Knee articulation arthrosis is a disease of the slowly progressive inflammatory degerative joint. Most of the time, this disease is observed in medium and elderly people and is the most common cause of skeletal-muscular pain in the knee and disability joint zone. From this publication, you will learn how to treat knee articulation arthrosis.
General description
In the knee joint, the femur and tibia are covered with joint cartilage. There is also a second type of cartilage fabric, forming the flames, which act as layers or shock absorbers. The joint fluid adds additional protection and smoothness. Osteoarthritis begins to develop if the cartilage that protects bones is disturbed and damaged as a result of which the bone surface is exposed and the joint lubricant is no longer produced in the amount required. In this case, the complete and partial loss of cartilage can be observed. This process is often isolated by a particular area in the joint; In such cases, it can be caused by lesions and chronic wear of the joint.
The deforming arthrosis of the knee joint is characterized by the process of destroying its cartilage shells. In the future, the closest tissues, such as ligaments and bones, may also include in the process. Gonarthrosis, or knee joint arthrosis, due to cartilage loss, is accompanied by an increase in rigidity and joint deformation. Bone (osteophytes), which are a pathological growth of bones, can sometimes even be felt from the outside. Bone surfaces are deformed and not closer and do not fit, as in healthy joints. As a result, the restriction of movements increases.
At the same time, pain occurs, which is especially strong when moving after prolonged immobility, for example, in the morning, as well as at night, which ends up leading to a decrease in quality of life. Stress can also cause pain in the affected joint. An indirect sign of pathological change of cartilage is the visible narrowing of the joint cavity between femoral and tibia in the x -ray image.
Reasons
There are several reasons for arthrosis: this is the process of aging and wear of the cartilage, overweight, injury and autoimmune diseases in which immunity attacks its own joint tissue, causing inflammation and its subsequent destruction. An example is rheumatoid arthritis, in which both joints are affected at the same time and deficiency develops. Some experts combine concepts such as arthritus and knee articulation arthrosis, the symptoms of these diseases are similar and are usually caused by the same reason.
An decrease in blood supply to femoral head can also cause tension deformation; In this case, they talk about aseptic necrosis. Inadequate knee joint formation in early childhood can lead to the displacement of the mechanical axis and the degeneration of the knee joint. Post -traumatic arthrosis is secondary and develops as a result of damage to menisci, front or later crosses.
Symptoms
There are three degrees of knee articulation arthrosis, each of which has its own signs. In the first stage, there is a slight pain, discomfort at a painful point and periodically emerging swelling. The second degree is accompanied by an increase in symptoms, the appearance of crispness and a limitation of mobility. When the painful sensations practically do not leave a person, and the cartilage is completely destroyed, the disease goes into arthrosis of the third degree knee.
Pain for arthrosis may appear suddenly, but most of the time it develops slowly. A person may notice pain in the morning after leaving bed. The knees can hurt when climbing the stairs, or when you have to knee, and often the pain occurs only during a walk. For climate -sensitive people, climate change can also cause joint pain.
Swelling is a consequence of inflammation, which periodically increases with arthrosis. Edema may also be associated with the formation of bone spurs or the accumulation of excess fluid in the knee. They can be more pronounced after a long period of inaction, for example, in the morning or after a long work area. The skin can be reddish and hot when touching. If chronic joint inflammation occurs, pain removal and edema is generally achieved by taking anti -inflammatory drugs.
Loss of stability develops over time due to the weakening of the muscles and the instability of the entire system. From time to time, situations arise when a person is simply not able to double or completely straighten his leg in his knee. This symptom is usually accompanied by high school arthrosis. A crisis is felt when moving because the cartilage has lost its original softness and the necessary amount of synovial lubrication. In the later stages, a crew sound can be caused by the fact that bone spurs rub when they move.
The limited range of movements can be seen by climbing the stairs or during exercise. Many are forced to resort to the help of walkers or sticks to move. Knee joint deformation is perhaps the most terrible symptom of arthrosis, as it indicates irreversible joint changes, transforming a person into a person with disabilities. The knees can be transformed to each other inside, just like out. Knee deformation is almost imperceptible to significant.
Diagnosis
The definition of knee joint osteoarthritis begins with the physician's physical examination, the study of medical history and the conversation with the patient. Be sure to pay attention to the doctor who most often causes pain and tell us about the cases of the disease in the family if any.
Additional diagnosis is made using:
- Radiography, which can show the presence of bone spur and changes in cartilage;
- Magnetic Resonance;
- Blood tests allow to identify autoimmune disorders.
How to treat knee articulation arthrosis, what medications are needed for this? Look for answers to these questions even more.
The principles of treatment
The standard treatment of such diseases such as knee joint arthrosis is mainly intended to eliminate pain and remove functional restrictions. It is worth knowing that painkillers only weaken symptoms, but are not able to affect the course of the disease and restore damaged cartilage. For treatment, narcotic painkillers, non -esteroid anti -inflammatory drugs, slowly acting gold preparations, corticosteroids, methotrexate etc. are used. .
In addition, surgical intervention may be required, as well as physical therapy and physiotherapeutic procedures. Knee articulation gymnastics helps significantly in treatment, the exercises are selected by the assistant doctor. Despite the fact that, in modern pharmacology, the active research and development of the most effective drugs and at the same time for the treatment of arthrosis are underway, most drugs still have their side effects and with prolonged use interrupts the normal functioning of systems and organs.
Drug treatment
The drug arthrosis drug therapy provides three main directions:
- the use of non -non -esteroid anti -inflammatory drugs needed to relieve pain and reduce the intensity of the inflammatory process in tissues;
- Take medications for cartilage restoration, which includes chondroprotectors: glucosamine and chondroitin;
- The use of creams and ointments in the complex therapy of deformed arthrosis.
In combination with physiotherapy and manual therapy, taking medications allows you to decrease the process of destruction of joint cartilage, accelerate cartilage tissue regeneration and restore normal limb function.
The main objective of drug treatment is the elimination of pain, improving cartilage nutrition, activating recovery processes, increasing joint mobility and normalization of blood circulation in the knee.
Nesteroid drugs
The most common for the treatment of arthrosis is a non -esteroid anti -inflammatory such as diclofenac, indomethacin, piroxykam, ketoprofen and others. They are used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation, but long -term treatment with these medications is not recommended, as the medications in this group have undesirable side effects, including the negative effect on gastric mucosa and intestines, the effect of kidney, liver and cardiovascular system. However, each medicine has its own characteristics. And recently, funds with a minimal risk to the patient's health began to be developed.
Moreover, despite the need to use these tools, some studies have found that NSAIDs are able to lead to a decrease in proteoglycan production, dehydrating the tissue of cartilage, so these medications should be taken strictly according to the prescription of the doctor and under their control. The frequency of the side effects of NSAIDs increases with their prolonged use, which acts as a necessity for many arthrosis patients. Experts recommend choosing selective anti -inflammatory drugs for long -term long -term use, having fewer side effects and no negative effect on cartilage metabolism.
Most non -esteroid anti -inflammatory drugs are produced in different forms: in the form of capsules or compresses, in the form of a solution for injections and ointments or gels for local external use.
Restoring the cartilage
For nutrition and regeneration of cartilage to its tissues, constant ingestion of compounds such as chondroprotectors - glucosamine and chondroitin is required. These are useful substances for people suffering from knee osteoarthritis. Their reception should be performed for a long time, from six months or more, only in this case you can count on a positive therapeutic effect. Condroprotectors improve the quality and amount of synovial fluid, unlike NSAIDs, increase proteoglycan synthesis and contribute to cartilage plate regeneration. However, due to the useful properties of these compounds, they should not be considered as the main treatment of arthrosis. Deformed arthrosis of knee joint requires the use of chondroitin and glucosamine preparations for at least 1, 5 years. It is also taken into account that they are not able to restore a completely destroyed cartilage.
Ointments and creams
The treatment of a disease such as knee joint arthrosis should include the local use of gels and ointments. These forms of dosage should not rely as the only therapy option, their use should be considered as the addition necessary to receive NSAIDs and chondroprotectors. Such medications significantly reduce discomfort, pain, swelling, improve joint mobility.
This effect is explained by the fact that blood penetration through the skin, ointments and creams improve blood circulation in the joint, accelerate metabolism in cartilage and therefore its regeneration.
Comprimes
Applications for osteoarthritis have a greater effect than applying ointments. For therapeutic compresses, the Diexide tool is often prescribed, which has a good anti -inflammatory and analgesic effect, penetrates well on the tissue. Bishophytes are also effective, accelerating metabolic processes in cartilage.
Injections
Within the knee joint, synovial fluid is very viscous, this ensures the absence of friction of the tissue. An important part of this lubricant is hyaluronic acid that connects proteoglycans to stabilize the structure of the cartilage tissue. In patients with arthrosis, the level of this compound in synovial fluid is significantly reduced as a result of which the latter becomes less viscous, friction increases.
Knee injections of hyaluronic acid -based drugs can decrease the progression of osteoarthritis, but only half of the people with this diagnosis receive symptomatic relief. The course of injections is usually three weeks, while every seven days an injection is performed. After six months, procedures are recommended to repeat.
Popular remedies
Knee articulation arthrosis provides an integrated treatment approach, and recipes for traditional medicine act as additional therapy. Means such as a decoction of onion bark, an infusion of lion tooth leaves, a mixture of aloe, vodka and honey in equal volumes, nightclub with honey salt and many others deserve attention. It is also recommended to eat more jam and jam.
Replacement of the articulation
If all the above treatment methods have not brought the result, the operation to replace the joint with an endoprhesis will be shown. The main objective of the operation is to restore the natural mechanical axis of the leg and the complete release of pain and discomfort. In this case, part of the board or the entire joint can be replaced. The constant improvement of surgical equipment and the quality of the implants have made this procedure quite successful and widespread.