Osteoarthritis of the knee joint - first symptoms and treatment methods

There are many types of arthrosis.For example, hip joint disease is called coxarthrosis, and knee disease is called gonarthrosis.

The treatment method is usually the same for all subtypes.But still, many people do not know the difference between arthrosis of the knee joint and gonarthrosis.

Based on this, many misuses of these terms have appeared in patients with this problem.

reasons

Gonarthrosis is a disease of the knee joint with cartilage tissue damage.Many people mistakenly believe that the disease is characteristic only of elderly people, because it is degenerative.But as practice shows, gonarthrosis occurs more often in young people.

This is confirmed by the causes of the disease:

• knee injuries (fractures, dislocations, cracks);
• lifting weights, vigorous physical activity without proper training;
• inflammation of the joints due to the effects of various factors, including hypothermia;
• Excess weight, because it causes a large load on the joints and their subsequent degeneration;
• genetic predisposition.

As you can see, all factors for the appearance of gonarthrosis are more typical for young people, because they lead an active lifestyle.

However, due to excess weight, the disease can also appear in pensioners.According to statistics, after the age of 50, gonarthrosis occurs more often in women.This is due to body restructuring, changes in metabolic processes.

Principles and types of treatment

Arthrosis is generally a chronic disease, so their treatment takes a long time.Therapy can be surgical or conservative.

With both the first and second methods, doctors try to somehow influence the cause of the disease, as well as eliminate the pathological symptoms.

It should be noted that surgical intervention is more typical for stage 3-4 arthrosis.On the fourth, it is inevitable, and on the third, you can still try to overcome the disease with conservative methods.

In addition, it is recommended to use special sets of gymnastic exercises, for example, with the Bubnovsky technique.

In addition to destruction of cartilage with gonarthrosis, muscle fibers and ligaments are susceptible to destruction.The goal of treatment is:

• relief from pain;
• elimination of inflammation;
• removal of swelling of the periarticular area;
• Stopping the destruction of cartilage, its complete or partial restoration;
• Return to full life and freedom of movement.

Even in cases where a person cannot completely cure arthrosis of the knee joint, he can partially return to a normal lifestyle thanks to therapy and prevention.The condition persists until the next relapse.

conservative method

This method of therapy is used in most cases and is the main one.As a rule, patients are treated in this way in the initial and middle stages of gonarthrosis.All actions involve the use of medicines (tablets, capsules, injections) with chemically active substances.

The following can be prescribed for treatment:

• analgin;
• chondroprotectors;
• non-steroidal drugs;
• synovial prostheses;
• Glucocorticosteroids.

Other conservative methods include treatment with various ointments, mud baths, etc.

Recently, gymnastics and light physical exercise have become very popular to stop the progress of the disease or the possible recovery of the patient.

The body reacts severely to non-steroidal drugs.Nevertheless, they are widely used in the treatment of arthrosis due to their multifunctional action:

• elimination of swelling in the joint;
• relief from pain;
• Treatment of inflammatory processes.

Due to these properties, doctors are increasingly choosing these drugs over traditional analgesics.

Glucocorticosteroids are synthetic drugs that can replace the natural hormones produced by the adrenal glands.If we compare them with non-steroidal drugs, glucocorticosteroids are much stronger.In addition, they have an anti-allergic effect.

Chondroprotectors act directly on the cartilage and are a completely safe treatment for knee arthrosis (gonarthrosis).They are obtained from animal bone structure, fish cartilage and crustacean shells.Preparations are the building material of cartilage, they improve metabolic processes and proper nutrition of the joint.

In addition to the use of medicines, the following are prescribed during treatment, recovery and prevention:

• physiotherapy;
• physiotherapy;
• various massages;
• Visiting sanatoriums and resorts.

All this allows the patient to return to normal life and confirms the result obtained by conservative treatment.

Moreover, the classes are simple.A very useful exercise for the knee joint in gonarthrosis is rolling a ball or other cylindrical object on the floor, such as a rolling pin, with your foot.

surgical intervention

If the disease cannot be cured with drugs or therapeutic exercises, then surgical intervention is necessary.This can be done on both open and closed joints.In addition, surgical methods are improved daily and new methods are added to previous methods, which are performed using modern equipment.

New methods of conducting operations include:

• microsurgical intervention to restore damaged cartilage tissue;
• laser beam treatment with required characteristics - thickness, power, etc.;
• creating an electrolytic plasma field with a thickness of 1 mm;
• arthroscopy;
• Endoprosthetics - replacement of joint parts with artificial prostheses.

Modern surgical methods are low-traumatic and allow a huge number of different manipulations of the joint.

Recipes of traditional medicine

Conservative treatment methods do not always provide maximum results in the treatment of gonarthrosis.Recipes of traditional medicine can be used as an additional remedy.

You can use the following recipe to get rid of knee pain and cramps:

• 150 g of garlic;
• 4 lemons with peel;
• 250 g of celery roots.

Grind all components in a meat grinder, mix and pour boiling water.Then put it in a pot, close the lid tightly and let it cool.Take 60-70 g 3 times a day for a month.If pain appears, you can repeat the course or take it every six months for prevention.

You can also use this recipe:

• Beat two eggs and mix with 4 tablespoons of salt;
• Apply the resulting mixture on a bandage and apply it to the painful area.

The procedure should be repeated twice in a row.Do not remove the bandage until the mixture dries.

To make a healing ointment, you will need the following ingredients:

• 200 g of alcohol;
• 4 egg whites;
• 50 g of camphor;
• 50 g of mustard powder.

Alternately add mustard and camphor to the alcohol.Beat the egg whites in another bowl and then mix.The ointment is applied to the painful area.

Of course, heavy physical exertion is as common a cause of gonarthrosis in athletes as aging of the joints over time.

But recently, cases of the disease without such causes have increased.People, on the contrary, lead a sedentary lifestyle, which is why they gain extra pounds.

The load on the joints increases and prevents them from staying healthy for a long time.

The difference between arthrosis and gonarthrosis

Not everyone understands the difference between gonarthrosis and arthrosis of the knee joint.Gonarthrosis is characterized only by damage to the knee, and arthrosis itself is the name of a group of joint diseases that can damage any joint.

In the theory of medicine, there are many diseases whose names contain the part "arthrosis" - osteoarthrosis, polyarthrosis, coxarthrosis, gonarthrosis.In this regard, ignorant people do not always correctly understand the meaning of each of them, thinking that they are all synonymous.

Gonarthrosis can easily be confused with the following diseases:

• Arthritis
• vascular pain in the knees;
• Periarthritis - inflammation of knee tendons;
• Meniscus damage.

But it is still possible to distinguish gonarthrosis from these diseases.For example, meniscus damage (meniscopathy) is a disease that begins with sharp and sudden pain in the knees after unsuccessful movement, and gonarthrosis develops and progresses over the years.If meniscopathy is not treated, pain will appear from time to time, but the bone will not deform.

In coxarthrosis (disease of the hip joint) reflex pain is often felt in the knees, but these two diseases can be distinguished from each other in the following way:

• With gonarthrosis, a person can calmly move his legs in the hip joint, spread them;
• With coxarthrosis, on the contrary, the patient can freely bend and straighten the knee;
• If pain is felt in both joints, then it can be assumed that it is polyarthrosis.

Arthritis is characterized by inflammation of the joints and sudden onset, but the pain does not affect the movement of the joints (as in periarthritis) and is eliminated thanks to warming ointments.In this disease there is swelling, high temperature and increased pain at night.

Vascular pain occurs due to blood circulation disorders - this often happens to young people under the age of 20.This is due to the rapid growth of the whole organism.

Thus, arthrosis is the general name of the disease, and gonarthrosis is the name referring to the site (knee).Therefore, it is correct to say either "arthrosis of the knee joint" or "gonarthrosis", but not "gonarthrosis of the knee joint".And it is quite possible to make an accurate diagnosis with careful research and personal observation.

Arthrosis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis): diagnosis and treatment

The knee joint is a wonderful flexion-extension mechanism provided by nature.At rest, it occurs only in disabled people and obese people who have lost the ability to move.

Count how many times a day it moves and you will come to the conclusion that the knee is the most mobile part of the joint.It is not surprising that diseases often choose it as a target.

One of them is gonarthrosis or arthrosis of the knee joint.

Causes of arthrosis of the knee joint

It is difficult to say what causes early cartilage deficiency in some people.It is generally believed that a metabolic disorder in which the metabolism of amino acids and important trace elements occurs slowly or incorrectly is to blame.

Here, in turn, the following reasons are to blame:

1. Certain immune diseases (eg, rheumatoid arthritis)
2. Self-neglect: sports and exercise, a nutritious diet containing a full spectrum of vitamins, amino acids and minerals often put people aside somewhere far "later" ("I'll start on Monday, of course")
3. From birth, the natural balance is disturbed - the so-called hereditary causes.Checking your genetic predisposition is quite simple: look at what your grandparents are sick with and ask what their ancestors were sick with.
4. Disturbed hormonal balance: such disorders especially affect the female body during periods of estrogen deficiency, an important hormone necessary for osteosynthesis.It is not for nothing that most of the victims of arthrosis are women of a beautiful sexual age, when they are not yet old, but already wise, that is, the "over 50" mark.
5. Vascular diseases: arthrosis is often combined with venous insufficiency, vein thrombosis and other diseases.
6. State of Mind: If you think stress just makes you feel bad, you'd be wrong—stress can slow your metabolism down to suspended animation.
7. A risk factor for arthrosis is excess weight

What symptoms allow a person to suspect this bad pathology?

Gonarthrosis symptoms step by step

Each stage has its own distinctive features, but they are united by the gradual development of the disease:

You can not suddenly stop walking because of pain: the symptom of sharp, sudden pain in the knee is likely to indicate an injury.

the first stage.In the first stage, the following symptoms appear:

• Mild pain when walking for a long time, climbing stairs, etc.
• Stiffness after rest
• There is no deformity in the knee, but it may be somewhat swollen due to accumulated fluid: this phenomenon is called synovitis.Fluid can even accumulate in the back - the popliteal fossa, forming a cyst, which frightened patients often mistake for a cancerous tumor.The cyst usually disappears easily after injections of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or glucocorticosteroids.

the second stage

In the second stage, the following symptoms appear:

• Increased pain after exercise and movement and the appearance of a characteristic coarse cramp
• Increased morning heaviness
• Movement all the way or even 90 degrees is accompanied by a symptom of pain, sometimes so strong that it becomes impossible to complete it.
• Due to the onset of deformation, the bones become thicker and rougher - this can be determined by palpation.
• Synovitis may worsen

The third stage

In the third stage, which is already defined as late deforming arthrosis of the knee joint, the symptoms appear:

• Constant pain that does not go away even at night: Knee aches and twists, especially in cold damp weather.
• Abrupt reduction in range of motion: no more than 90 degrees, or even less
• Changes in gait: the patient begins to limp, walks slowly on half-bent legs, spins, it is especially difficult to take steps.
• Noticeable severe deformation by mixing the joint axes - because of this, the legs take the shape of the letter "X" or "O" (such signs are called hallux valgus).
• At this stage, the cartilage is usually completely destroyed and ossification (ossification) occurs in the ligaments.
• Subsequently, the surface of the joint becomes overgrown with calcium deposits, due to which the knee takes on a uniform, uneven appearance.
• Due to severe deformity and lack of synovial fluid, movement of the knee is extremely painful
• Gradually, there is almost complete immobility of the knee - late deforming arthrosis of the knee joint

Treatment of gonarthrosis

Treatment of this disease is difficult and long, effective only in the first stages.In the latter, conservative treatment only plays a role in alleviating the patient's condition.

diagnosis.An important preliminary stage is the diagnosis.

• The best way to diagnose and determine if the pain is due to trauma or osteoarthritis is to use an X-ray or MRI of the knee joint.
• Arthrosis is diagnosed if there is degeneration or absence of cartilage tissue and a small gap between the joint and the capsule.

conservative treatment

The most important conditions for treatment during an exacerbation are:

• Rest and light exercise
• Taking painkillers (for severe pain - in the form of intra-articular injections)
• In the third and fourth stages of arthrosis, fluid injections are also prescribed to lubricate the joints.

The following types of physiotherapy are effective in gonarthrosis:

• SWT (Shock Wave Therapy)
• Electromyostimulation
• Acupuncture
• magnetotherapy
• Radiofrequency therapy, etc.

Rehabilitation treatment

To prevent contractures and even greater immobility, knee exercises should be started as soon as acute pain disappears - for this, exercise therapy is prescribed under the supervision of a rehabilitation specialist.Long-term cyclic administration of substitutes for natural cartilage components - chondroprotective agents is also carried out.

attention: Arthrosis of the knee joint in the third degree is not cured with the help of chondroprotectors..

surgical treatment

Effective treatment of late arthrosis is only surgical - replacing the functionally lost joint with an endoprosthesis.

However, we must remember:

• In old age, the prosthesis heals more slowly
• After the operation, there may be pain for a year
• Long-term rehabilitation with mechanotherapy and comprehensive exercise therapy is required

If the patient refuses surgery, then conservative supportive treatment is prescribed, the aim of which is to fight pain and maintain the motor function of the knee.

What is often confused with arthrosis of the knee joint - gonarthrosis?

• When diagnosing gonarthrosisMistakes occur as often, if not more, than in the diagnosis of hip diseases.
• Below is a list of diseases that are most often mistaken for arthrosis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis).
• Based on Dr. Evdokimenko's practice,Most often, arthrosis of the knee joint is confused with the following diseases:

Meniscus damage (meniscopathy) and knee joint blockade

Meniscus injuries and knee blockages occur in people of all ages, young and old.Men and women get sick equally often.Usually, one knee joint is damaged.

Unlike gonarthrosis, the disease develops rapidly.As a rule, after an unsuccessful movement during walking, running or jumping, a person feels a cramp in the knee area and feels a sharp pain in the joint.After 10-15 minutes, the acute pain disappears a little and the person can move.But the next day or two the knee is swollen and the pain is getting stronger again.

Without proper treatment, the disease lasts for years - the pain either subsides or reappears.But compared to gonarthrosis, meniscopathy rarely causes deformation of the bones of the knee joint - unless the damage to the meniscus leads to the development of knee arthrosis.And this, it should be noted, also happens quite often.

Arthrosis of the hip joint (coxarthrosis)

The diagnosis of "gonarthrosis" is often mistaken for "referred" pain, which often occurs in arthrosis of the hip joint and extends from the hip joint to the knee.

But it is very easy to differentiate between these conditions - during arthrosis of the hip joint, the mobility of the knee does not decrease at all, the knee bends and straightens easily and painlessly.

But the ability of a person suffering from arthrosis of the hip joint to rotate the leg "from the hip" and spread the legs to the sides is sharply reduced.

A patient with gonarthrosis, on the contrary, easily rotates the leg from the hip and easily moves the legs to the sides.But he pulls his knee with difficulty and falls down from the pain.

Arthritis

Knee joints are the most vulnerable joints in the human body.In addition to arthrosis and meniscopathy, the knee joint can be affected by any of the arthritis described in the second part of the book - reactive, rheumatoid, psoriatic, gout, ankylosing spondylitis and articular rheumatism.

Arthritis affects people of any age, but most often the disease begins in young people.

With arthritis, one or both knees can become inflamed.

A characteristic feature of arthritic inflammation of the knee joint is a rapid onset (within 1-3 days), with obvious swelling and swelling of the knee, as well as increased pain in the affected joint at night (around 3-4 in the morning).That is, the pain at night, while resting, can be stronger than when walking.In arthrosis, as you remember, the pain decreases at night.

In addition, almost any arthritis causes inflammation of not one but several joints at the same time: in addition to the knees, the joints of the fingers and toes, elbow joints, ankle joints and heel tendons are inflamed and swollen in any combination.

Vascular pain in knees

These pains, which occur due to poor blood circulation in the knee joints, are familiar to many.They usually begin during adolescence, a period of active growth—since vascular development in fast-growing adolescents often does not keep pace with accelerated bone growth.

Once it happens, vascular pain in the knees can accompany a person almost all his life.But their intensity usually decreases after 18-20 years (and does not increase with age, as is the case with arthrosis).And unlike arthritic pain, vascular pain in the knees is not accompanied by a decrease in the mobility of the knee joints.

Pain sensations are usually symmetrical, that is, they are equally expressed in the right and left knees;Occurs when the weather changes, in the cold, during a cold and after physical exertion.At such moments, sufferers complain that their knees "turn".

In most cases, vascular pain in the knees can be easily eliminated by applying warm ointments, massage and self-massage (severe burning of the knees) or by taking vasodilators.No special therapy is required for this condition.

Inflammation of knee tendons (bursa anserini periarthritis)

Mostly women are affected, most often over 40 years old.The pain usually occurs when walking up stairs or carrying heavy objects or heavy bags.Pain when walking calmly on a flat surface is extremely rare.

Pain caused by periarthritis does not extend to the entire knee.It focuses exclusively on the inside of the knees, about 3-inches below the point where the knees touch when you place your feet together.And unlike arthrosis, with periarthritis there is no limitation of knee mobility;The leg bends and extends at the knee as expected, fully.