How do you feel when you pass an elderly person with a cane on the street?Definitely compassion and also the confidence that you will definitely not become like that!
Not a single young, energetic person imagines their old age with illnesses and lameness;Rather, the imagination imagines a youthful, smiling pensioner traveling around the world on healthy legs and with a snow-white smile, like in the photo in foreign magazines.
But illness is an insidious thing.And especially joint diseases.Various ailments gradually creep in unnoticed, destroying and deforming the joints and manifesting themselves one fine morning in pain and the inability to move normally.
Among all joint diseases, judging by the number of requests for medical help, arthrosis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis, arthrosis of the knee joint) is the leading.According to statistics, every fifth inhabitant of the earth over 40 suffers from gonarthrosis, and this disease “loves” women more than men.
What is osteoarthritis of the knee joint and can it be avoided?Let's start with the definition of illness.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis, arthrosis 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 osteoarthritis of the knee joint
Most often, gonarthrosis occurs due to:
- Traumatic injuries to the knee joint.
- Overweight.
- Increased physical activity, including in professional sports.
- Previous illnesses (mostly arthritis of various origins).
- Weak ligaments.
- Metabolic disorders.
How does osteoarthritis occur?
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is divided into grades 1, 2 and 3.Let's take a closer look at the specifics.
Symptoms of stage 1 osteoarthritis of the knee joint
Gonarthrosis initially manifests itself as pain that occurs when climbing stairs.A person feels discomfort in the knee joint, pain that makes climbing stairs difficult.In other situations, pain almost does not occur and therefore the patient tends to forget about it or takes his own therapeutic measures, completely relying on the advice of friends who have “had it too”.
It is the frequency of occurrence of pain that postpones a visit to the clinic until a later date, which leads to the transition of the disease to a more serious 2nd degree.
How does the disease manifest itself in stage 2?
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 crunch is heard in the joint during movements.
Visual examination reveals swelling of the joint and slight deformation of the joint.
These are patients with stage 2 gonarthrosis who are treated in the clinic because they cannot cope with the excruciating pain on their own and seek medical attention due to their limited mobility.
Is grade 3 osteoarthritis synonymous with disability?
Stage 3 osteoarthritis of the knee joint is characterized by persistent 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 deforming osteoarthritis occurs.
Osteoarthritis pain tends to worsen at night and is strongest 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?That's exactly him.
Treatment tactics for arthrosis of the knee joint
The treatment of osteoarthritis is lengthy and requires perseverance and patience from the patient.The basic principles of treatment of gonarthrosis can be called:
- Systematics.
- An integrated approach.
The treatment of osteoarthritis should be carried out under medical guidance.He should give you recommendations on the way to treat the disease, which must be followed very carefully.You can also add traditional methods to your medical prescriptions, but only after approval by your doctor.
The beginning of the treatment of gonarthrosis, like any other disease, begins with the organization of a gentle course of treatment.In the case of gonarthrosis, the affected joint is treated gently.Physical activity and prolonged walking are largely excluded.In your diet, you should limit the consumption of salt, sweets and fatty foods and include more vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables 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 longer treatment courses due to the large number of side effects.Therefore, long-acting tablets or injections and injections are more often used for treatment.NSAIDs alleviate the condition of patients, but do not eliminate the causes of gonarthrosis.This task was entrusted by medical science 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.The drugs are very effective in the treatment of gonarthrosis grades 1 and 2.
- Therapeutic ointments, gels, creams.They are applied externally, used for rubbing and compresses.The pharmacy chain offers a huge range of medicines in this group;When buying, you should not be guided by the advertising popularity of a particular ointment, but by the recommendations of a specialist.
- In the event of an exacerbation of the disease, not only physical exercise, but also massages and physiotherapy are excluded.They cannot be used in the acute phase due to increased pain.As soon as the pain subsides, medical treatment must be supplemented with massage, exercise therapy and physiotherapeutic methods.The following procedures have proven effective for treating gonarthrosis:
- Laser.
- SMT.
- Electrophoresis.
- Magnetic field therapy.
- Ozocerite.
Unfortunately, treatment with chondroprotectors has no effect in stage 3 of the disease.
Traditional medicine and gonarthrosis
In folk medicine there are a large number of different recipes for the treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint.
Decoctions of medicinal herbs:
- cranberries,
- cranberries,
- Thyme,
- corn silk,
- golden mustache
Taken orally and used for compresses.There are also methods that use alcohol tinctures for rubbing:
- bitter pepper tincture,
- fly agaric tincture,
- Woodlice tincture.
Compresses with medicinal bile, apple cider vinegar, cabbage and honey compresses are also used in folk medicine.There is even a method for treating sore joints with raw fish tied to the sore spot overnight!However, we don't think there will be many followers of this recipe.
Important!Whatever folk remedies you choose, be sure to discuss the advisability of using them with your doctor!
How to prevent the development of gonarthrosis - preventive measures
Preventing the occurrence of arthrosis of the knee joint is not difficult if you think about it from an early age.How are prevention rules formed?Very easy.Find out about the causes of the disease and do everything to avoid them, namely:
- Do not eat too much, stick to a sparing diet and the principles of proper nutrition.
- We distribute physical activity sensibly.
- Don't get too cold.
- Treat any illnesses in a timely manner.
- Avoid injuries.
- Do gymnastics.
- Contact a specialist in good time.
At first glance, the recommendations are quite simple.And if you follow these, you will not be at risk of knee arthrosis.And you don't have to worry about increasing age - after all, at the beginning of the article we agreed to travel around the world on our own two feet!