Osteoarthritis (Greek: arthr) is a group of diseases that damage the joints of the human body.
The left side of the photo of a healthy person.On the right, a person with severe osteoarthritis of the right hip joint.You can see that the channel is completely closed.Severe pain occurs and the patient is unable to stand up.
There are more than 100 different forms of osteoarthritis.The most common form, osteoarthritis (damage to the joint ends of jointed bones) is the result of joint trauma, joint infections, or age-related factors.
Other forms of osteoarthritis include rheumatoid osteoarthritis (rheumatism), gout, psoriatic osteoarthritis, and related autoimmune diseases.Septic arthritis occurs due to a joint infection.All forms have a common symptom: joint pain.
Symptoms
All types of arthrosis are accompanied by pain, the nature of which determines the type.Characterized by redness of the skin, limited mobility of the knee joint and changes in its shape.Disease-prone joints often crack unnaturally when subjected to stress.The patient may experience difficulties in cases where it is necessary to undergo physical activity.
The elements of the anamnesis determine the diagnosis.Important elements are the time of onset and the speed of development of the disease, the presence of morning immobility, pain, "blockage" of the joint due to inactivity, etc.For a more accurate diagnosis, radiography and tomography are used.
Causes of osteoarthritis
Pain caused by osteoarthritis occurs due to inflammation that occurs around the joint.Joint damage due to diseases, daily rubbing, muscle tension.Joint pain is often constant.Pain may be localized to the affected areas.
Classification of osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is divided into primary and secondary.There are 4 degrees of osteoarthritis:
1st degree arthrosis of the knee joint: softening of the cartilage appears, it can be felt on the surface of the knee.Not visible on X-rays.
2nd degree arthrosis of the knee joint: the cartilage begins to wear out and in the photo you can see a narrowing of the joint space.
3rd degree arthrosis of the knee joint: osteophytes appear, treatment is more difficult.Difficult to distinguish it from the 2nd degree.
Arthrosis of the knee joint 4 degrees: bones come into contact with each other, osteophytes increase and distortion of the joint occurs.
Arthritis of the patellofemoral joint
Patellofemoral arthritis is damage to the cartilage between the kneecap and the femur.Unlike other types of knee OA, which occur on the inside (medial) and outside (lateral) parts of the knee and cause difficulty walking on flat surfaces, patellofemoral osteoarthritis causes pain in the front of the knee when squatting and rising from a sitting position.In this case a knee brace helps a lot.It was observed that patients who wore the brace daily had significantly less joint damage on MRI and decreased knee pain.
Prevention and treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint
Osteoarthritis, like rheumatoid osteoarthritis, cannot be cured completely without surgery, but steps can be taken to prevent the condition from worsening.Weight measurement is essential to improve symptoms and prevent disease progression.For osteoarthritis, physical therapy is indicated to strengthen muscles and joints.In particular, ESMA equipment is effective for its treatment.Patients also require drug treatment.When the disease progresses rapidly and the pain is constant, surgery may be suggested.Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, for many people osteoarthritis benefits from joint replacement.There are synovial injections: intraarticular fluid injections.They allow the patient to relieve pain for 8 months, after which the procedure is repeated.Bee venom treatment is also effective for pain relief.
X-ray of a knee with an artificial prosthesis after joint replacement surgery.
Prevention of osteoarthritis
It includes a number of procedures: massage, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, herbal preparations, dietary supplements, aromatherapy, hot and cold treatments, healthy exercises, diet.
According to statistics, today more than 43 million Americans experience pain when bending their knee.According to statistics, this is one of the main causes of disability in the country.About 1 in 7 Americans suffer from it. With age, the likelihood of developing osteoarthritis increases.