Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is very common in older people, especially in women. It is also diagnosed in young people. This disease significantly reduces the quality of life and, if not properly treated, can lead to disability.
How to recognize osteoarthritis? What are the causes of this disease? How to cure it?
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Osteoarthritis is damage to the hyaline cartilage of the joint. This cartilage is gradually destroyed. First, its structure, its density changes, then it becomes thinner. In severe cases, the cartilage may be completely absent.
There is always a fairly strong load on the knee joint, since it is one of the large structural elements of the lower limb. Therefore, signs of arthrosis of the knee joint are noticeable even with minor damage to the joint.
In knee osteoarthritis, symptoms are associated with pain and progressive loss of knee function.
There are three stages in the development of the disease. Each of them has characteristic symptoms and requires appropriate treatment.
First stage
The first stage in different people can be of different duration. In some, the changes in the joint progress rapidly, and after a few months the disease progresses to the next stage. In others, the dystrophy of the structure of the cartilage tissue occurs slowly, years pass before the appearance of new symptoms.
Signs of early stage osteoarthritis of the knee:
- Intermittent pain in one or both knees. It usually occurs in the morning, during the first steps, during a long stay in a standing position or when going up or down stairs. The reason for the appearance of a particularly pronounced pain is the descent of the stairs. There is no pain at rest.
- There are frequent complaints of a slight feeling of stiffness with intense movements in the joint area. But changes in the range of motion are not observed.
- There may be slight deformity due to fluid in the joint cavity, but the bone is not changed.
All these symptoms indicate the need to consult a doctor. If you start treatment at this stage, it is possible not only to stop the process, but also to start recovery processes in certain parts of the cartilage.
Second step
If you do not seek medical help, the disease goes to the next second stage. At the same time, old symptoms are aggravated, and additional complaints appear.
Signs that osteoarthritis has progressed to second stage:
- The pain intensifies. This happens with every movement of the foot. With prolonged walking, lifting heavy objects, the discomfort is especially pronounced. At rest, the pain gradually subsides.
- When moving, there is pain and a creaking of the affected joint.
- The range of possible movements begins to decrease, which can cause discomfort. When a person tries to bend the leg at the knee to a stop, either it fails or bending causes sharp pain.
- On examination, the doctor notes small changes in the shape of the joint. If an X-ray is taken, it will be seen that the joint space is too narrow and growths are forming on the bony edges.
- A large amount of fluid can accumulate in the joint cavity. This can be detected during diagnostic procedures and during routine examinations.
Most often, patients go to the doctor at this stage. In this situation, it is very difficult to achieve a meaningful recovery, but some positive changes are possible.
Third step
The third stage occurs with severe cartilage destruction and is the most severe. Complaints and examination results of a patient with arthrosis of the third stage:
- Intense and almost constant pain in the affected joint. When trying to move, it intensifies. At rest, even in the supine position, the pain does not go away, so there are problems with sleep.
- Movement in the joint is severely limited.
- Often the knee "freezes" in a slightly bent state. This affects the shape of the leg and the gait of the patient.
- On examination, a marked deformity of the joint and bones is noticeable.
- The x-ray image shows the absence of cartilage in many areas of the articular surface, bone sclerosis. The joint space is sharply narrowed, a large number of osteophytes are found.
The management of these patients is particularly difficult. You might even need surgery.
The reasons
The causes of arthrosis of the knee joint are very diverse. Very rarely, a person who has been diagnosed with this disease has only one factor that provoked the pathological process. In most cases, cartilage changes are due to a number of reasons. The more risk factors there are, the more intense the destruction and loss of functionality.
Most often, arthritis is provoked by such features of the body and circumstances:
- changes in the structure of the musculoskeletal system associated with age;
- knee injuries, as well as operations during which damage to the joint may occur;
- too much load on the lower extremities;
- congenital anomalies of the musculoskeletal system or metabolic processes;
- inflammatory processes of various etiologies in the knee area.
Let's take a closer look at these groups of causes.
Age changes
Most often, osteoarthritis of the knee develops after 40 years. This is due to the fact that at this age and older, the structure of bone and cartilage tissues becomes more fragile, their resistance to stress decreases. Therefore, even a long walk can be difficult for the joints of the lower limbs to tolerate.
Changes in the musculoskeletal system in women during menopause are especially pronounced.
During this period, the level of estrogen, which previously protected the bones from calcium loss, gradually decreases, they become more vulnerable.
Injuries and operations
In young people, osteoarthritis can occur as a result of trauma. It could be a broken leg, a dislocated knee, a torn ligament, or a severe bruise. The longer the time between the moment of injury and the correct assistance was provided, the higher the risk of complications and the occurrence of arthrosis in the near future. Therefore, even with minor knee injuries, you need to go to the hospital.
There is also a high risk of developing osteoarthritis after surgical procedures in the knee area. Removal of the menisci is particularly dangerous. After such an operation, arthrosis occurs in about 80% of patients.
Traumatic osteoarthritis usually develops quickly. Therefore, in such cases, surgery may be required.
Overload
Excessive stress on the knees is observed in athletes who are professionally involved in sports related to running, jumping, lifting weights. The older a person gets, the more carefully he needs to select options for physical activity during training. Squats, lunges, and jogging on cobblestone paths are particularly dangerous for the knees.
Too much stress on the joints of the legs is typical for people suffering from obesity. Then the own weight creates too much pressure on the cartilage and bones, which leads to their rapid wear.
Congenital pathologies
In the event that there are pathologies of the musculoskeletal system and metabolic processes, it can also affect the knee joints.
Congenital pathologies leading to a high risk of developing osteoarthritis:
- abnormalities of the knee joint;
- flat foot;
- salt metabolism disorders;
- ligament weakness.
If you are aware of such problems, it is important to be especially aware of knee pain, not ignore it and try to work closely with doctors.
Inflammatory phenomena
With arthritis of various etiologies, a large amount of fluid can accumulate in the joint. This leads to the fact that blood circulation is disturbed, nutrients do not reach bones and cartilage, the structure of cartilage tissue is destroyed. As a result, secondary arthrosis develops.
Inflammatory processes in the vessels of the legs that supply the knee are no less dangerous. When they are clogged with a thrombus, the blood supply is sharply reduced, which leads to degenerative processes in the cartilage.
Treatment
Treatment is prescribed taking into account the degree of development of the disease, its causes and the general condition of the body. Principles of treatment of osteoarthritis:
- pain reduction;
- improvement of cartilage supply of nutrients;
- stimulation of recovery processes;
- an increase in the space of the joint space in order to reduce the pressure on the damaged cartilage;
- strengthen and restore the functions of the muscles surrounding the joint;
- maximum recovery of motor skills.
There are several treatment options for osteoarthritis of the knee. Usually they include a set of therapeutic procedures.
What can be prescribed to treat this disease:
- Therapeutic exercises. They are selected by the orthopedist for each patient separately. If you try to compose a complex on your own, feel pain, the damage to the joint will progress.
- Diet.
- Surgery, prostheses.
- Drug treatment: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (tablets or injections), analgesics, chondoprotectors, injection of glucocorticoids or hyaluronic acid preparations into the joint.
- Additional procedures: hirudotherapy, massage, magnetotherapy, warming up with paraffin or ozocerite, electrophoresis, manual therapy and others.
If you experience pain in the joint, you should consult a doctor. Prompt treatment is the key to successful treatment.