Osteoarthritis of the hip, shoulder, knee and ankle is a disease that occurs as a result of wear and tear of cartilage tissue, as well as bone deformation. In this case, the patient feels pain of varying intensity (depending on the form of the disease). As a result, the disease leads to problems with motor functions, partial or complete immobilization, and disability. It is important to determine if osteoarthritis can be cured without surgery.
Definition of defeat
Knee joint disease most commonly occurs in women, and many reasons can lead to its occurrence. Older people are more likely to have osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
If osteoarthritis treatment is not started on time, the bones that make up the joints will be exposed and damaged. In this case, it will not be possible without surgery. When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, it is important to seek medical help as soon as possible. It will not be able to completely eliminate osteoarthritis, but it will help slow down the process of deformity of the knee joint and stop degeneration. Early detection of the lesion and proper treatment can help avoid the negative consequences and status of early disability.
What are the most common causes of osteoarthritis of the knee joint and can the disease be cured? The main reasons include:
- Straight legs.
- Vein diseases.
- Diabetes and other disorders associated with metabolic disorders. In this case, it will be difficult to get rid of osteoarthritis, because not all medications and physiotherapy are allowed.
- Overweight - People with weight problems have osteoarthritis much more often than people with normal body weight.
- Adolescence - at this time the metabolism and hormonal background of a person changes, leading to a degenerative process.
- Carrying a child - at this time a woman is getting fat, as a result of which the load on the knee is significantly increased. The hormonal background is disturbed, which contributes to the appearance of osteoarthritis of the knee.
- Changes in the body related to the age of the patient.
- I get certain injuries. About 30 percent of knee osteoarthritis is due to injury. Injury leads to a change in the normal structure of the tissue, which provokes the process of destruction.
- Regular physical activity on the lower legs, to which the body has not adapted.
- The beginning of the inflammatory process in the body.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- The onset of cramps in the thigh muscles.
Treatment of the disease is possible only if you contact the doctor who treats. In this case, it is forbidden to start any treatment on your own. Only a specialist will be able to prescribe effective therapy that will include physiotherapy and medication.
Preventive measures
It is important to remember preventive measures even before the onset of the underlying disease. Osteoarthritis can be divided into two types. The first occurs due to a violation of the metabolic process in the body, as well as the age characteristics of the patient.
The second type occurs as a result of injury or infection. To prevent another type of osteoarthritis, it is important to avoid possible injuries, bruises, fractures. This applies to a greater extent to those who engage in any kind of sport or dance. Such people often become ill with such a disease and no longer allow them to do what they love. This also applies to children who are very active, behaving carelessly on the street; it is important that they behave carefully so as not to sustain dangerous injuries.
The main factor that will help avoid osteoarthritis of the deforming knee joint is mobility. Moderate exercise is the best way to prevent osteoarthritis. This is especially important for people whose work activities are primarily related to sedentary work. It is important to remember that in this case it is a moderate load on different joints.
The main stages of the disease
Developmental osteoarthritis can be divided into four different stages. The more advanced the stage, the more difficult it will be to treat and alleviate the symptoms:
- in the first stage the symptoms are mild, but the process of tissue destruction is already spreading rapidly;
- destruction of cartilage continues, which leads to a decrease in leg mobility in the joint area and is accompanied by severe pain syndrome;
- the cartilage tissue in this case thins, the bones that form the joints begin to actively grow and be damaged;
- in the last stage of the disease development the cartilage is almost completely destroyed, the deformation of the bones leads to a change in the axis of the diseased limb, while the joint ceases to cope with the pressure exerted on it, and the leg in the knee completely loses mobility.
It is possible to diagnose first-degree knee osteoarthritis with short-term pain that occurs when a person walks. There is no noticeable deformity that can be detected during the examination, and the radiography also does not provide the necessary amount of information about the condition of the joints to make an accurate diagnosis.
If the disease is detected in time and full-fledged treatment is started, then the process of destruction of cartilage tissue can be completely stopped, and the affected areas can even be restored.
Can grade 2 osteoarthritis be cured? Treatment in stage 2 of the development of osteoarthritis is aimed at eliminating unpleasant symptoms and slowing down the degenerative-dystrophic process. In this case, it is not always possible to restore the fabric, but you can keep what is left intact.
Is it possible to cure grade 3 osteoarthritis? When arthrosis reaches the 3rd stage of development, attempts to slow down the destructive process and damage the bones usually do not bring results, the disease quickly reaches the 4th stage of development (some experts therefore distinguish only three stages of development of this disease).
In case of serious changes in the structure of the joint, it is necessary to use a prosthesis, which is called an endoprosthesis.
In some cases, phase 2 gonarthrosis surgery is also used. At the same time, minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery is performed by removing dead tissue with a small incision, as well as parts of the damaged cartilage. With the help of such an operation, the range of motion increases, and the symptoms of pain and inflammation disappear. But you need to keep in mind that the treatment doesn’t end there. Such an operation will help alleviate the unpleasant symptoms of the disease for several years.
Treatment
Can osteoarthritis of the knee be cured? Treatment of any disease can be carried out in three main areas:
- etiotropic - removal of the underlying causes of the lesion;
- symptomatic - alleviation of the main symptoms;
- pathogenetic - disorders in the progression of the disease.
In order to carry out effective treatment or at least stop the development of osteoarthritis, it is important to:
- activate the process of blood supply and improve the condition of tissues;
- compensate for the lack or excess of enzymes in the body;
- give the body everything it needs to reproduce cartilage tissue;
- restore synovial fluid volume and composition.
Many physiotherapeutic procedures and topical ointments lead to improved tissue nutrition and normalization of their blood supply. During electrophoresis, tissues can be saturated with special enzymes. But the main way to treat such a disease is to take chondroprotectors. Recently, hyaluronic acid injections have been mainly used to treat osteoarthritis. And biological treatment methods are considered more aggressive.
Use of chondroprotectors
Can osteoarthritis be completely cured? Chondroprotectors are suitable for complete treatment - drugs that include natural components of cartilage tissue or their synthetic analogues that lead to the synthesis of certain components or inhibit their deterioration.
Chondroprotectors can be found in the following forms:
- tablets, capsules and powders for oral administration;
- solutions for intramuscular injection;
- special ointments for external use.
Medicines for external use should be used as an additional treatment in complex therapy.
Can deforming osteoarthritis be cured? You must first consider the features of chondroprotective treatment:
- many chondroprotectors help to resolve severe pain and inflammation, but this is not the main advantage of taking them, for symptomatic therapy it is best to use NSAIDs at more affordable prices;
- therapeutic measures bring a special effect in the 1st and 2nd stage of disease development, when the cartilage has not yet been destroyed to an extreme state;
- during treatment it is important to go through a long systematic course of medication, after each course it is necessary to take a break; One course includes 6 months, so treatment lasts for years.
If the patient is prone to knee osteoarthritis, then he should start taking chondroprotectors in advance to prevent it, before the first signs of the disease appear. Chondroprotectors cannot be called a medicine for protection, because they protect the cartilage and do not restore its condition. Osteoarthritis is much easier to prevent than to start treatment afterwards.
The main difficulty in treatment
Can osteoarthritis be cured forever? The main difficulty of treatment is that no drugs have been developed so far that could permanently and completely get rid of osteoarthritis. But it is important to remember that there are quite effective complex methods of treatment that help to resolve the pain and slow down the disease process.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is a degenerative-dystrophic process, during which the cartilaginous structures covering the surface of the femoral head are damaged, as well as the acetabulum. For cartilage to be healthy, it is important to determine if hip osteoarthritis can be treated.
Drug treatment
There are many ways to treat this disease. Most often, the doctor prescribes the whole complex, which includes many therapeutic measures.
Can hip osteoarthritis be cured? In arthrosis of 1 and 2 degrees, it is allowed to use medications for treatment. The most effective drugs in this case are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vasodilators that improve the blood supply to the joints, relax the muscles and help eliminate cramps.
Chondroprotectors are also used to preserve cartilage tissue. At the first and second stage of lesion development, experts allow the use of topical agents: patches, applications, ointments and gels - they stimulate normal blood circulation.
It is important to remember that without effective and timely treatment, osteoarthritis of the hip joint can cause ankylosis. Ankylosis is a complete fusion of the femur and pelvis. In this case, the leg completely loses mobility in the joint.
Osteoarthritis of the ankle
Can ankle osteoarthritis be cured? It is important to make an accurate diagnosis before treating ankle osteoarthritis. Most often, the doctor can establish an accurate diagnosis either by examining the patient's foot or by X-ray.
Depending on the stage of development of the disease, the specialist will choose the most appropriate method of treatment. Even before visiting a specialist, the patient should significantly reduce the load on the diseased joint, avoid hypothermia, as well as overload. The doctor prescribes a complex treatment to the patient: physiotherapy, balneotherapy, taking painkillers, as well as means to stimulate blood circulation.
Also, ankle therapy can be performed on an outpatient basis, in a hospital with the appointment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Treatment difficulties can arise if the patient is obese. It is important for such a patient to eat properly not only during the treatment itself, but also after it.
Gymnastic exercises
Gymnastics with arthrosis of the ankle is allowed only after the main symptoms of the disease have completely disappeared. A set of exercises and loads on the foot should be compiled together with a specialist doctor.
Any gymnastic exercise during osteoarthritis should strain the ligaments and muscles in the joint, without overloading the joints themselves, otherwise it can be very dangerous.
Can arthrosis of the joint be cured? The course of gymnastics in the treatment of arthrosis will not require the patient to spend money, buy medicines or expensive devices, but the patient will have to be patient and diligent in order to complete the course correctly.
Shoulder problems
Some injuries can lead to an inflammatory or degenerative process in the joints. The following reasons most often lead to osteoarthritis of the shoulder:
- vigorous physical exertion on the shoulder joint at work, resulting in active wear of its components;
- getting a shoulder injury;
- shoulder joint dysplasia;
- changes in hormone production;
- problems with the blood supply to the joint tissues, leading to the appearance of vascular pathologies;
- natural cartilage wear, which is typical of the elderly.
In this case, the usual inflammatory process is accompanied by painful symptoms. The reasons for this lesion are different, they can be related to trauma, infection or dysfunction of certain systems in the body.
Most often, the appearance of arthritis requires additional external influences: stress, hypothermia, infection of organs, infection through an open wound, the immune response to the resulting infection.
When determining the disease, the doctor pays attention to the degree of the disease, the main complaints of the patient and the results of a series of examinations. The main diagnostic measure is a biochemical blood test that helps confirm the presence of inflammation and, in some cases, determine its nature.
Another important study is X-rays, which help determine the place of joint deformation in the early phase of its appearance.
Is it possible to cure osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint? In case of arthrosis of the first two degrees, only conservative treatment is used. And only in the complicated form of the disease is surgery prescribed.
The main methods of conservative treatment:
- taking medication;
- treatment by folk methods;
- physiotherapy activities;
- sanitary treatment;
- massages;
- acupuncture;
- physiotherapy;
- special diet.
Before starting therapy, it is important to provide the damaged joint with complete rest, which is much easier to do if the arthrosis is spread in the shoulder region. The easiest treatment is considered to be the first stage of the disease, when cicatricial changes have not yet occurred and the tissue has still retained its regenerative capacity.
But in the presence of such a form of lesion, the discomfort usually does not manifest itself strongly, the pain is weak, so the patient seeks help from a doctor very late. In the future, after completing the treatment, the patient will also have to follow a frugal regimen.