The life of a person with osteoarthritis is divided into "Vor" and "according to". Before the disease, there were big and small joys, sometimes insignificant problems. After that, there was only a daily fight and a calm despair that normal life will never return. But you can solve the problem forever!
What is arthrosis
This is a disease of the joints, when the articular cartilage is destroyed over time, the joints of the bones are changed, the periastic degenerated tissue and inflammation are active.
Causes and development
Arthrosis can develop through excessive loads or joint injuries. In any case, the process is accompanied with a decrease in prototoglycans (special complex proteins). Due to a decrease in the number of protoglycans, the joint loses water because these molecules hold it. As a result, the cartilage "dries", loses elasticity and elasticity, becomes rough and dry. For this reason, abnormal friction occurs as a result. Due to the friction, the joint is "deleted", the cartilage becomes thinner and becomes thinner. Due to constant microdamines, growth is formed on the joint osteophytes. The last stage is the complete disappearance of cartilage.
Handsholes people take osteophytes for "salt" that have to be "distributed". But they are not salt deposits, and there is nothing that is distributed in the joints.
Risk factors for osteoarthritis determine its causes. Please note that at a factor (for example the age of 50) arthrosis may not occur, but the chances that your appearance will increase in the presence of 2 or more reasons, for example an injury at the age of 50. All factors can be divided into non -general and genetic, external and internal.
Internal factors:
- Old. Over time, the body's ability to regenerate decreases and cell activity decreases. For this reason, the reproduction of collagen decreases, the synovial fluid in the joints.
- Violation of the metabolism. Various metabolic disorders can lead to osteoarthritis. The most common reason is a decrease in estrogen level and diabetes. Various metabolic pathologies also lead to osteoarthritis.
Minerals and vitamins deficiency. Everything is clear here. If the necessary substances have no input, collagen and other substances simply have to be synthesized. The pathology can develop against the background of anomalies in the assimilation of substances. - Overweight. A little influence the reason because arthrosis only occurs on excessive weight, a person has a weight of well over 150 kilograms. But it also has an influence and increases the likelihood of developing osteoarthritis.
- Violation of the development of bones, joints. Such anomalies can appear not only because of the inheritance, but also for other reasons. The pathology of the development is not a sentence, subject to certain arthrosis rules will never occur.
- arthritis. In the inflammatory process, blood supply to the joint is disturbed, the composition of the synovial fluid and the cartilage changes. Please note that after removing arthritis, the risk of osteoarthritis remains until the composition of the liquids and tissue of the joint returns to normal value.
- Joint heart attack. In other ways, an aseptic necrosis of the joint. It develops with thrombophilia - blood tendencies for the formation of blood clots. But usually thrombophilia does not lead to a common joint, so the development of arthrosis requires the participation of other causes.
- Chronic stress. Depression and persistent alarming conditions lead to a decrease in the regeneration level, which decreases the protective properties of the body. The likelihood of illness, not just osteoarthritis, increases.
External factors:
- Injuries. This includes different types of transfers, damage to the joint bag, the bone base of the joint. Such injuries rarely occur and with a reasonable treatment of treatment without trace. In the presence of other factors, however, arthrosis can occur.
- Excessive stress on the connection. It occurs with professional athletes or workers who exist long distances. But this factor, subject to the recommendations of the trainer and, in the absence of other factors, rarely to arthrosis.
- Surgical interventions(Menisectomy and others). After the operations, patients are prescribed drug therapy, bed rest and other procedures to reduce the risk of complications. With her injury, the likelihood of osteoarthritis increases.
The main symptoms
The diagnosis of osteoarthritis is quite simple, even an unprepared person can do it, it is enough to understand the types of pain in the joints.
Types of joint pain:
- The pain occurs and increases from the load, weakens in peace;
- If the patient is placed and the other person bends his limb, the pain occurs as usual (due to friction in the joint);
- The pain from work gradually increases with the course of the disease.
Another characteristic symptom is a dry crunch in the joint when you move. Usually the joints crunch, but the sound of a healthy joint is sound and sharp, the joints do not harm. With osteoarthritis, the crunch is dry, initially badly heard, but it always accompanies the movement. At the same time, a person experiences severe pain.
With the development of the disease, other characteristic symptoms occur: low mobility, joint deformation. The X -Ray picture shows a decrease in the joint column, bone growth on the bone heads, their deformation.
Osteoarthritis often occurs in the knee and hip litors because they have increased loads. Less frequently, the shoulder and elbow compounds on the fingers or legs occur. There are a variety of disease - generalized osteoarthritis, in which all joints in the body are affected at the same time.
Disease stages
Arthrosis is damaged by articular cartilage, bones and tissue. The arthrosis stadiums differ depending on the damage of the joint.
1. stage
At this stage, degenerative processes only influence collagen fibers and prototoglycan molecules in the cartilage. Due to the change in the composition of the cartilage or the synovial fluid, pathological friction occurs, which leads to painful sensations. Pain occurs after intensive physical exertion, it disappears in peace. The joint movements are not yet difficult, the changes do not refer to muscle fibers, joint bags and surrounding blood vessels. At this stage, the changes to the X -Ray are not visible or insignificant.
Level 2
Due to abnormal friction, the cartilage loses the properties of elasticity and strength, gradually thinner and no longer protects the bone heads. As a result, they are flattened, with the area of their contact increasing. At the edges of the common platform, growth is formed -osteophytes that are clearly visible in an X -Ray image.
At this stage, the pain not only follows the patient with burdens, but already with minor movements. Peace does not make a complete relief, although it can reduce pain. The joint sometimes loses mobility, the patient himself also tries not to load the affected member.
Due to the lack of mobility, blood supply to the joint worsens. As a result, the composition of the synovial fluid changes becomes viscoous and loses lubrication properties that accelerate the course of the disease. The X-ray recording shows a decrease in the lumen of the joint column by 50-70%, the joint deformation becomes noticeable.
Level 3
In this phase, the cartilage disappears completely or in part. The mobility of the joint disappears, the patient has severe pain, not only when moving, but also in peace. The joint column and the synovial fluid disappear and the joint bag folds and atrophies. At this stage, only surgical treatment is possible with the replacement of the joint with artificial prosthesis. If this is not done, the anchilosis occurs with the impossibility of movement.
Treatment methods
Even with a 100% dedication of the doctor and the patient, the joint is only completely restored in 1 stage of osteoarthritis. In 2 stadiums, the bone formation is observed so that it does not work to return the joint into the joint. However, you can delay the company for a long time or even avoid it completely. Stage 3 of arthrosis is treated exclusively surgically.
Many methods are used in the treatment of 1 and 2 arthrosis stadiums. First, it is a drug treatment. Various physiotherapy, biological treatment methods, massage are also used. If the food is overweight, the normalization of the food is required.
Symptomatic therapy
To eliminate pain, non -steroids are used in anti -inflammatory medication. All funds have many contraindications, in addition they are not recommended for a longer use because they aggravate the synthesis of protoglycans in the joint.
For pain relief, it is better to use selective anti -inflammatory drugs with anti -inflammatory use. They do not cause complications, have few contraindications and can be vague for a long time. To improve blood circulation, you can use vasodilating medication or local irritating ointments.
Specific therapy
It is to restore the chondroprotecrotector (glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate) - medication to restore cartilage. Glucosamine stimulates the activities of chondrocytes, and it is also a raw material to produce Proteoglycan molecules. Chondroitin sulfate increases the ability of Proteoglycan to grab and hold water. In addition, it stimulates the formation of collagen fibers and blocks the enzymes that they solve.
Injections of hyaluronic acid are also used. It is a raw material for collagen fibers and an integral part of the synovial fluid. The treatment method is common and has proven its effectiveness. In order to maintain the effect of a specific therapy, it takes a long time 1-1, 5 years for the cartilage to be completely restored.
Surgical operation
The latest and most radical method for the treatment of osteoarthritis. During the operation, the affected connection is separated, the joint head and the steering bed are removed. In their place, an artificial joint with a titanium head and a lodge made of polyethylene is placed with high strength. The entire structure is fixed in the bones with the help of pens.
The operation to replace the hip or knee joint is complex and dangerous. Often leads to complications (lung thromboembolism, infectious diseases). Even with a successful operation, the prosthesis "smashes" over time and requires exchange. This is done in a maximum of 10-15 years and the minimum duration is 1-3 years.
Other procedures
Many procedures aim to eliminate harmful friction in the joint and to improve blood supply. Treatment methods, many of them should be used comprehensively or alternately. We will only analyze some of the most effective treatment methods:
- Manual therapy. The manual therapist "stretches" the connection and reduces the pressure with the cartilage. The procedure should be carried out frequently and regularly, but the effect appears immediately.
- Another way of outlawing the joint -Hardware traction. It is effectively used on the knee joint, the knee is stretched with the device on a special table. There are enough 2 courses a year for 10-12 sessions per course.
- Therapeutic massage. After the procedure, the circulation of articular fluid improves, blood supply increases and the plasticity of the joint increases. The massage is contraindicated in inflammatory processes.
- Ultrasonic therapy. In ultrasound vibrations, "massage" of muscles, blood vessels and cartilage tissue occurs. Ultrasound accelerates the metabolism due to biochemical exposure. It also has a thermal effect when mechanical energy flows into thermal energy from the sound.
- INTraining therapyMany exercises are included in arthrosis, including unusual training that are used exclusively for osteoarthritis.
Here is an example of exercises that the specialized doctor of Artrologs talks to with explanations for each exercise.
Eating for arthrosis
For a long time it was assumed that an irregular diet leads to osteoarthritis and that it can be healed with a diet. Today it became completely clear that the diet is not directly related to osteoarthritis.
Of course, overweight is one of the factors that accelerate the course of osteoarthritis, so the diets are useful, but only for a certain circle of people. The normalization of diet for osteoarthritis should be taken as an excess weight.
Weight reduction is particularly important for people who suffer from gonarthrosis because the main weight of the body is on the knees.
If you drop the weight, you have to understand and use several rules that simplify the task and give a guarantee for the result:
- Psychological work. The desire to "eat tightly" arises due to certain psychological attitudes and the desire to reward or calm the nerves with the help of sweet. Such psychological problems avoid weight loss and increase the situation. Losing weight without solving psychological problems only has a temporary effect.
- Not weight loss, but normalization of food. The main cause of excess weight is an inappropriate diet. If you lose weight of the body, but do not eliminate the unbalanced diet, the person takes weight again after a while. It is necessary to remove the root of the problem. This means that it is necessary not to normalize the diet to a certain "time of weight loss", but forever.
- Gradual introduction of all rules. It is very difficult to lose psychologically weight, so all rules of a healthy diet must be gradually introduced. First, a rule is introduced (for example not after 19: 00) after you are used to a rule.
- Must be crossed from the menuFried meat, all dishes prepared in oil, confectionery products made of white flour. You have to eat more vegetables, fruit, simple grain on the water. It is advisable to divide the daily diet into 5-6 meals, eat 3-4 hours before going to bed and drink more water.
Arthrosis is a terrible disease, but with a systematic and timely approach to treatment, it withdraws. To defeat him, you need to know his essence, the development mechanisms, the risk factors and the causes of development. If you apply all the recommended therapy methods, the healing of osteoarthritis is quite easy.