Osteoarthritis of the knee(gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis of the knee joint, deforming arthrosis of the knee joint) is a degenerative disease of the knee joint, which is characterized by destruction of the cartilage of the joint surfaces, deformation of the joint and damage to its function.
Initial changes in osteoarthritis of the knee joint are believed to form in cartilage tissue at the molecular level. Over time, these changes lead to a violation of the physico-chemical properties of cartilage. When examining the cartilage preparation, it can be discovered that in some places it begins to become cloudy, thinner, layered and crack in different directions.
In the end, the pathological process ends with the complete disappearance of the cartilage to a greater or lesser extent, which leads to the discovery of the lower bone. Knee osteoarthritis is most common in people over the age of 50.
More often women suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee joint. Knee osteoarthritis can be unilateral or bilateral. The most common forms of osteoarthritis are medial.
Reasons for the development of osteoarthritis of the knee joint
The exact cause of osteoarthritis is not known to science, but there are a number of factors that usually contribute to the development of this disease:
- Previous knee injuries - increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis;
- Heredity - in some cases in patients with osteoarthritis, a defect in the gene responsible for the development of cartilage is detected, which leads to the fact that these people have an increased predisposition to the development of osteoarthritis, due to low resistance to cartilage damage;
- Increased body weight - according to observations, arthrosis of the large joints of the lower extremities (knee, arthrosis of the hip joint) most often develops in patients with increased body weight and occurs as a result of excessive load on these joints. It can also lead to faster disease progression;
- Excessive joint load;
- Intraarticular deposition of crystals - occurs in some diseases associated with metabolic disorders, especially uric acid, etc. Which can lead to cartilage destruction.
Symptoms of knee osteoarthritis
The symptoms of knee joint osteoarthritis are known to develop slowly over several years.
The most common symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee are:
- Pain in the depth of the knee joint, which occurs especially when moving and walking;
- Knee swelling;
- Morning stiffness in the morning, which passes after some time during movement, patients notice that they have to "disperse, " after which there is relief and improvement of movement in the knee joint;
- Crunching (crepitus) in the joint during movement.
Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee
It is currently not possible to completely cure osteoarthritis of the knee joint. However, by starting treatment in the early stages of the disease, it is possible to stop the progression of the destruction of the cartilaginous tissue of the joint for a long time.
The treatment center conducts modern treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee based on a comprehensive multilateral approach and includes:
- Use of knee prostheses to relieve the medial parts of the joint;
- Taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which allows you to stop inflammation in the joint and reduce pain;
- Weight loss - reliably slows the progression of osteoarthritis;
- Physiotherapy exercises, excluding axial loads of the joint, allow you to restore muscle tone, prevent their wear and restore the range of motion in the joint;
- Taking small doses of muscle relaxants - leads to a reduction in periarticular muscle spasms, which also significantly reduces the pain syndrome;
- Physiotherapy courses;
- Introduction of hyaluronic acid preparations into the joint - synovial fluid prosthesis;
- Taking drugs from the group of chondroprotectors;
- Taking medications that improve blood rheology and blood supply to the bones;
- In some cases knee arthroscopy;
- Knee replacement - knee arthroplasty if conservative treatment is ineffective.
Knee arthrosis surgery is performed free of charge within the VMP.
In case of medical indications and the presence of quotas in the referral, our center performs operations at the expense of funds allocated under the program for the provision of high-tech medical care (HMP).
Details of the high-tech medical care program.
Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee by PRP method
In addition to the classic methods of conservative treatment of deforming arthrosis of the knee joint, our clinic has a unique opportunity to be treated with a unique technique based on the introduction into the affected joint of biologically active substances isolated from the patient's own autologous platelet-enriched blood plasma (PRP therapy). influence on a key link in the pathogenesis of arthrosis - regeneration - regeneration of cartilage tissue.
As a result of treatment using enriched autologous platelet plasma, the patient does not use "chemical" drugs, does not require a daily visit to a physiotherapist, etc. Thus, there is no effect of drugs on the body as a whole, the load on such important organs as the liver and kidneys is reduced.