One of the diseases of the joints is arthrosis. During this disease, the cartilage inside the joints is slowly destroyed. After a long period of time, various changes appear, the articular ends of the bones are rebuilt, the inflammatory process increases, and periarticular tissues are destroyed. Osteoarthritis is one of the most common joint diseases worldwide. Based on statistics, the disease affects more than 70% of people all over the planet. In terms of prevalence, arthrosis of the joints is second only to oncological and cardiovascular diseases. The older the person, the higher the likelihood of osteoarthritis. Men and women are equally affected by this disease. In addition, arthrosis can also develop in an able-bodied person over 30 years old.
Why does the disease appear
The development of arthrosis is associated with impaired metabolism in the joints. As a result, the cartilage loses its former elasticity. This may appear due to the complete or partial loss of proteoglycans, which are part of the cartilage. Deep cracks in the cartilage contribute to this phenomenon. In addition, doctors say that arthrosis is a consequence of both metabolic disorders and hormonal failure, trauma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis. The most common cause is an abnormal load on the joint, when the cartilage is not able to resist it.
Also, some factors contribute to the emergence and development of arthrosis:
- Transferred trauma. This includes dislocation, bruising, fracture, ligament rupture, etc.
- Violation of the metabolic processes.
- Excess body weight, as a result of which, an additional load is placed on the joints.
- The presence of an inflammatory process in the joint (with acute purulent arthritis).
- Advanced age.
- Non-compliance with proper nutrition.
- Frequent hypothermia.
- The presence of autoimmune diseases. These include lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis.
- With general intoxication of the body.
- The appearance of frequent colds.
- With syphilis, tuberculosis, encephalitis, gonorrhea.
- With diseases of the thyroid gland.
- If blood clotting is impaired.
Varieties of the disease
The most common type is knee osteoarthritis. The knee joint suffers. Such a diagnosis can be made to a person who has overweight, metabolic processes are disturbed, or severe stress has been suffered. The disease can develop for many years, and reaching the last stage, immobilization of the knee can occur.
Ankle arthritis occurs in the ankle joint. The development of the disease can be provoked by the resulting injury, sprain, dysplasia, gout, diabetes mellitus. In some cases, rheumatoid arthritis may be the causative factor. In most cases, the diagnosis is made to those people whose professional activities are associated with regular excessive stress on the ankles (dancers, athletes, women wearing high heels).
The presence of congenital defects of the shoulder joint or excessive load can provoke the occurrence of shoulder arthrosis. Increased chance of getting sick from a painter, plasterer, etc.
The presence of arthrosis of the hip joint is a severe form of the disease. The main provoking factor is age-related changes in the tissues of the joint. In most cases, such a diagnosis is made to those people whose age exceeds 45 years.
The development of cervical arthrosis occurs due to insufficient mobility of the cervical spine, obesity, and trauma. At risk are those people who have a sedentary job. The main symptoms of this type of arthrosis are limited joint mobility, dizziness, headache, and fainting. This is explained by the fact that the vertebral arteries that feed the brain are involved in the pathological process.
In spondylarthrosis, the joints and cartilage of the spine are affected. In most cases, such a diagnosis is made to people whose age exceeds 70 years. The main number of cases of such harm of arthrosis is observed in women, since with age their estrogen levels decrease.
How the disease manifests itself
The main symptom of arthrosis is pain when there is a load on the joints. The disappearance of this symptom occurs when the joint is calm. Pain in arthrosis has some peculiarity. There is a sharp pain or significant discomfort when performing any motor actions. The localization of pain is the place where the damaged joint is located. If you stop such movements, the pain disappears.
During sleep, a person has no unpleasant sensations. The condition for this is the adoption of an optimal body position. Pain at rest occurs only when the disease progresses. Such sensations are reminiscent of a toothache. During this period, a person cannot sleep. After this, the cartilage thins and the bone is exposed, as a result of which osteophytes grow. Acute pain does not leave a person, and intensifies in the presence of various factors.
Another indicative symptom of the disease is a crunch. It is heard due to the reduced softness of the rotation of the bone in the joint, friction occurs between them. This is the cause of the characteristic sound. The presence of a crunch is also inherent in other diseases, taking into account healthy joints. However, with arthrosis, a dry sound is heard. With the progression of the disease, such sounds become more vivid. In parallel with the crunch, a person experiences pain.
Osteoarthritis can be recognized by reduced mobility in the joint. The initial stage is characterized by the absence of such a symptom. However, with the progression of the disease, bone neoplasms sprout, as a result of which the joint space disappears. In a person, a limb is rendered harmless in the place where the joint is affected.
A characteristic sign of the disease arthrosis is the deformity of the joints. They are modified due to the growth of osteophytes on the surface of the bone and the presence of synovial fluid there. The deformity refers to a later symptom, when the disease has significantly affected the joints.
The disease proceeds with exacerbations or remissions, so it is difficult to independently determine arthrosis, based only on your own feelings. This means that a person should immediately visit a qualified clinician to clarify the diagnosis. In the medical center, the patient will be sent for an X-ray examination, due to which various degrees of the course of the disease are determined:
- At the first stage, there will be no osteophytes, there will be a slight narrowing of the joint space.
- The second stage is characterized by the formation of osteophytes.
- At the onset of the third stage, the joint space narrows, the presence of multiple osteophytes and the beginning of joint deformity are determined.
- At stage 4, the joint space is almost absent, multiple osteophytes and significant deformity are determined.
How to diagnose arthrosis
Diagnostic measures begin with a survey and examination of the patient. After that, the specialist prescribes an x-ray examination of the affected joint. In most cases, an X-ray image is taken in two projections. Due to this, a dystrophic change in the tissues is visualized, and it is also determined how affected the cartilage and adjacent bones are. In a patient with such a disease, there is a narrowing of the joint space, and deformation of the bone site. From such bones, bone growths, osteophytes, can be observed. In some cases, there may be a loss of stability in the joint, resulting in subluxations.
The first sign of arthrosis, which is visualized in the picture, is osteophytes. First, the articular surface, namely its edge, becomes sharp. Then its thickening occurs, and subsequently the presence of outgrowths and spikes is observed. Taking into account the obtained x-ray picture, the doctor makes the following conclusion:
- Doubtful arthrosis. This means that it was not possible to determine how narrowed the joint space was, however, the presence of small osteophytes was determined.
- The presence of mild arthrosis. Such a diagnosis means good visualization of osteophytes, but the narrowing of the joint space is questionable.
- The presence of moderate arthrosis. This can be diagnosed if there is a clear narrowing of the joint space, the presence of osteophytes is not visible. In some cases, if such a diagnosis is made, a bone deformity may be detected on an x-ray.
- The presence of severe arthrosis. With this diagnosis, the joint space is significantly narrowed, and large osteophytes are formed. There will also be complete deformity of the joint.
Lifestyle with arthritis:
- Relieve the damaged joint from excessive stress.
- Carefully observe the established orthopedic regimen.
- Use physical therapy.
- Take a physiotherapy course.
- Visit a sanatorium.
How to treat?
Medical method
The use of anti-inflammatory drugs. If you start therapeutic actions with an integrated approach, the course of the disease slows down, the quality of life of the patient improves significantly. Using drugs, you can relieve pain and eliminate the inflammatory process that occurs in the joint. In this case, the doctor prescribes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. An experienced doctor will not recommend the use of such a medicine orally. This can irritate the stomach walls. This means that the drug is best administered intravenously or intramuscularly. In some cases, as an adjuvant, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used as an ointment.
If the disease worsens, the patient is prescribed hormonal corticosteroids. They are administered intraarticularly. The introduction of hydrocortisone or diprospan is implied. As an external agent, they can prescribe the use of a special patch, ointment or tincture, the basis of which is hot pepper. In addition, chondroprotectors are included in the medical treatment of arthrosis. They restore cartilage and improve the quality of the synovial fluid. The duration of the course of therapeutic measures depends on the onset of improvement. If the expected result does not occur within 6 months, the drug is canceled. Protectors are used in parallel with preparations based on hyaluronic acid. Thanks to such drugs, a shell of cells is formed that contribute to the formation of cartilage of the joints. Effective treatment of arthrosis can supplement the intake of diacerein. It regenerates cartilage tissue. Improvement will come within two or four weeks.
Surgical methods
If conservative methods have not coped with the disease, the patient is scheduled for surgery. One of the methods of surgical intervention is a puncture. It serves as both a therapeutic and a diagnostic method. When performing a puncture, a needle is inserted into the affected joint, after which a small amount of fluid is taken. This liquid will be sent to the laboratory for analysis. Thanks to this method, the load is removed from the joint, a drug (corticosteroid) is injected.
Another surgical method is arthroscopy. The procedure involves inserting an arthroscope into the affected joint through small incisions. Carrying out such a procedure, it is assessed in what condition the joints are from the inside. During the surgical intervention, a qualified specialist removes unnecessary cartilage, the patient will not be tormented by pain.
Another method of surgical treatment is periarticular osteotomy. During the operation, the bones of the joint are filed and fixed in the required position. Thanks to this method, the load on the affected area is reduced and soreness is eliminated. The procedure is considered to be a fairly effective treatment for arthrosis, but it is used in rare cases. This is explained by the introduction of anesthesia and a long recovery period.
If the joint has undergone significant deformation and cannot be restored, the patient is scheduled for arthroplasty. This is a complex and costly operation. Prostheses can be made of ceramic, plastic or metal. After applying this method, the patient will have a long recovery period and pain. In some situations, this is the only way to help a patient with diagnosed arthrosis, otherwise complete immobility cannot be avoided. Using a high-quality prosthesis will extend its service life up to 15 years.
Physiotherapy methods
The shock wave method helps to rid the patient of the resulting osteophytes, or bone processes. Osteophytes are provocateurs of pain. With the help of waves, such outgrowths are softened, and after a certain period of time they will completely dissolve. In addition, there will be an improvement in the nutrition of the joint, metabolic processes are normalized. The effectiveness of this procedure has been proven at an early stage of arthrosis. For shock wave therapy, the patient must have a doctor's prescription. This is explained by the presence of multiple contraindications.
Another physiotherapeutic method includes myostimulation. Muscles are stimulated with electrical impulses. Myostimulation is prescribed for bedridden patients, or those who observe bed rest after an injury. Considering that the blood flow in the affected area is normalized and muscle tone is increased, this method is rarely used for arthrosis.
The use of phonophoresis involves the impact of an ultrasonic wave and a drug on the affected joint. The effectiveness of the procedures lies in the fact that the medicines enter the focus of inflammation. Another treatment for osteoarthritis is ozone therapy. With the help of ozone therapy, a gas mixture is injected into the affected joint. As a result of this, the patient gets rid of excruciating painful sensations, the inflammatory process decreases, the joint becomes more mobile, and blood circulates normally. This method consists of several treatment courses. The duration of treatment depends on how severe the stage of the disease is.
Other treatments
An effective method to combat arthrosis is the use of a physiotherapy complex. Performing special exercises, the patient normalizes blood flow in the affected area, strengthens the muscles. Classes begin with simple exercises, then the load increases.
The use of manual therapy and lymphatic drainage massage helps to reduce pain, improve blood supply to the affected joints. This method is good because even immobilized patients can use it.
An addition to the medical and physical culture complex is the use of mechanotherapy. In this case, various simulators are used. With the help of them, the load increases during classes, but the joints will not be damaged. Thanks to mechanotherapy, there will be an increase in blood circulation in the joints, the muscles will tone up.
When contacting a specialized center, the patient receives the most modern, safe and effective treatment, which will be selected individually, depending on the characteristics of his body. Subject to medical prescriptions, specialists guarantee a positive result at the same time with minimal financial costs for the patient.