Arthrosis - What it is and how to treat it

Arthrosis (osteoarthrosis) is a joint disease that leads to their destruction.It affects 10% of the world's population.

When diagnosed with osteoarthritis, the symptoms are severe and the treatment of the disease must be comprehensive.

It is necessary to reduce stress, normalize nutrition, eliminate inflammation, and relieve muscle spasms.What are the characteristics of arthrosis, how to determine its occurrence, and what treatment to choose?

Arthritis - What is it?

Arthrosis of the joints is a degenerative change in their structure, which is accompanied by pain and visible deformation.The second name of this disease, which is used in the international classification, is osteoarthritis.Let's look at the reasons why it happens and how it is diagnosed.Osteoarthritis - What is it?

This disease begins with cartilage malnutrition and its destruction.The inner layer of cartilage becomes thin, joints lose strength, and bone tissue is filled with salt and growth (to compensate for strength).

That is why arthrosis is called Deforming Arthrosis - as it develops, the joint takes an ugly "twisted" shape.

Reducing Arthrosis has three stages of development:

• Osteoarthritis of the first degree - does not have significant symptoms, except for slight pain and periodic pain when moving;
• Osteoarthritis of the 2nd degree - accompanied by the formation of growths, the appearance of significant pain, increased crunching, weakening of muscles;
• Arthritis of the 3rd degree is called the acute form of the disease.Acute arthrosis is accompanied by the appearance of joint deformities and limited mobility.

What joints are affected by arthrosis?

Deformation and inflammation most often affect the joints of the lower legs - hips, knees, toes (usually the big toe).Less common - ankles and fingers.

However, it is possible for the disease to develop in other parts of the body.

With coxarthrosis, the hip joint is affected (often the cause of coxarthrosis is untreated congenital dysplasia).Vertebral joint destruction is called spondyloarthrosis, and knee joint destruction is called gonarthrosis.Damage to several joints is called polyarthrosis.

Symptoms of polyarthrosis are the severity of the general condition, the prevalence of the process, curvature and pain in several joints at the same time (legs, arms, fingers, spine).

Inflammation in polyarthrosis spreads asymmetrically, affecting different bone joints in different ways.Once polyarthrosis is diagnosed, treatment varies in duration.

Causes of arthrosis

The formation of arthrosis is promoted by two reasons - stress and lack of adequate nutrition, which supplies vitamins and minerals for tissue recovery.Everyone's joints bear stress.For athletes and dancers, during physical work the load on the legs is greater, which means that the bone joints wear faster and require high-quality nutrition.With a quiet lifestyle, the support device wears more slowly, but also requires periodic tissue renewal.

Therefore, the main condition for the destruction and deformation of the joints is a lack of nutrients and failure to absorb useful components, which often occurs due to metabolic disorders.

We list the factors that contribute to joint wear and metabolic disorders:

• Muscle weakness and improper joint loading.Weakness of one or more muscles increases the load on the joint and distributes it unevenly in the bone joint.Also, improper muscle loading occurs with flat feet and scoliosis, so with this "harmless" disease, cartilage tissue wears with age, and arthrosis appears.

  The possibility of arthrosis increases with intense physical activity.

  If the daily load exceeds the capacity of bone tissue, they formMicrotraumas.Thickening appears at the site of injury, which grows over time and deforms the joint;

• Metabolic disorders (gastrointestinal diseases - bile stagnation, dysbacteriosis, gastritis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, metabolic diseases - diabetes);
• Psychosomatic causes - Psychosomatic arthrosis confirms that negative emotional states are also the cause of the disease.Stress forms muscle spasms, continuous stress disrupts the nutrition of all tissues (internal organs, bones, joints);
• Heredity (types of metabolism and disorders that may be inherited, a tendency to muscle weakness or improper bone formation, to poor digestion - which is the basis for the development of arthrosis in old age).

Arthritis is a disease of worn joints that have lost a significant supply of minerals and the ability to withstand stress and destruction.

Therefore, with age, susceptibility to disease increases.After 70 years, arthrosis is diagnosed in every second retiree.Since the maximum load falls on the legs (a person moves - walks, stands, walks, jumps), this is where the first signs of arthrosis appear.

Arthritis symptoms

Joint diseases can be diagnosed with some painful symptoms - pain, swelling, crunching.

Symptom #1: Pain

The main symptom of this disease is joint pain.Its appearance is associated with joint capsule deformation and growth formation.

If you have arthrosis, pain symptoms will increase with movement and decrease with rest.

Or appear in an uncomfortable position and disappear when choosing a comfortable position for the legs and joints.In this way, arthrosis differs from arthritis, where it hurts on the contrary, more often at night, resting, and hurts less during the day, when a person is "pacing."

At the beginning of the disease, pain appears periodically (with movement or an uncomfortable position).As the disease progresses, the pain is felt more often and becomes stronger.It got to the point that rest did not bring relief, the joints hurt even at rest.Since at this time the blood circulation is already affected, the joints become "sensitive" to weather changes ("twists", painful).

Symptom No.2: Crunching

A sprain occurs due to a loose arrangement of bones in the joint that are diseased against each other.

However, a little crunching is also possible in a healthy joint capsule (with weak ligaments, with mobile joints).

Crunch arthrosis is characterized by growth.Over time, it grew, became stronger and clearer.

Symptom No.3: joint deformation and reduced movement

These symptoms appear as the disease progresses.It develops along with increased pain and is associated with the growth of saline, which prevents the joint from fully bending and straightening.Defects become noticeable in the later stages of the disease.First, the joint swells, then a "bump" appears, an unhealthy bend is formed, "rotating" the joint capsule.

Treatment of joints with osteoarthritis

Treatment of arthrosis (osteoarthrosis) is based on two postulates - to eliminate stress and provide the joints with adequate nutrition.How to treat osteoarthritis to achieve sustainable improvement and stop cartilage destruction and bone tissue deterioration?Deformation arthrosis treatment uses a complex approach.Patients are prescribed tablets and injections, compresses and physiotherapy.

When diagnosed with osteoarthritis, treatment cannot be one-sided.

You can not nourish the cartilage tissue with chondroprotectors or just relax the muscles.One-sided measures will not help to cope with serious diseases.

How to treat arthrosis correctly?During treatment, several areas of therapy are selected:

• Drug therapy: pills, injections, blockade.For arthrosis, treatment with tablets, powders and capsules supplies the body with chondroprotectors.Preparations with chondroitin increase the synthesis of collagen, which nourishes and restores cartilage tissue.These are glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.They are produced in the form of tablets for arthrosis, capsules or powder.They help in the early stages of the disease and lose effectiveness in advanced conditions, when the cartilage is almost worn out or destroyed.In this case, the patient undergoes surgery (endoprosthetics), replacing the destroyed joint with artificial tissue.Injections with anti-inflammatory and analgesic components-blockade-are also prescribed.And inject into the joint.In the case of arthrosis, with their help, a gel is introduced into the bone joint, imitating intra-articular fluid, as well as painkillers and anti-inflammatory substances.

  Injection into the joint ensures that the medicine reaches the center of inflammation.

  The use of such injections allows you to reduce the number of tablets for arthrosis.Also, a vitamin-mineral complex is prescribed to nourish tissues;

• Exercise therapy.For arthrosis, the attending physician selects a set of gymnastic exercises to perform independently at home.You can learn how to implement it in an exercise therapy class at the clinic.

  Gymnastics for arthrosis helps restore muscle tone and remove one of the causes of the disease - muscle fiber weakness;

• Physiotherapy treatment.These include shock wave therapy (destroying large salt deposits, normalizing blood flow, activating its own collagen synthesis), oxygen therapy (saturating joints with oxygen), massage (muscle relaxation and unloading joints), electrotherapy, wave techniques;
• Diet food.When osteoarthritis is diagnosed, the course of the disease depends on nutrition.For osteoarthritis, the diet does not include any nightshade plants (potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplant).Also, nutrition for arthrosis limits alcohol, sugar, baked goods, sweets;
• Use of additional amplifiers(orthopedic corsets to support joints - orthoses);

• Alternative treatment.These include acupuncture (acupressure on reflex points that activate blood flow in certain parts of the body), homeopathic treatment, and hirudotherapy.

To successfully treat arthrosis, it is necessary to use the entire complex of procedures and measures listed for several months (from 4 to 7).

That treats arthrosis

Which doctor is an expert in the treatment of arthrosis?We have listed experts who can provide you with effective assistance:

• Rheumatologist is a doctor who treats with therapeutic methods (tablets, injections, physiotherapy);
• An arthrologist is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of joint diseases, the master method of conservative treatment and surgery, unfortunately, a rare specialty;
• Orthopedist - Often works with patients on an outpatient basis, but in specialized research institutions orthopedic surgeons carry out surgical treatment;
• Therapists and surgeons are doctors who can be found in any clinic;They are the ones you need to contact to receive a referral for initial examination and treatment.

Treatment of Arthritis with Folk Remedies

What can you do yourself?When diagnosed with arthrosis, treatment with folk remedies at home can often reduce pain and maintain mobility.

Arthritis is often treated with gelatin (which the body uses to restore cartilage tissue).

Prevention of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis prevention consists of the following measures:

• Load limit;
• Massage after physical activity;
• A healthy menu complete with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and bacteria (fermented milk products), carbohydrates, fats and proteins;
• Excess weight control.

When osteoarthritis is diagnosed, the course of the disease depends on preventive measures, nutrition, and the presence of physical (emotional) stress.

Prevention of this disease is recommended for people whose work and daily activities involve increased pressure on the joints.And also for those who are over 45 years old.

Arthritis is easier to prevent than to treat.It is easier to maintain a joint in a healthy state than to restore cartilage tissue after its destruction.