Osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis) is a disease of the joints that leads to their destruction.It affects 10% of the world's population.
When osteoarthritis is diagnosed, the symptoms are severe and treatment of the disease must be comprehensive.
It is necessary to reduce stress, normalize nutrition, eliminate inflammation and relieve muscle spasms.What are the characteristics of osteoarthritis, how to determine its occurrence and what treatment to choose?
What is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis of the joints is a degenerative change 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 why this happens 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 thinner, the joint loses strength, and the bone tissue fills with salts and growths (to compensate for the strength).
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:
- Osteoarthritis of the 1st degree - has no visible symptoms, except for a slight crunch 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;
- 3rd degree osteoarthritis is called acute form of the disease.Acute osteoarthritis is accompanied by the appearance of joint deformities and limited mobility.
Which joints does osteoarthritis affect?
Deformity 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.
With coxarthrosis, the hip joints are affected (the cause of coxarthrosis is often 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 polyarthritis.
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 polyarthritis spreads asymmetrically, affecting different bone joints in different ways.Once polyarthritis is diagnosed, the duration of treatment varies.
Causes of osteoarthritis
The formation of osteoarthritis is favored by two reasons: stress and lack of proper nutrition, which provides vitamins and minerals for tissue restoration.Every person's joints are subject to stress.For athletes and dancers, during physical work, the load on the legs is greater, which means that bone joints wear out faster and require high-quality nutrition.With a calm lifestyle, the supporting apparatus wears out more slowly, but also requires periodic tissue renewal.
Therefore, the main condition for the destruction and deformation of the joints is malnutrition and the inability to absorb useful components, which is often due to metabolic disorders.
We list the factors that contribute to joint wear and metabolic disorders:
- Muscle weakness and inappropriate joint loading.Weakness in one or more muscles increases the load on the joint and distributes it unevenly within the bony joint.In addition, inappropriate muscle load occurs with flat feet and scoliosis, so with these "harmless" diseases, cartilage tissue wears out with age and osteoarthritis appears.
The risk of osteoarthritis increases with intense physical activity.
If daily loads exceed the capabilities of bone tissue, they formmicrotrauma.Thickenings appear at the sites of injury, which develop over time and deform the joint;
- Metabolic disorders (gastrointestinal diseases - bile stagnation, dysbacteriosis, gastritis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, metabolic disease - diabetes);
- Psychosomatic causes - psychosomatics of osteoarthritis 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 poor formation of the bone apparatus, poor digestion - which is the basis for the development of osteoarthritis in older people).
Osteoarthritis is a disease of worn joints that have lost a significant amount of minerals and their ability to resist stress and destruction.
Therefore, with age, susceptibility to disease increases.After age 70, osteoarthritis is diagnosed in one in two retirees.Since the maximum load falls on the legs (a person moves - walks, stands, runs, jumps), this is where the first signs of osteoarthritis are formed.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis
Joint diseases 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 the 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, choosing a comfortable position for the leg and joint.In this sense, osteoarthritis differs from arthritis, in which, on the contrary, it hurts, more often at night, when resting, and less painful during the day, when a person is "pacing back and forth."
At the beginning of the disease, pain appears periodically (with uncomfortable movement or position).As the disease progresses, the pain is felt more often and becomes stronger.It gets to the point that rest does not bring relief, the joints hurt even when resting.As at this time blood circulation is already impaired, the joint becomes “sensitive” to climatic changes (“twisting”, hurts).
Symptom #2: cracking
The crunch occurs due to the loose mutual arrangement of the bones of the diseased joint relative to each other.
However, slight cracking sounds are also possible in healthy joint capsules (with weak ligaments, with hereditarily mobile joints).
Tightening in osteoarthritis is characterized by growth.Over time, it intensifies, becomes stronger and more distinct.
Symptom #3: joint deformation and reduced mobility
This symptom appears as the disease progresses.It progresses with increased pain and is associated with the growth of salt accumulations, which prevent the joint from fully bending and straightening.The deformity becomes visible in later stages of the disease.First, the joint swells, then “bumps” appear, an unhealthy curvature is formed, “twisting” of the joint capsule.
Treatment of joints suffering from osteoarthritis
Treatment of osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis) is based on two postulates: eliminating stress and providing the joints with adequate nutrition.How to treat osteoarthritis to obtain lasting improvement and stop the destruction of cartilage and degeneration of bone tissue?The treatment of deforming osteoarthritis uses a complex approach.The patient is prescribed tablets and injections, compresses and physiotherapy.
If osteoarthritis is diagnosed, treatment cannot be unilateral.
You cannot simply nourish the cartilage tissue with chondroprotectors or simply relax the muscles.Unilateral measures will not make it possible to deal with such a serious illness.
How to treat osteoarthritis correctly?During treatment, several therapeutic areas are selected:
- Drug therapy: pills, injections, blockages.For osteoarthritis, treatment with tablets, powders and capsules provides the body with chondroprotectors.Chondroitin preparations improve the synthesis of collagen, which nourishes and restores cartilage tissue.These are glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.They are produced in the form of tablets for osteoarthritis, capsules or powders.They help in the early stages of the disease and lose their 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 containing anti-inflammatory and analgesic components – blockages – are also prescribed.And injections into the joint.In case of osteoarthritis, with their help, gels are introduced into the bone joint, simulating intra-articular fluid, as well as pain relievers and anti-inflammatory substances.
Injections into the joint ensure that the medication reaches the center of inflammation.
The use of such injections allows you to reduce the number of tablets for osteoarthritis.Also, vitamin-mineral complexes are prescribed to nourish the tissues;
- Exercise therapy.For osteoarthritis, the attending physician selects a series of gymnastic exercises to perform independently at home.You can learn how to perform them during exercise therapy classes at the clinic.
Gymnastics for osteoarthritis helps restore muscle tone and eliminate one of the causes of the disease - weakness of muscle fibers;
- Physiotherapeutic treatment.This includes 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 foods.When osteoarthritis is diagnosed, the course of the disease depends on diet.For osteoarthritis, the diet excludes all nightshade plants (potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplants).In addition, nutrition for osteoarthritis limits alcohol, sugar, baked goods and confectionery;
- Using additional amplifiers(orthopedic corsets to support the joints - orthoses);
- Alternative treatments.These include acupuncture (acupressure on reflex points that activate blood circulation in certain parts of the body), homeopathic treatments and hirudotherapy.
To successfully treat osteoarthritis, it is necessary to apply all of the listed procedures and measures for several months (from 4 to 7).
Who treats osteoarthritis
Which doctor specializes in the treatment of osteoarthritis?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, mastering conservative and surgical treatment methods, an unfortunately rare specialty;
- Orthopedist – most often works with patients on an outpatient basis, but in specialized research institutes, orthopedic surgeons perform surgical treatments;
- The therapist and surgeon are doctors available in any clinic;they are the ones you should contact in order to receive a referral for an initial examination and treatment.
Treatment of osteoarthritis with folk remedies
What can you do yourself?If osteoarthritis is diagnosed, treatment with folk home remedies 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 complete healthy menu with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and bacteria (fermented dairy products), carbohydrates, fats and proteins;
- Control of 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 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 maintain a healthy joint than to restore cartilage tissue after its destruction.