pain, joint mobility becomes limited. One of the main methods of treatment is exercise therapy.
- Spondyloarthrosis - osteoarthritis of the spine. Most often it occurs in people with sedentary work and with loads on their back (eg, moving). People who are overweight and have poor posture also suffer from spondylarthrosis, as their cartilage wears out before its time, forming microtrauma and inflammation. A good way to relieve pain is exercise therapy, swimming and acupuncture.
- Uncoarthrosis - destruction of the intervertebral discs of the cervical spine. It 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. The treatment of this type of arthrosis must be complex: medication, physiotherapy. Also, to reduce the load on the cervical region, the use of a special collar is recommended. It also contributes to a slight stretching of the muscles.
For diagnosis, you need to contact an arthrologist or rheumatologist.
Which doctor are you treating?
How to treat osteoarthritis, only a doctor will tell. But which doctor to turn to for osteoarthritis depends on the extent to which the disease has reached.
- If a person has 1st degree osteoarthritis, the pain is just beginning, and there are no serious changes in the joint, a rheumatologist should start treatment. He will prescribe the necessary medications and procedures.
- When the pain becomes more intense and prolonged, changes in the internal tissues begin, 2nd degree osteoarthritis occurs, so you need to contact an orthopedist. He, in addition to medication, can prescribe the implementation of a physiotherapy complex and a massage course.
- So, when osteoarthritis starts and has reached the 3rd degree, only the surgeon can help. Otherwise, the patient is at risk of disability. Restoring destroyed cartilage and joints is sometimes only possible with surgical intervention.
In the event that osteoarthritis occurs after a joint injury, you should contact a traumatologist. Depending on the injuries, the traumatologist may refer the patient to other profiling specialists.
Prevention
To prevent osteoarthritis, you must take the following measures:
- monitor your diet, make it as useful as possible;
- prevent the formation of excess body weight;
- correctly distribute the load on the joints, do not overload them;
- after physical activity, it is necessary to do a massage so that there is no circulatory disorder.
This prevention of osteoarthritis will help to avoid not only diseases of the musculoskeletal system, but also other systems and organs.
Osteoarthritis treatment
Every person who has been diagnosed with it, first of all, wants to get an answer to the question: is it possible to cure osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis treatment is always a wide variety of drugs, procedures, exercises, folk methods and a huge amount of time. Unfortunately, osteoarthritis cannot be cured in a two-week course of medication. Even if the pain subsides and some signs of osteoarthritis begin to disappear, it won't signify the start of a full recovery.
Important! Treatment can last for six months or longer. Therefore, you must be patient and firmly follow all the doctor's prescriptions.
medical therapy
Treatment of arthrosis with drugs takes place in stages. Each step aims to solve a specific problem:
- Pain relief and inflammation relief. Before starting treatment directly on the joint and cartilage, it is necessary to get rid of pain and eliminate inflammation. This is achieved through the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Restoration of cartilage tissue with the help of chondroprotective preparations containing chondroitin.
- Restoration of the joint by injection in the area of the diseased joint. Corticosteroids may also be prescribed. They relieve inflammation (if pills and ointments haven't fixed it) and restore mobility to the affected joint.
- Filling the joint cavity with hyaluronic acid. It promotes the production of new fluid and prevents friction from one joint to another.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely restore the joint, even after going through all the treatment indicated above. Additional procedures and methods are required.
Complex of therapeutic and physical culture, 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. As there are several types of osteoarthritis, the exercises will target different muscle groups, the development of different joints and ligaments. When compiling a set of exercises, the age of a person suffering from osteoarthritis, the presence of excess weight and other factors must 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 performing exercise therapy only after the pain and inflammation have been removed.
Important! During the exacerbation 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 it up a little before each load on the painful joint, making light up and down movements, side to side, turning in a circle.
It is also recommended to start a massage course after pain and inflammation has been relieved. All movements should be light, caressing, without undue effort and pressure.
Folk methods of treatment
Alternative methods are not a panacea for osteoarthritis, one cannot expect a cure using traditional medicine alone. They are an excellent addition to conservative treatment, but not an independent species.
The most effective folk remedies for osteoarthritis are compresses and rubs. The following compresses have proven to be the best:
- A compress of cabbage juice or cabbage leaf smeared with honey.
- Compress the horseradish root, chopped on a grater.
- Boiled oat compress.
- A compress of fresh mashed potatoes.
Among the frictions as the most effective are the following:
- Rub 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 bed, no more.
- Scrubbing of propolis and vegetable oil (sunflower, olive).
- Alcoholic infusion of elecampane roots.
With arthrosis, some decoctions and tinctures are used orally. They help improve metabolism and provide the body with necessary substances for a person suffering from osteoarthritis. Particularly popular are:
- bay leaf decoction;
- a mixture of garlic and olive oil (corn);
- a mixture of calcined cottage cheese (home made), honey and horseradish root.
Bathing with hay powder has a positive effect on painful joints. It is also helpful to perform exercises to develop muscles and ligaments.
Important! Before starting treatment with medicinal herbs, you need to ensure that there are no allergic reactions to the components of decoctions, tinctures and compresses.
stem cell treatment
The human body contains stem cells. The unique ability of these cells is that they can transform into any cell in the body. This property was taken as a basis for the development of a method for treating osteoarthritis of the joints with stem cells. The method consists in the fact that a certain amount of stem cells is isolated from human bone marrow. Then, under special conditions, they are grown for 2 months, sometimes less. After that, they are introduced 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 joint tissue are restored. After a few months, a second injection of stem cells will be needed in the joint area. After 6 months after this procedure, we can speak precisely about the effect obtained, although the improvements are visible almost in the first days after the introduction of the cells.
Surgical treatment
An operative method of treating arthrosis of the joints is used when conservative methods do not bring the expected results: inflammation is not removed, pain is not stopped. The essence of this lies in introducing the necessary tools into the affected joint area and manipulating it, which helps to restore all the tissues and their functions. Sometimes this is not enough for a full recovery. Then a method like joint replacement is used. In this case, special metal or plastic plates are installed in place of the cartilage.
Disability from arthritis
Often, with this disease, a person is plagued by pain so intense that they are ready to demand that a disability be established. After all, these pains do not allow him to perform work and domestic functions qualitatively and in the proper volume. But doctors are not in a hurry to declare a disability, because with the correct treatment and the exact implementation of all recommendations, pain stops, inflammation subsides, and motor activity is restored. If the diagnosis is "1st degree arthrosis" or "2nd degree arthrosis", it is almost impossible to get a category.
Important! Deficiency is allowed only for irreversible joint deformity changes.
And yet, with advanced osteoarthritis, if it is impossible to remove even the symptoms of the disease, then there is hope to get a deficiency. But it will be temporary. You will have to undergo regular medical and social re-examination. If the patient underwent endoprosthetic surgery and their motor functions were fully restored, the deficiency will be removed.