How do you feel when you meet an old man with a cane on the street?Undoubted sympathy, but also the belief that it will not necessarily happen!
A single young, energetic person does not imagine his age with diseases and confusion;On the contrary, the images of imagination, a young, smiling pensioner traveling the world with healthy legs and a snow-white smile, as in foreign magazines.
But disease is an insidious thing.And especially joint diseases.Careless, various diseases creep in, little diseases destroy little and little joints destroy themselves, a beautiful morning pain and inability to move normally.
Among all joint pathologies, according to the number of requests for medical help, the leading one is arthrosis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis of the knee joint).According to statistics, every fifth inhabitant of the planet over the age of 40 suffers from gonarthrosis, and this disease "loves" more than men.
What is arthrosis of the knee joint and is it possible to prevent it?Let's start with the definition of the disease.
Arthrosis of the Knee Joint (Gonarthrosis, Osteoarthritis of the Knee Joint) is a degenerative-dystrophic change in the articular cartilage.
It can be primary or secondary, that is, it occurs against the background of other diseases.
Causes of arthrosis of the knee joint
Most often, there are generations due to gonarthrosis:
- Traumatic injuries of the knee joint.
- Excess body weight.
- Increased physical activity, including when playing professional sports.
- Pre-existing diseases (generally arthritis of various etiologies).
- Weak ligamentous apparatus.
- Metabolic disorders.
How does arthrosis develop?
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is divided into 1, 2 and 3 classes.Take a closer look at the different features.
Symptoms of arthrosis of the 1st stage of the knee joint
Gonarthrosis first manifests itself with pain that occurs when walking up the stairs.A person feels discomfort in the knee joint, pain that makes it difficult to go down the stairs.In other cases, the pain almost does not arise, and therefore the patient happily forgets about it or convinces his therapeutic measures only on the advice of friends who have "it".
This is the frequency of occurrence of pain that postpones a visit to the clinic, which leads to the transition of the disease to a more serious, 2nd degree.
How does stage 2 disease manifest itself?
Stage 2 Gonarthrosis is characterized not only by severe pain, but also by limited mobility in the joint.
Pain occurs more often, not only during exercise, but also at rest.
It becomes difficult for the patient to bend and straighten the knee, and a characteristic sound is heard in the joint when moving.
In the visual examination, swelling of the joint and slight deformation of the joint is noted.
Patients with stage 2 gecartosis who are patients in the clinic, who themselves cannot cope with excruciating pain and suffer from limited mobility, turn to the doctor.
Is arthrosis of the 3rd degree synonymous with disability?
Stage 3 arthrosis of the knee joint is characterized by constant severe pain in the joint and loss of mobility.X-ray examination shows dystrophic changes in the cartilage tissue and severe deformation of the joint.The so-called deformation arthrosis develops.
Osteoarthritis pain tends to intensify at night and is most intense in the early morning hours.
A patient with 3 degrees can walk only with the help of a cane, can he remember our old man from the entrance?That's exactly it.
Treatment tactics for arthrosis of the knee joint
The treatment process for arthrosis is a long process and requires patience and patience from the patient.The main principles of gonarthrosis treatment can be called:
- System.
- An integrated approach.
Treatment of arthrosis should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.It should be followed very carefully, which should give recommendations on how and how to treat the disease.You can add traditional methods to your medical prescriptions, but only after your attending physician approves them.
Like any other disease, the beginning of treatment for gonarthrosis begins with the organization of a gentle regimen.A gentle regimen is created for the patient joint with gonarthrosis.Physical activity and prolonged walking are excluded as much as possible.You should limit the consumption of salt, sweets and fatty foods in your diet and include more fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins in your diet.
Drug treatment
- To relieve pain, drugs from the group of analgesics and antispasmodics are prescribed.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are very popular.Drugs in this group are not prescribed for long courses due to the abundance of side effects.Therefore, long-acting tablets or injections and injections are more often used for treatment.NSAIDS relieve the condition of patients, but do not eliminate the causes of gonarthrosis.This mission has been assigned by medical sciences to another group of drugs - chondroprotectors.
- The effect of chondroprotective drugs is based on the restoration of normal production of synovial fluid and damaged cartilage tissue.Medicines are very effective in the treatment of classes 1 and 2.
- Therapeutic ointments, gels, creams.They are applied frequently, used for rubbing and compresses.The pharmacy chain offers a large number of drugs from this group;When buying, you should be guided by the advertising popularity of a certain ointment, but by the recommendations of a specialist.
- In case of exacerbation of the disease, not only exercise, but also massage and physiotherapy are excluded.It cannot be used during the acute period due to increased pain.Pain, massage, exercise therapy and physiotherapeutic methods are added to drug treatment.The following procedures have proven themselves well for the treatment of gonarthrosis:
- Laser.
- Smt.
- Electrophoresis.
- Magnetotherapy.
- Ozokerite.
Unfortunately, in the 3rd stage of the disease, treatment with chondroprotectors has no effect.
Traditional medicine and gonarthrosis
In folk medicine, there are many different recipes for the treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint.
Application of medicinal plants:
- lingonberries,
- cranberry,
- thyme,
- corn silk,
- golden mustache
Taken orally and used for compresses.There are also methods using alcohol tinctures:
- hot pepper tincture,
- Tincture of flying agaric,
- Woodlice tincture.
Medical compresses with bile, apple cider vinegar, cabbage and honey compresses are also used in folk medicine.There's even a way to clear curls using raw fish that's tied to the sore spot overnight!But we do not think that there will be many helpers to use this recipe.
It is important!Whatever you choose, be sure to discuss their use with your doctor!
How to prevent the development of gonarthrosis - preventive measures
If you think from a young age, it is not difficult to prevent the formation of arthrosis of the knee joint.How are prevention rules created?Very simple.Read the causes of the disease and do everything to prevent them, namely:
- Do not break, do not stick to the principles of a soft diet and proper nutrition.
- We distribute physical activity wisely.
- Don't be too cold.
- Treat any disease in time.
- Avoid injury.
- He does gymnastics.
- Contact a specialist in time.
At first glance, the recommendations are quite simple.If you follow them, gonarthrosis will not threaten you.You don't have to worry about getting old - after all, at the beginning of the article, we agreed to walk around the world on our own feet!