It will be about such an unpleasant disease of the musculoskeletal system as arthrosis of the knee joint.From the article you can find out what kind of illness it is, why it occurs, what are the main symptoms of knee arthrosis and how to treat this insidious disease.
The arthrosis of the knee joint (another name - gonartrosis) is a chronic disease of the knee joint, in which the articular destruction of the joint cartilage, followed by deformation of the joint and limiting motor activity in it, is called.
Gonarthrosis is the most common type of arthrosis.Most often, the disease is diagnosed in people aged 40 years and older.In the older age group, arthrosis of the knee is more common in women, among younger patients the disease is more often diagnosed in men.In approximately 7% of cases, the disease leads to the development of disability.
Reasons
The main causes of the development of the disease are:
- Violation of metabolism in the body;
- excess weight, which leads to an increase in the load on the knee joints;
- increased fragility of capillaries, various circulatory disorders;
- injuries of the knee joints (cracks, fractures, ruptures of meniscus, ligaments);
- some endocrine diseases;
- inflammatory joint diseases (arthritis, rheumatism);
- old injuries that were cured incorrectly;
- Classes of traumatic sport for knees (heavy athletics, bodybuilding, football, gymnastics, tennis, athletics);
- hereditary predisposition;
- Congenital anomalies of the structure of the knee joint.
Types of arthrosis
The following types of arthrosis are distinguished by origin:
- primary- Most often occurs in the elderly, at risk are patients with obesity;
- secondary- It develops after the injuries of the knee or infectious diseases that were incorrectly cured.
According to the localization of the pathological process, the following types of knee arthrosis are distinguished:
- Left -sided- affects the left knee joint, most often observed in athletes and middle -aged patients with obesity;
- Right -out- affects the right knee joint, is more often found in athletes and people whose work is associated with increased dynamic and static loads on the right leg;
- bilateral- The most severe type of arthrosis of the knee joint, which can lead to disability, is most often found in older people.
Symptoms
The main clinical signs of the disease are:
- The pain in the knee - at first, the pain occurs with increased physical exertion on the joint, movement, running, long walking and disappear at rest, as the disease develops, patients arise when trying to start moving after a long rest period, a person with knee arthrosis is difficult to go down the stairs, over time, the pain in the knee becomes constant;
- morning stiffness in the knee joint - lasts about half an hour, over time the duration can increase;
- crunch in the knee when moving;
- With the development of the inflammatory process, patients complain of the feeling of heaviness in the knee, the joint is slightly swelling and increases in size;
- The shape of the joint gradually changes, its deformation occurs;
- With the further development of the disease, lameness appears, movements in the knee joint are limited, the patient cannot fully imprint the sore leg;
- Atrophy of the femoral muscles gradually develops, they become weak and flabby, decrease in volume.
Treatment
When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, you must immediately consult a doctor and undergo an examination.Timely treatment will increase the chances of recovery and improve the prognosis.Self -medication is unacceptable and can lead to the development of a number of complications, up to disability!
Treatment of knee arthrosis includes the following stages.
Non -drug therapy
- The sore joint needs to ensure rest, so crutches or canes are used to unload it;
- ultraviolet irradiation, heat - for removal of pain;
- wearing special orthopedic shoes, knee pads, special insoles;
- Massage, exercise therapy, physiotherapy - are prescribed after stopping the acute stage of the disease.
Drug therapy
- Reception of the NSAIDs inside (tablets) and externally (gels, ointments) - to relieve inflammation and pain in the knee;
- injections of special drugs into the joint cavity - are carried out in the absence of the effect of taking NSAIDs;
- Slow system systems - to normalize metabolic processes in cartilaginous tissue;
- Means to improve blood circulation - contribute to the normalization of blood circulation in the pathological focus and improve the delivery of drugs to the damage zone.
Surgical intervention
It is shown with a complete loss of joint function and includes prosthetics of the knee joint.
Health to you and your loved ones!