From this article you can find out everything about the arthrosis of the knee joint: what is the reason why it arises what manifestations are in different stages.How to treat, how to prevent the disease.
Arthrosis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis) is a degenerative pathology of the joint, in which cartilage destruction, damage to muscles and ligaments, and deformation of bones.
The disease occurs primarily after 40 years (12-16% of people are ill at this age).Women are twice as often ill than men.Diseases are submitted by athletes and people who deal with difficult physical labor.
Gonarthrosis develops gradually and is accompanied by pain:
- Joint mobility decreases;
- Bone and cartilage increases that interfere with the normal functioning of the joint.
Over time, this leads to full motility of the joint.Without treatment, the disease leads to disability.
Conservative therapy for the arthrosis of the knee joint is possible only in the initial stages of process development (1 and 2), allowing slowing down and suspension of pathology.
With the progression of the disease, treatment is only surgical.Completely (100%) to get rid of the pathology, only with endoprostetics - replacing the knee joint.
Traumatologist-Ortopedist and other doctors are involved in diagnosing and treating the arthrosis of the knee joint.According to testimony, a rheumatologist consultation is being held.The symptoms of the disease can also be detected.
Causes of illness and types
Depending on the factor provoking the disease, 2 types of knee arthrosis can be distinguished:
Primary (idiopathic)
This type of arthrosis affects middle and elderly people.Initial stages are diagnosed after 40 years, and at the age of 70, gonarthrosis is detected in 60% of people.Often 2 joints are affected at the same time.
Primary arthrosis is due to changes in the body, age, blood circulation deterioration and slowdown in metabolism.The risk of development increases with obesity and sedentary lifestyle.
Secondary form
Secondary - can appear in a person of any age and reach 1 joints at a time and 1.
The reasons are as follows:
- Strong load on the legs.
- Ligaments, Knee Meniscus, Intraarticular Fractures.
- Disrupts diseases in which metabolic processes (parathyroid glands, diabetes, hemochromatosis, vilson, gout, mucopolisaccharide and other diseases) are interrupted.
- Diseases of connective tissue.
- Inflammatory pathologies (infectious and non -infectious synovitis and arthritis), hemophilia (a rare hereditary disease associated with coagulation of damaged blood).
We then analyze in more detail what - the arthrosis of the knee joint, its degree, the changes in the tissues during the pathology.
Symptoms and three stages of the disease
With the onset of the disease, the cartilage becomes thinner due to severe load or lack of nutrients.This provokes the friction of the bones on the knee joint.
Erosion of bone tissue develops as a protective reaction of the body - growth begins.All of these factors lead to deformation and limited mobility of the knee joint.
The joint symptoms of the knee joint in 3 stages:
| Stage | Clinical signs | Processes in the joint |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
May be asymptomatic Poyality in the knee in the morning, squatting up the stairs upwards, after long loads and hypothermia, possible Stiffness appears in the morning knee Synovite may develop - accumulation of a fluid joint that should be removed by puncture (punching the cavity with a liquid and fence |
The surface of the cartilage will be coarse and dry Cracks and ulcers develop on it |
| 2 |
The pain even appears as a result of a slight load and becomes more prominent in the event of an active walk The foot does not bend completely, the joint is periodically cracking The knee is visually expanded The risk of synovitis is increasing even more |
Reacting to the increased load of the joint appears to be flat The formation of osteophytes begins - the growth of bones Synovial fluid becomes thicker and less nutritious In the cartilage the destructive processes accelerate |
| 3 |
Pain is of chronic nature and even continues the patient at rest Both complete bending and complete extension of the knee are impossible The volume of the joint is increasing Walk is difficult, many people start using crutches or reeds Valgus deformation of the legs (setting x-shaped legs) or variation deformation (o-shaped legs) may appear |
There is almost no cartilage tissue Bones are deformed and “pressed” into each other, leading to restriction of mobility in the joint |
Acute form
Acute arthrosis of the knee joint is the time when the disease manifests itself faster and clinically brightly.
Can lead to aggravation:
- Too heavy load on the joint;
- hypothermia;
- Not adaptation of the required diet;
- injury.
Sometimes gonarthrosis begins with acute as if it were bypassing the first stage.This is possible due to your knee injury.
Diagnosis
If you notice a restriction in the joints or after a long session, it may be a sign of 1 section of gonarthrosis after it has gone down or after squatting on the stairs.
To make an accurate diagnosis, come for an appointment with a therapist who directs you to an orthopedic or other doctor.
Before treating osteoarthritis or gonarthrosis, the doctor will conduct an initial examination and feeling and directs the following:
- Radiography - helps assess the condition of the joint;
- Ultrasound - allows us to determine that there is a simultaneous inflammatory process.
Treatment methods
Symptoms and treatment of the arthrosis of the knee joint are linked, as many therapeutic measures are exactly aimed at eliminating disturbing properties and improving the quality of human life.
Receiving drugs, diet and physiotherapy exercises:
- Slow down further destructive processes of the cartilage;
- prevent the disease from transition to a more neglected stage.
It is impossible to complete the disease, but it can suspend the development of the pathology.
Diet
The purpose of observation of the diet is to slow down the progress of the disease.
What you need to add to the menu and what to exclude:
| Useful products | Prohibited products |
|---|---|
| Rabbit, turkey, chicken, dairy products, eggs (up to 3 daily and preferably without egg yolk) - serve as sources of protein |
Fatty meat, sausage, sausage - leads to an increase |
| Fish, especially red varieties, rich in Omega-3 |
Flour, sweet, mayonnaise, fast food - products that contribute to a set of overweight |
| Gel welded from bones, gelatin - contains chondroitin and collagen that contribute to the formation of new cartilage tissue |
White cabbage, tomato, Bulgarian pepper, eggplant according However, some studies refute their joint damage |
| Rice, millet, buckwheat has complex carbohydrates that contribute to the formation of synovial fluid |
Egg yolk, cod liver - increase the risk of gout formation |
| Cottage cheese, cheese - calcium sources |
Coffee - lenses from the body that are useful for bones and calcium joints |
| Apples, broccoli, beans, pumpkin, zucchini, parsley, dill, cucumber, carrot, celery, spinach, cereals, currant, grapefruit, grenade, papaya, almonds - most useful products of plant origin With saturated materials that serve the joints of the joints |
Alcohol - violates normal nutritional and metabolism processes in joints |
| Water (1.5-2 liters per day) - helps normalize body metabolism and especially in the joints Leak (the fruits and vegetables listed above) |
Salt - can lead to aggravation |
Exercise
If you have developed the knee arthrosis, medical exercises should become daily.Special exercises promote the circulation of the joint, which prevents further destructive processes of the cartilage.Physical education increases the mobility of the affected knee and prevents pain.However, any gymnastics is contraindicated in the acute course of the disease.
Therapeutic gymnastics for Dr. Evokimenko's knee joints
The purpose of this complex of therapeutic gymnastics is to force the muscles surrounding the joint without filling.Gimnastics show very good results with the arthrosis of the knee joint, according to Evokimenko's method.
Exercises:
- Lie on the stomach, straighten your legs, arms at the seams.Raise the 15 cm straight leg above the floor, tighten the bottom of the thigh and muscles.Keep this foot position for 30-40 seconds.Lower it.Repeat the movement with each leg with 1.
- Raise your straight leg over the floor by 15 cm, hold for 1-3 seconds.Return to its original position (IP).Make 10-12 repetitions for each leg.
- Bend the knee at 90 degrees.Raise the bent leg 10 cm from the floor and hold it for 30-40 seconds.Perform this movement with each leg.Then repeat the same exercise, but with a delay of both legs 1-3 seconds.Make 10-12 repetitions from each leg.
- Raise the two straight legs over the floor 10-15 cm.Dilute them to the side and take them back.Without letting the legs on the floor, perform the movements eight times.In this case, the thigh muscles must work as much as possible.
- Lie on the side.Bend the lower leg into the knee.Leave the top straight, lift 45 degrees over the floor.Keep this way for 30-40 seconds.Do exercise on both legs 1 times.
- Sit on a chair.Raise the maximum set of your knees.Hold for 30 seconds.Raise each leg 2-4 times.
- Up.Lean around the back of the chair.Stand on the socks.It lies for 30-60 seconds.Return to IP.
- Stand on the socks, keep it in this position for 1-3 seconds.Return to IP.Repeat the movement 10-12 times.
- Place your right foot on the floor.Stand on the left foot socks.Smoothly climb the socks with your right leg and lower the left corner to the floor.Roll up like 10-12 times.
This author's physical education with intensity is greater than the previous one.This is only possible on the first signs of gonarthrosis.Before you start doing yourself, be sure to consult your doctor.
If you feel severe pain when performing the movements, stop them immediately.
Surgical methods
Because it is impossible to cure the arthrosis of the knee joint by completely conservative methods, in severe cases doctors use functional methods.
One of the most effective endoprostetics of the knee joint, ie replacing the rubbing surface of the joint.
The postoprostics recovery period is 3-6 months.
Such surgical interventions are also performed:
- Artroplasty - Plastic Surgery to restore normal structure of the joint;
- Improvement osteotomy - a correction of the deformations of the valgus or varus of the legs that can occur with advanced forms of arthrosis.
Folk medicines
Home manufacturing products can be a wonderful supplement to traditional therapy.
However, before consult your doctor before treating the arthrosis of the knee joint with folk medicines, as some natural ingredients may be contraindicated or not combined with the drugs you prescribe.
Here are some effective recipes, duration:
- Beef and knee - contribute to the restoration of cartilage.Boil them for several hours.Drink 100 ml before each meal.
- Honey, apple cider vinegar - relieve swelling and pain.Mix the components in a 3: 1 ratio.In the evening, make compression, sign up for 30 minutes.
- Jerusalem artichoke - helps to relieve pain.Pour 350 g of crushed leaves and topnamic stems 2 liters of boiling water.Cool to room temperature.Moisten the gauze binding in the infusion and place the sore joint.
Prevention
Preventive measures are very simple:
- Take part in physical education but do not overload your knees.Never run on asphalt.Special routes or primer are suitable for running.
- Avoid your knee injuries or treat them in time.In case of bruises and jerks, contact the traumatologist immediately and follow all the recommendations.
- Eat well.
- Return bad habits.
Forecast
Arthrosis is a disease that cannot be completely cured by conservative methods.
Don't despair.To keep all recommendations of your doctor, you can avoid complications, relieve pain and improve the amplitude of the joint movement.
Do not postpone the vision of the specialist, as in later stages the disease can lead to deformation of legs and disability.Modern medicine handles them quickly.