Arthrosis is a chronic disease in which there is a lesion in the structure of the connective tissues 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 65 years of age, since one of the factors contributing to the formation of this condition is the natural aging process in the body.
Causes of the disease
Arthrosis is commonly referred to as joint disease and the destruction of cartilage tissue. This is due to the deterioration of blood circulation, metabolism in the cartilage, trauma. They lose their elasticity, become brittle, deformed. The joint fluid is practically not produced, the joints cease to slide during movement and friction occurs between them. These factors cause a sensation of pain, inflammation begins.
Causes of arthrosis:
- Great stress on the joints. Osteoarthritis often occurs in athletes and in people with heavy physical labor. Excess weight also significantly increases the load.
- Bad nutrition. In order for 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 quantities with food.
- Diseases such as scoliosis or flat feet also negatively affect the joints. Since the load is distributed unevenly due to a defect in the muscles, the joints suffer. In the joint where the load was greater, arthrosis will begin to develop.
- Cartilage injuries do not go unnoticed. They disrupt metabolism, elasticity and lead to inflammation.
- Prolonged stress disrupts the metabolism of the whole body and joints. in particular, the muscles are in tension. All this leads to arthritis.
- Age. 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 arthrosis. These include: tuberculosis, purulent arthritis, syphilis.
- Joint dysplasia caused by abnormal formation of joints in the womb.
Several of these traits, such as metabolism and certain diseases, are often classified as a separate group: hereditary causes.
Degrees of development of arthrosis
Arthrosis does not occur suddenly, without causes and symptoms. In its development, 3 stages can be traced:
- Pain begins to occur after exercise, walking long distances. After rest, the pain disappears. At this stage, cartilage begins to break down, synovial fluid is secreted in insufficient quantities. 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 on the joints. When the joint moves, a crunch is heard. Some swelling of the surrounding tissues is visible.
- The muscular apparatus is significantly weakened, the synovial fluid is not released due to impaired metabolism, the cartilage is deformed. Bone growths during movement cause unbearable pain. The swelling of the periarticular tissues becomes more pronounced, and the temperature is high.
Unfortunately, many go to the doctor only when arthrosis reaches grade 3. People do not pay attention or try to treat only the symptoms, but not the disease itself. Although the treatment will be much more effective and faster if you start it at the first sign of the disease.
The main types of disease
Depending on the area in which the joint is affected, there are several types of arthrosis:
- Gonarthrosis is inflammation of the articular tissue of the knee. Most often occurs in people with a large body weight or with varicose veins. Injuries are also one of the main reasons.
- Arthrosis of the ankle joint - occurs most often due to injuries, dislocations. Athletes and people engaged in physical labor are very susceptible to this type of arthrosis. 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 often, drug treatment at this stage is ineffective. The way out is joint prosthetics.
- Osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint occurs when it is worn out due to heavy loads, injuries, disruption of the endocrine system. It is characterized by severe pain in the shoulder, joint mobility becomes limited. One of the main methods of treatment is exercise therapy.
- Spondyloarthrosis - arthrosis of the spine. Most often occurs in people with sedentary work and with loads on the back (for example, movers). Overweight people with poor posture also suffer from spondylarthrosis, as their cartilage wears out ahead of time, microtrauma and inflammation form. 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 anomalies of development, overweight, low physical activity, injuries. It is dangerous because it causes the loss of some reflexes, leads to dizziness, fainting and high blood pressure. Treatment of this type of arthrosis should be complex: medication, physiotherapy. In addition, to reduce the load on the cervical region, it is recommended to wear a special collar. It also contributes to a slight stretching of the muscles.
For diagnosis, you need to contact an arthrologist or rheumatologist.
Which doctor is treating?
How to treat arthrosis, only a doctor will tell. But which doctor to turn to for arthrosis depends on the extent to which the disease has reached.
- If a person has arthrosis of the 1st degree, pain is just beginning, and there are no serious changes in the joint, then a rheumatologist should take up the treatment. He will prescribe the necessary drugs and procedures.
- When the pain becomes more intense and prolonged, changes in internal tissues begin, arthrosis of the 2nd degree occurs, then you need to contact an orthopedist. He, in addition to medicines, can prescribe the implementation of a physiotherapy complex and a course of massage.
- Then, when arthrosis is started and has already reached the 3rd degree, only a surgeon can help. Otherwise, the patient is at risk of disability. To restore the destroyed cartilage and joints is sometimes possible only by resorting to surgical intervention.
In the event that arthrosis occurs after a joint injury, then you should contact a traumatologist. Depending on the injuries, the traumatologist may refer the patient to other profiling specialists.
Prevention
To avoid arthrosis, you must take the following measures:
- monitor your diet, make it as useful as possible;
- prevent the formation of excess body weight;
- properly 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 disturbance.
Such prevention of arthrosis will help to avoid not only diseases of the musculoskeletal system, but also other systems and organs.
Treatment of arthrosis
Each person who is diagnosed with this, first of all wants to get an answer to the question, is it possible to cure arthrosis? Treatment of arthrosis is always a whole range of medicines, procedures, exercises, folk methods and a huge amount of time. Unfortunately, arthrosis cannot be cured in a two-week course of medication. Even if the pain subsides, and some signs of arthrosis begin to disappear, this will not mean the onset of a complete recovery.
Important! Treatment can last from six months or longer. Therefore, you should be patient and steadfastly follow all the doctor's prescriptions.
Medical therapy
Treatment of arthrosis with drugs takes place in stages. Each stage is aimed at solving a specific problem:
- Pain relief and inflammation relief. Before starting treatment directly to 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 into the area of the diseased joint. Corticosteroids may also be prescribed. They relieve inflammation (if tablets and ointments have not coped with this) and restore the mobility of 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 the entire course of treatment indicated above. Additional procedures and methods are needed.
Therapeutic and physical culture complex, gymnastics and massage for arthrosis
Exercise therapy is an integral part of the treatment of arthrosis. The instructor, based on the diagnosis and recommendations of the attending physician, draws up an individual training program. Since there are several types of arthrosis, the exercises will be directed to different muscle groups, to the development of different joints and ligaments. When compiling a set of exercises, the age of a person suffering from arthrosis, the presence of overweight 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 removal of pain and inflammation.
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 better to warm it up a little before each load on the sore joint, making light movements up and down, to the sides, turning in a circle.
It is also recommended to start a massage course after pain and inflammation relief. All movements should be light, stroking, without undue effort and pressure.
Folk methods of treatment
Alternative methods are not a panacea for arthrosis, one cannot hope for a cure using only traditional medicine. They are an excellent addition to conservative treatment, but not an independent species.
The most effective folk remedies for arthrosis are compresses and rubbing. The following compresses have proven themselves best:
- A compress of cabbage juice or cabbage leaf smeared with honey.
- Compress from the root of horseradish, chopped on a grater.
- Compress of boiled oatmeal.
- A compress of freshly mashed potatoes.
Among the rubbing as the most effective are the following:
- Rubbing with honey, vinegar (or alcohol), iodine and glycerin. Improves blood circulation, relieves pain.
- Rubbing of raw chicken eggs, turpentine and ammonia. Apply 3-4 days before bedtime, no more.
- Rubbing from propolis and vegetable oil (sunflower, olive).
- Alcoholic infusion of elecampane roots.
With arthrosis, some decoctions and tinctures are used orally. They help to improve metabolism and supply the necessary substances to the body of a person suffering from arthrosis. Particularly popular are:
- decoction of bay leaf;
- a mixture of garlic and olive (corn) oil;
- a mixture of calcined cottage cheese (home-made), honey and horseradish root.
Taking a bath with hay dust has a positive effect on sore joints. It is also useful to perform exercises to develop muscles and ligaments.
Important! Before starting treatment with medicinal herbs, you need to make sure that there are no allergic reactions to the components of decoctions, tinctures and compresses.
Treatment with stem cells
The human body contains stem cells. The unique ability of these cells is that they can transform into any cells in the body. This property was taken as the basis for the development of a method for the treatment of arthrosis of the joints with stem cells. The method consists in the fact that a certain amount of stem cells is isolated from the 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 articular tissue are restored. After a few months, a second injection of stem cells into the joint area will be required. After 6 months after this procedure, we can accurately talk about the effect obtained, although improvements are visible almost in the first days after the introduction of cells.
Surgical treatment
An operative method of treating arthrosis of the joints is resorted to when conservative methods do not bring the expected results: inflammation is not removed, pain is not stopped. The essence of these lies in the introduction of the necessary tools into the area of the affected joint and manipulation, which helps to restore all tissues and their functions. Sometimes this is not enough for a full recovery. Then a method such as joint replacement is used. In this case, special plates made of metal or plastic are installed in place of the cartilage.
Disability due to arthritis
Often, with this disease, a person is tormented by such severe pain that he is ready to demand the establishment of disability. After all, these pains do not allow him to perform work and household functions qualitatively and in the proper volume. But doctors are in no hurry with the statement of disability, because with the right treatment and the exact implementation of all recommendations, the pain stops, inflammation decreases, and motor activity is restored. If the diagnosis is "arthrosis of the 1st degree" or "arthrosis of the 2nd degree", then it is almost impossible to get a category.
Important! Disability is allowed only for irreversible deformity changes in the joints.
And yet, with advanced arthrosis, if it is impossible to remove even the symptoms of the disease, there is a hope of getting a disability. But it will be temporary. You will have to regularly undergo re-examination in the medical and social examination. If the patient has undergone endoprosthetics surgery, and his motor functions are fully restored, then the disability will be removed.