Along with arthritis, joint disease is one of the most common joint diseases, especially in the second half of life.In the absence of timely and high-quality treatment, this disease can lead to limb disability.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is a disease of the joints, based on degenerative changes of cartilage that develop due to nutritional deterioration (trophism) or disruption of its configuration, for example, after an injury.
Arthritis-arthritis is a disease that is characterized not only by the degenerative processes occurring in the joints, but also by its inflammation.
Osteoarthritis deformity is a degenerative joint disease, one of the manifestations of the disease is the proliferation of bone tissue, leading to deformation of the ends of bones that form joints.
Periarthrosis is a dystrophic process in which degenerative changes are observed not only in joints, but also in adjacent tissues (eg, tendons, ligaments).
Joint hemorrhage is bleeding into the joint cavity.
Causes of arthritis
The leading cause of the development of joint disease is metabolic disorders that occur in cartilage tissue.As a result, the cartilage loses its elasticity and begins to gradually degenerate.
The causes of metabolic disorders and the development of degenerative changes in the joints are diverse.These could be:
- endocrine disorders,
- female,
- loss of proteoglycans in cartilage tissue,
- aging of the body,
- increased stress on joints due to participating in a certain type of activity or being overweight,
- various chronic diseases.
In women, ankle and foot arthritis can occur from wearing narrow and uncomfortable shoes for long periods of time, including high heels.Changes in the joints of the hands are observed mainly in people working in professions where most of the burden falls on the hands (while arthritis is much more common in women).
In addition, osteoarthritis of the knee, hip or ankle joints is also caused by various injuries (post-traumatic arthritis).
Types and symptoms of arthritis
Arthritis is classified according to the degree of joint damage:
- Grade 1 - joints retain mobility, there are practically no obvious changes on X-rays.Patients may only feel discomfort from mild crunching or mild pain.
- Grade 2 - people with arthritis have discomfort in the joint area, limb mobility is impaired, periodic pain becomes more pronounced and lasts longer, early signs of joint deformation are detected on X-ray or ultrasound.
- Grade 3 - movement in the joint is limited, the patient has severe pain (even at rest), characteristic changes are observed on X-rays.
Sometimes experts also distinguish the fourth degree of arthritis, characterized by severe pain and severe deformation in this area.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Most often, this term refers to degenerative-destructive changes in the joints that develop as a result of another disease - rheumatoid arthritis.Rheumatoid arthritis itself changes the configuration of joint surfaces, leading to a violation of their uniformity and exacerbation of degenerative processes in articular and periarticular tissues.
Noncapsular arthritis
This is the appearance of degenerative-dystrophic changes in the cervical spine.The main symptoms of osteoarthritis in this position:
- make a crunching sound when turning your head,
- pain in the neck (especially after sitting or standing for long periods of time),
- headache,
- dizzy,
- fluctuations in blood pressure.
X-ray examination may show cervical subluxation.
In addition, arthritis is distinguished:
- knee (gonorrhea),
- hip joint (coxarthrosis),
- ankle joint (crushatron),
- other areas of the spine,
- temporomandibular joint, etc.
How and with what to treat arthritis?
Before deciding on home treatment, you should see a doctor and determine the exact cause of the disease.To do this, the doctor usually examines the patient and prescribes a series of additional laboratory and instrumental tests, including various biochemical blood tests (for example, for acute phase reactions, the presence of rheumatoid factor, etc.), as well as X-rays, ultrasound, MRI or CT of the joints.If necessary, the examination is supplemented with diagnostic endoscopy.
Next, the doctor makes an accurate diagnosis and prescribes appropriate treatment for the joint.
What principles is the treatment of arthritis based on?
- Eliminate the cause of the disease.In the case of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, the underlying disease is treated and stable remission is achieved.
- Normalizes joint nutrition, metabolism and blood circulation.For this purpose, chondroprotectants, hyaluronic acid preparations, drugs that improve local and systemic blood flow, antiplatelet drugs and vitamins are used.
- Treat symptoms.As a rule, for severe pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with a good analgesic effect are prescribed.
Ointments, gels, creams with anti-inflammatory and distracting effects are applied topically to the joint area 2-3 times a day, compresses with dimexide and use of rubbing agents.
Physical therapy
To reduce pain and inflammation, ultraviolet irradiation with erythematous doses, laser therapy, UHF, microwave, electrophoresis and phonophoresis are widely used.In addition to physical therapy procedures, regular joint therapy exercises and spa treatments are helpful for arthritis.
Surgical treatment
Most often this is a partial or complete replacement of the joint or its plastic surgery.It can be performed the traditional way, as well as using endoscopic and minimally invasive surgery, including arthroscopy.Surgery is indicated in cases where conservative treatment does not bring the desired effect, as well as in cases of severe joint deformity and loss of mobility.
prevent
First of all, prevention of joint disease includes diet, exercise and avoiding hypothermia.
Diet
Nutrition for arthritis does not require any serious restrictions.Overall, this is a balanced diet, including all major food groups, adequate fluid intake and fresh vegetables and fruit.Many experts recommend periodically including jellied meat, rich broths and other similar dishes in the menu, unless contraindicated by the doctor.The only significant limitation is the calorie content of food.It is necessary to monitor your body weight, as excess weight will speed up the wear and tear of your joints.
Spicy and hot foods themselves do not have a significant effect on arthritis, but it should be remembered that many people suffering from this disease are forced to use painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, most of which negatively affect the gastric mucosa.You should also limit foods rich in cholesterol that lead to increased blood viscosity so that blood supply to the joints is not reduced.For these reasons, you should exclude such dishes from your daily menu if you have joint diseases.
do exercise
Exercise and physical activity help improve blood circulation and blood supply to joint tissues, while also strengthening muscles.The most helpful exercises for arthritis are swimming, walking and skiing.For coxarthrosis, gonorrhea combined with being overweight, cycling or exercising on an exercise bike has had a good effect.
Avoid hypothermia
Joints "love" when a person dresses appropriately for the weather, equally protecting all parts of the body from the cold.Any local hypothermia weakens the body's defenses, which can lead to subsequent inflammation of the joints and the development of degenerative processes in them.