Osteoarthritis: what it is and how to treat it effectively

Osteoarthritis - among the diseases of the joints, osteoarthritis is well known and widespread. What is it and how to treat it? What are the symptoms of the disease and what are its main causes?

What is osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a disease that has a devastating effect on the joints, due to which there is a breakdown of the cartilage inside them.

A long period of the disease course leads to a change in bone endings, and inflammatory processes destroy nearby tissues.

The list of arthrosis-related joint diseases is not small and is a group of diseases that have a similar destructive effect, but have different causes and developmental processes.

According to the statistics obtained, up to 80% of the population suffers from various types of arthrosis, which makes it the most common joint disease. The disease is so common that it is ranked third after oncology and cardiovascular disease.

Due to non-compliance with a healthy lifestyle, over time the risk of disease increases significantly.

Arthrosis is not such a disease of the septa and can affect both men and women, acting more faithfully only on the interphalangeal joints. People who have reached the age of 30 are susceptible to the disease, and over time their numbers are increasing unhindered.

Causes of osteoarthritis

The reason for the appearance of such arthrosis and such treatment is a violation of metabolic processes in the joint. This leads to a loss of strength and elasticity of the cartilage.

The reason for this is a significant decrease or complete disappearance of proteoglycans due to large cracks in the cartilage.

Other reasons may also contribute to this, for example, a violation of the normal production of proteoglycans by the cells themselves.

Additional causes that have a devastating effect on the joints:

• violation of metabolic processes throughout the body;
• deterioration of the hormonal background;
• slowing of blood circulation in the joints;
• hereditary causes;
• advanced age;
• various injuries;
• rheumatoid arthritis;
• psoriasis.

But the main reason is non-compliance with normal loads on the joints in everyday life.

Due to their lack of preparation, a person's reluctance to perform physical exercises in a timely manner, warm-ups to strengthen the joints - cartilage is not able to fully perform its functions.

A wide list of causes that can provoke arthrosis:

• previously sustained injuries, such as dislocations, fractures, bruises, torn ligaments and others;
• violation of metabolic processes that support viability;
• excessive body weight, which leads to excessive stress on the joints;
• acute purulent arthritis leading to inflammation of the joint;
• old age;
• malnutrition;
• prolonged excessive decrease in body temperature;
• autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis;
• body poisoning;
• frequent colds;
• special diseases: syphilis, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, tick-borne encephalitis;
• thyroid diseases;
• haemophilia;
• Peters disease.

Other genetic causes of osteoarthritis include:

• osteoarthritis of the hands and fingers can be hereditary, as proven by scientists who studied Bouchard's and Heberden's nodules;
• in case of dysplasia, which developed as a result of a violation of the formation of the joints in the prenatal period, excessive wear of the joints and the development of arthrosis may occur;
• Mutations in collagen type 2 can lead to disruption of the internal structure of connective tissue fibrillar protein and breakdown of cartilage.

If you are a mason, miner, fisherman, loader or your activity is to some extent related to excessive physical exertion, then without taking preventive measures, you also risk getting osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis symptoms

For a complete understanding of what osteoarthritis is and how it is treated, we will discuss the external manifestations.

The most common symptoms of osteoarthritis are: the manifestation of pain when exerting effort on the joint, which can lessen at rest; deterioration of the motor functions of the joint; the appearance of creaks; feeling of muscle tension around the affected joint.

The main thing is not to allow long-term tumors, as they can lead to early deformation of the joint.

Four Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

1. Painful manifestations. They are considered the first message to osteoarthritis of the joints. Although the culprits of pain can be various reasons, but in the case of osteoarthritis, pain has certain characteristics. The main thing is the presence of sharp pains that appear during movement at the site of the damaged joint. Pain disappears after minimizing functional activity. At night, the pain practically does not manifest itself in any way, only with blows from side to side, slight discomfort may appear. In a state of immobility, pain can manifest itself only in advanced forms. At this stage, the process of falling asleep can be difficult. Symptoms return early in the morning. As the disease progresses, a person needs more and more time to rest and recover. Even later, even at rest, the pain does not stop, turning life into constant torment. There is almost complete wear of the cartilage, as a result of which the bone is exposed, the osteophytes are erased.
2. The appearance of creaks. A symptom not to be overlooked. The crunch appears due to the friction of the bones against each other, as the smoothness between them decreases - as a result, a distinct "dry" sound appears. However, it can also occur with other conditions, and sometimes even when the joints are healthy. In severe forms of the disease, the sound may become more pronounced, and the pain intensifies.
3. Decreased joint mobility. This is an additional symptom that does not accompany arthrosis in the initial stages, however, in a neglected state, it stimulates excessive growth of interosseous formations, which leads to spasms, and the gap between the jointsis almost completely overgrown. And this is the main reason for the loss of mobility.
4. Joint deformity. This symptom involves degrading changes in the surfaces of the joints due to the growth of osteophytes and the outflow of synovial fluid. It is one of the last symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Due to the alternation of periods of remission and exacerbation, self-diagnosis of osteoarthritis is much more difficult. Therefore, it is not enough to rely solely on personal feelings - the help of a specialist doctor is necessary.

Diagnosis - osteoarthritis

To detect possible signs indicating the presence of the disease and the degree of its complexity, a study using radiography is used:

• At the first stage, osteophytes are not yet present, and the gap between the joints is narrowed little.
• The second stage is characterized by a decrease in joint space, with a slight appearance of osteophytes.
• At the third stage, the decrease in joint space is clearly noticeable, a large number of osteophytes are formed, deforming processes begin to occur.
• At the last fourth stage, the gap between the joints almost completely disappears, the maximum possible number of osteophytes appears, deforming processes are in full swing.

Negative consequences of osteoarthritis

Ignoring timely treatment of arthrosis not only leads to complete irreversible damage to the joint, but also causes damage to the spine.

Disc herniations can form in the intervertebral discs. Osteoarthritis can spread to other joints that are still healthy.

Treatment methodology

As with any other dangerous disease, it is better not to start treatment, but to carry it out at an early stage.

Treatment methods should be comprehensive and aimed at eliminating the links that contribute to the progression of the disease, as well as strengthening the factors that help healing.

What is special about the treatment of osteoarthritis? An integrated approach to therapy is the use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs.

However, physiotherapy courses are compulsory. In the case of choosing treatment by the sanitary station method, the climatic conditions should be selected so that the effect on the joints is as favorable as possible.

The program should include procedures in mineral waters and mud baths.

The essence of the treatment of arthrosis is as follows:

• Diseased joints should be subjected to loads as low as possible, it is particularly important to take this into account in the treatment process;
• You cannot ignore the orthopedic diet;
• Compulsory physical exercises to improve health;
• Perform physiotherapeutic procedures, such as: electroprocedures, shock wave procedures, laser therapy;
• Sanatorium recovery - prescribed by a doctor and recommended to pass through special resorts once a year;
• Carry out oxygen therapy - the introduction of oxygen into the joint;
• Medical treatment;
• Intraosseous blockade;
• Switch to a healthy diet.

Types of drug treatment

• Means that eliminate inflammatory processes. By carrying out complex treatment, it is possible to significantly slow down the course of the disease, thereby saving you from suffering in the future. The medicinal method of treatment involves the relief of pain and the elimination of inflammatory processes in the joints. For these purposes, drugs of non-steroidal origin are selected. Often they are administered intravenously or intramuscularly, since their oral use can cause irritation of the stomach walls. Various ointments are used as an additional remedy, but due to their poor absorption by the body, they are poorly effective, so they are used very rarely.
• Hormonal corticosteroids. These drugs are prescribed when the disease worsens. They are inserted into the joint. A hot pepper ointment, plaster or tincture is applied to the damaged joint from the outside.
• The use of chondroprotectors. They will help in the regeneration of cartilage, in addition, they will improve the properties of synovial fluid. Medications such as glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate are prescribed.

The duration of the use of these drugs can be long and stops only when the patient noticeably improves.

If the drugs do not provide the expected positive effect, their use is canceled.

Along with chondroprotectors, you need to take products with the addition of hyaluronic acid, which helps create cell membranes in the articular cartilage.

In very rare cases, when no other medication has a positive effect, narcotic painkillers may be prescribed.

Healthy diet for osteoarthritis patients

Nutrition is perhaps the most important issue that needs to be addressed as soon as possible when the condition worsens with osteoarthritis. Regardless of what drugs the patient is treated with, with poor nutrition, all these efforts can be in vain.

First, eat in moderation. For those who are overweight, you need to urgently lose weight, but you should not starve yourself, because the body needs to constantly receive all trace elements in sufficient quantities.

You need to limit yourself to the use of fast carbohydrates contained in sweet foods, as well as flour products. Avoid alcohol, especially beer.

Fish dishes are welcome. It is worth choosing low-fat varieties, and the fish should not be fried.

The use of jelly is recommended for osteoarthritis. Since it contains a huge amount of trace elements, it will be useful for diseased joints.

The collagen it contains is of natural origin, which means that it is easily absorbed by the body and will serve as the basis for connective tissue. With prolonged use of the jelly, the joints will become more mobile, and the nearby tissues will become elastic and durable.

An important factor in the treatment is the timely use of a sufficient amount of vitamins, especially of group B. They ensure the normalization of metabolic processes in the body. Thiamine, contained in beans and peas, will improve the metabolic process of fats, proteins and carbohydrates.

For hemoglobin to be produced in the blood, pyridoxine is needed. This substance is rich in potatoes, bananas, cabbage and nuts. Riboflavin is rich in eggs, liver, dairy products and mushrooms.

Legumes and green vegetables will provide the body with folic acid. The industry offers a wide range of vitamin preparations and dietary supplements.

However, vitamins and microelements from food are better absorbed by the body, which is an important factor in the process of restoring cartilage tissue.

It is necessary to observe certain rules of nutrition in the treatment of arthrosis

• Eating should be frequent and in small portions;
• You can not eat before bedtime, you must refuse heavy foods for the stomach;
• To relieve the load on painful joints, it is necessary to control weight and prevent obesity.
• Walking after eating during remission is a useful prevention of exacerbation of joint diseases;
• Selecting or adjusting the diet in conjunction with the doctor will ensure a proper balanced diet.

Thus, it is possible to defeat osteoarthritis. It is important to adhere to the treatment methodology and listen to the advice of the attending physician.