How do you feel when you meet an elderly person with a walking stick on the street?Of course sympathy, and also the belief that you definitely won't become like that!
Not a single young, energetic person imagines his old age with diseases and lameness;Rather, the imagination portrays a young, smiling pensioner traveling around the world on healthy legs and with a snow-white smile, as in photos in foreign magazines.
But disease is a deadly thing.And especially joint diseases.Without paying attention, various diseases gradually destroy and deform the joints, which manifests itself as a good morning pain and inability to walk normally.
Among all joint pathologies, judging by the number of requests for medical help, arthrosis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis of the knee joint) is the leader.According to statistics, every fifth inhabitant of the planet over the age of 40 suffers from gonarthrosis, and this disease "likes" women more than men.
What is arthrosis of the knee joint and is it possible to avoid 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, gonarthrosis occurs due to:
- Traumatic injuries to the knee joint.
- Excess body weight.
- Increased physical activity, including playing professional sports.
- Pre-existing diseases (usually arthritis of various etiologies).
- Weak ligamentous apparatus.
- Metabolic disorders.
How does arthrosis 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 arthrosis of the knee joint
Gonarthrosis first appears as 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 so the patient happily forgets about it or takes some therapeutic measures on his own, relying solely on the advice of friends who "had it too."
It is the frequency of occurrence of pain that causes the visit to the clinic to be postponed until later, causing the disease to become more serious, second degree.
How does stage 2 disease manifest?
Stage 2 gonarthrosis is characterized not only by severe pain, but also limited mobility in the joint.
The pain occurs more frequently, not only during exercise, but also while at rest.
It becomes difficult for the patient to bend and straighten the knee and a characteristic rattling sound is heard in the joint while moving.
On visual examination, swelling and mild deformity of the joint are seen.
In the clinic, patients with stage 2 gonarthrosis are unable to cope with the excruciating pain on their own and suffer from limited mobility, they turn to the doctor.
Is grade 3 arthrosis synonymous with disability?
Stage 3 arthrosis of the knee joint is characterized by persistent severe pain and loss of mobility in the joint.X-ray examination reveals dystrophic changes in the cartilage tissue and severe deformity of the joint.The so-called deforming arthrosis develops.
Arthrosis pain intensifies at night and becomes most intense in the morning.
A patient with degree 3 arthrosis can walk only with the help of a stick, remember our old man from the introduction?It's exactly the same.
Treatment strategy for arthrosis of the knee joint
The treatment process for arthrosis is a long process and requires perseverance and patience from the patient.The basic principles of treatment of gonarthrosis include:
- Systematicity.
- An integrated approach.
Arthrosis should be treated under the guidance of a doctor.It is he who should give you recommendations about how and how to treat the disease, which should be followed very carefully.You can also add traditional methods to your medical prescriptions, but only if your attending physician approves of them.
The beginning of the treatment of gonarthrosis, like any other disease, begins with the organization of a sparing diet.With gonarthrosis, a sparing arrangement is made for the diseased joint.Physical activity and prolonged walking are excluded as much as possible.You should limit your intake of salt, sweets and fatty foods and include more vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables in your diet.
drug treatment
- For pain relief, drugs from the group of analgesics and antispasmodics are prescribed.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are very popular.Medicines of this group are not prescribed for long courses due to the abundance of side effects.Therefore, long-acting tablets or injections and injections are often used for treatment.NSAIDs alleviate the condition of patients, but do not eliminate the causes of gonarthrosis.This mission is assigned by medical science to another group of drugs – chondroprotectors.
- The effect of chondroprotective drugs 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.
- Medicinal ointments, gels, creams.These are applied topically, used for rubbing and compresses.Pharmacy chains offer a huge range of drugs from this group;When buying, you 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 exercise, but also massage and physiotherapy are excluded.They cannot be used in acute periods due to increased pain.As soon as the pain subsides, drug treatment should include massage, exercise therapy and physiotherapeutic methods.The following procedures have proven themselves well for the treatment of gonarthrosis:
- Laser.
- Mrs.
- Electrophoresis.
- Magnetotherapy.
- Ozokerite.
Unfortunately, in stage 3 of the disease, treatment with chondroprotectors has no effect.
Traditional medicine and gonarthrosis
In folk medicine, there is a large number of different prescriptions for the treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint.
Decoction of medicinal herbs:
- lingonberry,
- cranberry,
- thyme,
- corn silk,
- golden mustache
Taken orally and used for compresses.There are also methods of using alcohol tincture for rubbing:
- bitter pepper tincture,
- fly agaric tincture,
- Woodlice Tincture.
Compresses from medical bile, apple cider vinegar, cabbage and honey are also used in folk medicine.One method to treat joint pain is with raw fish, which is tied to the painful area overnight!But we don't think there will be many people using this recipe.
Important!Whatever folk remedies you choose, be sure to discuss the appropriateness of their use with your doctor!
How to prevent the development of gonarthrosis - preventive measures
It is not difficult to prevent the occurrence of arthrosis of the knee joint if you think about it from an early age.How are prevention rules made?Very simple.Read the causes of the disease and do everything possible to avoid them, namely:
- Do not overeat, follow a moderate diet and the principles of proper nutrition.
- We distribute physical activity wisely.
- Don't apply too much cold.
- Get any disease treated on time.
- avoid injury.
- Do gymnastics.
- Contact an expert in time.
At first glance, the recommendations are quite simple.And if you follow them, gonarthrosis will not pose any threat to you.And you don't have to worry about aging - after all, at the beginning of the article we agreed to travel around the world on our feet!