Osteoarthritis of the hip, shoulder, knee and ankle joints is a disease that results from wear and tear of the cartilage tissue as well as deformation of the bones.In this case, the patient feels pain of varying intensity (depending on the form of the disease).As a result, the disease causes problems with motor functions, partial or total immobility and disability.It is important to determine whether osteoarthritis can be cured without surgery.
Definition of lesion
Knee joint diseases most often occur in women;this can happen for many reasons.Older people suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee joint more often than others.
If osteoarthritis treatment is not started in time, the bones forming the joints will be exposed and damaged.In this case, it will be impossible to do without surgical intervention.When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, it is important to seek help from a doctor as soon as possible.It will not be able to completely eliminate osteoarthritis, but it will help slow down the process of deformation of the knee joint and stop degeneration.Early identification of the lesion and correctly formulated treatment will help avoid negative consequences and early disability status.
What are the common causes of osteoarthritis of the knee joint and can the disease be cured?The main reasons include:
- Flat feet.
- Venous diseases.
- Diabetes and other lesions associated with metabolic disorders.In this case, it will be difficult to get rid of osteoarthritis, since not all medications and physical procedures are allowed.
- Excess weight - people with weight problems suffer from osteoarthritis much more often than people with normal body weight.
- Adolescence – this is the time when a person's metabolism and hormonal levels change, which leads to a degenerative process.
- Carrying a child - at this time a woman gains weight, which leads to a significant increase in the load on the knee.Hormonal levels are disrupted, which contributes to the appearance of osteoarthritis of the knees.
- Changes in the body associated with the age of the patient.
- Receiving certain injuries.About 30 percent of knee osteoarthritis is caused by injury.The injury causes a change in the normal structure of the tissue, which causes the process of destruction.
- Regular physical activity on the lower legs, to which the body has not adapted.
- The beginning of the process of inflammation in the body.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- The appearance of cramps in the muscle tissues of the thigh.
The disease can only be cured if you contact a treating specialist.In this case, it is prohibited to start any treatment on your own.Only a specialist will be able to prescribe effective therapy, which will include physiotherapy and medication.
Preventive measures
It is important to remember about preventive measures even before the underlying disease appears.Osteoarthritis can be divided into two types.The first is due to a violation of the metabolic process in the body, as well as the age characteristics of the patient.
The second type appears following an injury or infection.To prevent the second type of osteoarthritis, it is important to avoid possible injuries, bruises and fractures.This applies more to those who play sports or dance.For these people, such an illness often becomes professional and prevents them from doing what they love.This also applies to children who are very active and behave carelessly on the street;It is important that they behave carefully so as not to get dangerously injured.
The main factor that will help avoid deforming osteoarthritis of the knee joint is mobility.The best way to prevent osteoarthritis is moderate exercise.This is particularly important for people whose professional activity involves primarily sedentary work.It is important to remember that in this case we are talking about a moderate load on different joints.
Main stages of the disease
Osteoarthritis can be divided into four distinct stages depending on its progression.The more advanced the stage, the more difficult the process of treatment and symptom relief will be:
- at the first stage, the symptoms are mild, but the process of tissue destruction is already spreading rapidly;
- the destruction of cartilage continues, which leads to a decrease in the mobility of the leg at the joint and is accompanied by severe pain;
- in this case, the cartilaginous tissue becomes thinner, the bones forming the joints begin to actively grow and be damaged;
- at the last stage of development of the disease, the cartilage is almost completely destroyed, bone deformation 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 at the knee level completely loses mobility.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint of the first degree can be diagnosed by short-term pain that occurs when a person walks.No noticeable deformity can be detected during the examination, nor does the x-ray 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 appropriate treatment is initiated, the process of destruction of cartilage tissue can be completely stopped and diseased areas can even be restored.
Is it possible to cure 2nd degree osteoarthritis?Treatment at 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 tissues, but you can keep what remains intact.
Is it possible to cure 3rd degree osteoarthritis?When osteoarthritis reaches the 3rd stage of development, attempts to slow down the destructive process and bone damage most often do not bring any results, the disease quickly acquires the 4th stage of development (some experts, for this very reason, 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;this method of surgical correction is called endoprosthesis.
In some cases, surgical intervention is also used in stage 2 of knee osteoarthritis.In this case, a minimally invasive arthroscopic operation is performed, removing dead tissue, as well as pieces of damaged cartilage, through a small incision.With the help of this operation, the range of movements increases, pain symptoms and inflammation disappear.But we must not forget that the treatment does not stop there.This operation will relieve the unpleasant symptoms of the disease for several years.
Carry out a treatment
Is it possible to cure osteoarthritis of the knee?Treatment of any disease can be carried out in three main areas:
- etiotropic – elimination of the root causes of the lesion;
- symptomatic – relief of major symptoms;
- pathogenetic – intervention in the process of disease progression.
To carry out effective treatment or at least stop the development of osteoarthritis, it is important:
- activate the blood supply process 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 the volume and composition of synovial fluid.
Many physiotherapeutic procedures and topical ointments lead to better nutrition of tissues 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.Biological treatment methods are considered more aggressive.
Use of chondroprotectors
Is it possible to completely cure osteoarthritis?For comprehensive treatment, chondroprotectors are suitable - drugs that contain natural components of cartilage tissue or their synthetic analogues, which lead to the synthesis of certain components or inhibit their breakdown.
Chondroprotectors can be presented in the following forms:
- tablets, capsules and powders for oral administration;
- solutions for intramuscular injections;
- special ointments for external use.
Medicines for external use should be used as an additional treatment in complex therapy.
Is it possible to cure deforming osteoarthritis?First you need to consider the features of treatment with chondroprotectors:
- many chondroprotectors help eliminate severe pain and inflammation, but this is not the main benefit of taking them;for symptomatic treatment, it is better to use more affordable NSAIDs;
- therapeutic measures bring a special effect at stages 1 and 2 of the development of the disease, when the cartilage has not yet been destroyed to the extreme;
- during treatment, it is important to follow a long and systematic course of medication;after each lesson you must take a break;one course includes 6 months, so treatment continues for years.
If a patient is prone to the appearance of osteoarthritis of the knees, then he should start taking chondroprotectors in advance for prevention purposes, before the first signs of the disease appear.Chondroprotectors cannot be called a panacea, since they protect the cartilage and do not restore its condition.Osteoarthritis is much easier to prevent than to start treatment afterwards.
The main difficulty of treatment
Is it possible to permanently cure osteoarthritis?The main difficulty in treatment lies in the fact that to date, no medication has been developed to definitively and completely eliminate osteoarthritis.But it is important to remember that there are quite effective comprehensive treatment methods that help eliminate pain and slow down the progression of the disease.
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, as well as the acetabulum, are damaged.To keep the cartilage in good condition, it is important to determine whether hip osteoarthritis can be cured.
Treatment with medications
There are many ways to treat this condition.Most often, the treating specialist prescribes a whole complex including many therapeutic measures.
Is it possible to cure hip osteoarthritis?For osteoarthritis grades 1 and 2, medications can be used for treatment.The most effective drugs in this case are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vasodilators, which improve blood supply to the joints, relax muscles and help eliminate spasms.
Chondroprotectors are also used, which help preserve cartilage tissue.At the first and second stages of development of the lesion, experts allow the use of local agents: patches, applications, ointments and gels - they will stimulate normal blood circulation.
It is important to remember that without effective and timely treatment, hip osteoarthritis can cause ankylosis.Ankylosis is a complete fusion of the femur and pelvis.In this case, the leg completely loses mobility at the joint.
Osteoarthritis of the ankle joint
Can ankle osteoarthritis be cured?Before treating ankle osteoarthritis, it is important to make an accurate diagnosis.Most often, a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis either by examining the patient's foot or by taking an x-ray.
Depending on the stage of development of the disease, the specialist will choose the most appropriate treatment.Even before consulting a specialist, the patient should significantly reduce the load on the diseased joint, avoid hypothermia, as well as overload.The doctor prescribes a comprehensive treatment for the patient: physiotherapy, balneotherapy, painkillers and medications to stimulate blood circulation.
In addition, ankle therapy can be carried out on an outpatient basis, in a hospital setting with the prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.Treatment difficulties may arise if the patient is obese.It is important for such a patient to eat right not only during the treatment itself, but also after it.
Gymnastic exercises
Gymnastics for ankle arthrosis is allowed only after the main symptoms of the disease have completely disappeared.A set of exercises and loads on the foot should be developed together with the attending specialist.
Any gymnastic exercise during osteoarthritis should strain the ligaments and muscles of the joint without overloading the joints themselves, otherwise it can be very dangerous.
Is it possible to cure osteoarthritis of the joint?A gymnastics course for the treatment of osteoarthritis will not force the patient to spend money, purchase expensive medications or devices, but the patient will have to be patient and hardworking in order to accurately complete the course.
Shoulder problems
Certain injuries can lead to the appearance of an inflammatory or degenerative process in the joints.The most common causes of shoulder osteoarthritis are:
- severe physical stress on the shoulder joint at work, leading to active wear of its components;
- receive a shoulder injury;
- shoulder dysplasia;
- changes in hormone production;
- problems with blood supply to joint tissues, leading to the appearance of vascular pathologies;
- the natural wear and tear of cartilage, typical of older people.
What is common in this case is the process of inflammation, accompanied by painful symptoms.The causes of this damage are different;they may be associated with injury, infection, or disruption of certain body systems.
Most often, the onset of arthritis requires additional external influences: stress, hypothermia, organ infection, open wound infection, immune response to infection.
When determining a disease, the doctor pays attention to the degree of the disease, the main complaints of the patient and the results of a number of examinations.The main diagnostic measure is a biochemical blood test, which helps confirm the presence of inflammation and, in some cases, determine its nature.
Another important study is radiography, which allows you to determine the location of joint deformity at an early stage of its appearance.
Is it possible to cure shoulder osteoarthritis?In the presence of osteoarthritis of the first two degrees, exclusively conservative treatment is used.And only in case of a complicated form of the disease is surgical intervention prescribed.
Basic methods of conservative treatment:
- take medication;
- treatment with traditional methods;
- physiotherapeutic measures;
- in-station sanitary treatment;
- massages;
- acupuncture;
- physiotherapy;
- special diet.
Before starting treatment, it is important to provide complete rest to the damaged joint, which is much easier to do if osteoarthritis is widespread in the shoulder area.The simplest treatment is considered to be the first stage of the disease, when scar changes have not yet occurred and the tissue has still retained its regenerative capacity.
But in the presence of this form of damage, unpleasant sensations usually do not manifest themselves strongly, the pain is slight, so the patient seeks help from a doctor very late.In the future, after the end of treatment, the patient will also need to follow a gentle diet.