How do you feel when you meet an elderly person with a cane on the street?Surely sympathy and also confidence that you will definitely not become like that!
No young and energetic man imagines his old age with illnesses and lameness;Rather, the imagination depicts a young, smiling retiree, traveling the world with healthy legs and a snow-white smile, like in photographs from foreign magazines.
But the disease is something insidious.And especially joint diseases.Going unnoticed, various ailments little by little destroy and deform the joints, manifesting one morning with pain and the inability to move normally.
Among all joint pathologies, judging by the number of requests for medical care, the main one is osteoarthritis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis of the knee joint).According to statistics, one in five inhabitants of the planet over 40 years of age suffers from gonarthrosis, and this disease “loves” women more than men.
What is osteoarthritis of the knee joint and is it possible to avoid it?Let's start with the definition of disease.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis of the knee joint) is a degenerative and dystrophic change in the articular cartilage.
It can be primary or secondary, that is, it occurs in the context of other diseases.
Causes of osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
Most often, gonarthrosis occurs due to:
- Traumatic injuries of the knee joint.
- Excess body weight.
- Increased physical activity, even when playing professional sports.
- Pre-existing diseases (usually arthritis of various etiologies).
- Weak ligamentous apparatus.
- Metabolic disorders.
How does osteoarthritis develop?
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is divided into grades 1, 2 and 3. Let's take a closer look at the distinctive features.
Symptoms of stage 1 osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
Gonarthrosis first manifests itself with pain that occurs when climbing stairs.A person feels discomfort in the knee joint, pain that makes it difficult to go down the stairs.In other situations, the pain almost does not arise and therefore the patient happily forgets about it or takes some therapeutic measure, completely trusting the advice of friends who “had it too.”
It is the frequency of pain that postpones the visit to the clinic until later, which leads to the transition of the disease to a second, more severe degree.
How does stage 2 disease manifest?
Stage 2 gonarthrosis is characterized not only by severe pain, but also by limited mobility in the joint.
Pain occurs most frequently, not only during exercise, but also at rest.
The patient finds it difficult to bend and straighten the knee, and a characteristic crunch is heard in the joint when moving.
On visual examination, swelling of the joint and slight deformation of the joint are observed.
It is patients with stage 2 gonarthrosis who come to the clinic, cannot cope with unbearable pain on their own and, suffering from limited mobility, go to a doctor.
Is grade 3 osteoarthritis synonymous with disability?
Stage 3 osteoarthritis of the knee joint is characterized by severe, constant pain in the joint and loss of mobility.X-ray examination shows dystrophic changes in the cartilage tissue and severe deformations of the joint.The so-called deforming osteoarthritis develops.
Osteoarthritis pain tends to intensify at night and becomes more intense in the early morning hours.
A patient with grade 3 osteoarthritis can only walk with the help of a cane, remember our old man from the introduction?This is exactly him.
Treatment tactics for osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
The osteoarthritis treatment process is a long process and requires perseverance and patience on the part of the patient.The basic principles of the treatment of gonarthrosis can be called:
- Systematicity.
- An integrated approach.
Osteoarthritis treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor.It is he who must give you recommendations on how and how to treat the disease, which must be followed very carefully.You can also add traditional methods to your prescriptions, but only after your doctor approves them.
The beginning of treatment for gonarthrosis, like any other disease, begins with the organization of a gentle regimen.With gonarthrosis, a gentle regimen is created for the diseased joint.Physical activity and prolonged walks are excluded as much as possible.In your diet you should limit the consumption of salt, sweets and fatty foods, and include more fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins in your diet.
Pharmacological treatment
- To relieve pain, drugs from the group of analgesics and antispasmodics are prescribed.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are very popular.Medicines in this group are not prescribed for long-term treatment due to the abundance of side effects.Therefore, long-acting tablets or injections and injections are most often used for treatment.NSAIDs alleviate the condition of patients, but do not eliminate the causes of gonarthrosis.Medical science has entrusted this mission to another group of drugs: chondroprotectors.
- The effect of chondroprotectors is based on restoring the normal production of synovial fluid and damaged cartilage tissue.Medications are very effective in the treatment of grade 1 and 2 gonarthrosis.
- Therapeutic ointments, gels, creams.They are applied topically, used for rubbing and compressing.The pharmacy chain offers a wide range of medications from this group;When purchasing, one should be guided not by the advertising popularity of a particular ointment, but by the recommendations of a specialist.
- In case of exacerbation of the disease, not only exercises are excluded, but also massages and physiotherapy.They cannot be used in the acute period due to increased pain.As soon as the pain disappears, massage, physiotherapy and physiotherapy methods should be added to the drug treatment.The following procedures have proven effective for the treatment of gonarthrosis:
- Laser.
- SMT.
- Electrophoresis.
- Magnetotherapy.
- Ozokerite.
Unfortunately, at stage 3 of the disease, treatment with chondroprotectors has no effect.
Traditional medicine and gonarthrosis.
In folk medicine, there are a large number of different recipes for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
Decoctions of medicinal herbs:
- cranberries,
- blueberries,
- thyme,
- corn silk,
- golden mustache
Taken orally and used for compresses.There are also methods that use rubbing alcohol tinctures:
- bitter pepper tincture,
- fly agaric tincture,
- cochineal tincture.
Compresses with medicinal bile, apple cider vinegar, cabbage and honey are also used in folk medicine.There is even a method of treating sore joints using raw fish, which is tied to the sore spot overnight.But we don't think there are many supporters of using this recipe.
Important!Whichever folk remedy you choose, be sure to discuss the appropriateness of using them with your doctor!
How to prevent the development of gonarthrosis - preventive measures
Preventing the onset of osteoarthritis of the knee joint is not difficult if you think about it from an early age.How are prevention rules formed?Very simple.Read the causes of the disease and do everything possible to avoid them, namely:
- Do not overeat, follow a gentle diet and the principles of proper nutrition.
- We distribute physical activity intelligently.
- Don't be too cold.
- Treat any illness in a timely manner.
- Avoid injuries.
- Do gymnastics.
- Contact a specialist in a timely manner.
At first glance, the recommendations are quite simple.And if you follow them, gonarthrosis will not threaten you.And you don't have to worry about advanced age;After all, at the beginning of the article we agreed to travel around the world on our own two feet.