How to treat arthrosis of joints?

Osteoarthritis is the name for chronic disease of the joints that occurs as a consequence of degenerative and destructive process inflammatory. This disease affects about 10-12% of the total adult population of the developed countries. If the disease is not stopped, it can lead to the complete destruction of the joints and cause disability. Therefore, timely diagnosis and proper treatment of joint arthrosis are very important.

When you need to start the treatment of osteoarthritis

Most often osteoarthritis affects the joints of the legs, which account for the majority of the load during walking and carrying heavy loads. At the initial stage of the development of arthrosis is a violation of metabolism in the cartilage tissue of the joint that interferes with its normal diet and recovery.

This leads to loss of the cartilage's natural smoothness and elasticity and the appearance of sores and cracks on its surface. The mobility of the limbs is difficult because, becoming rough, the cartilaginous sheath of joint head clings to the same layer, which lines the joint cavity. Mechanical irritation causes inflammation and thinning of the cartilage that performs in relation to joint protective and vilitas function.

Friction affects the dynamic qualities of the articular joints the person experiences pain when moving the leg, it becomes difficult to walk. Further degenerative processes are moving to bone tissue of the joint, causing their deformation.

How to treat arthritis in each case, the doctor decides, depending on the results of diagnostic tests. The current arthrologies (science, investiganti causes and methods of treating articular pathologies of different nature) therapeutic methods allow you to stop the pathologic process and for a long time to restrain it.

This gives physicians the ability to successfully deal with arthritis and preserve the quality of life of the patient to his usual level. But to fully restore the joints in arthritis, if the disease has gone too far at this stage of development of medicine is not possible, because changes in the articular joints are irreversible. Therefore, it is important to start treatment of osteoarthritis of the lower extremities of all forms (arthrosis of the hip joint – coxarthrosis, gonarthrosis – osteoarthritis of the knee, arthrosis of all joints in or polyarthrosis) at an early stage of development, while the disease has not yet managed to inflict significant harm joints. Especially attentive to the condition of their joints should be people in the risk group:

• Chronic diseases of an autoimmune nature, cause the error immunity due to not yet well understood reasons-responsive cells of its own body as something alien;
• Iit 45 – 50-year-old age limit – their joints are naturally the most susceptible to pathological changes;
• Those who have the joints of the limbs suffer from a chronic overload in the performance of professional duties – the agricultural workers and workers engaged in heavy physical labor, as well as dancers and athletes;
• Have suffered serious injuries of the lower extremities, surgery on the joints of the feet with a high degree of trauma, requiring the removal of a significant amount of joint tissue, causing joints are not congruant, that is disturbed complete mutual adhesion of the surfaces of the joint and the glenoid cavity. As a result, the load on the joint increases, the surface quickly starts to wear off;
• Having a genetic predisposition to the disease – if a close relatives – parents, brothers and sisters – there are people suffering from arthrosis of the lower extremities, the risk of developing the disease in itself increases significantly;
• People whose weight exceeds the norm, appropriate to their growth and physique. In this case, the joints the same thing happens as with the details of the car if it carries cargo, far exceeding the original planned capacity – they wear out much earlier than scheduled.

Note!

All who are at increased risk of developing arthrosis, should closely monitor a condition. With the appearance of pathological symptoms (pain and crunch in joints when walking) should be referred to a specialist and begin treatment of osteoarthritis.

Conservative therapy for arthrosis

There are two types of traditional therapy in arthrosis: conservative and surgical. How to treat arthrosis of the joints, depends in what stage of the disease begun the healing process. The most effective treatment of osteoarthritis is possible in the initial stage, when there are real chances to stop the pathological and cure arthrosis.

Conservative treatment of arthritis includes:

• Drug therapy;
• Physiotherapy;
• Massage;
• Physiotherapy.

Medication

In medical treatment includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for reducing pain and lowering the level of inflammation. These medicines come in the form of tablets, ointments, creams, and solutions for injection.

These funds have a number of contraindications, including children's age (till 12 years), pregnancy and lactation (breastfeeding), peptic ulcer disease of the gastrointestinal tract (colitis, gastritis, stomach ulcer), individual intolerance to the components. Of side effects treat commonly found skin redness, hives, or itching. It all ends when the drugs.

Another group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of various joint pathologies, including osteoarthritis – chondroprotectors, contributing to the restoration of cartilage. They contain substances that improve regenerative processes, chondroitin and glucosamine. All drugs prolonged action, and to achieve the effect they require the duration of use – from one month to six months. Also good effect is given intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid, improves the quality of synovial fluid, it becomes more viscous and helps reduce friction in the region of the articular joints.

Physiotherapy

In the complex treatment of osteoarthritis simultaneously with medical methods used and physiotherapy treatments. The most positive results in the treatment of various forms of osteoarthritis makes use of the following techniques:

• Ultraviolet irradiation (UVI);
• Ultra-high frequency currents (UHF);
• Shock-wave therapy (SWT);
• Balneology (baths of mud);
• Paraffin;
• Magnetic therapy;
• Exercise, physical therapy and massage.

One of the modern methods of treatment of chronic arthritis – a irradiation of diseased joints aimed x-rays of low intensity. Radiotherapy for osteoarthritis allows you to get rid of pain in the articular joints and to improve tissue regeneration. It can be denique focus – with the penetration of the rays to a depth of up to 7 cm long where the average is 50 to 60 cm Length of sessions – from 1 to 9 minutes, their number is determined by physician individually, but it should not exceed 7-9 for the three-week course.

Traditional medicine

Early, effective assistance can be provided by traditional treatments. Herbalists-healers are recommended to facilitate the following recipes:

• Confricantes composition for external use is made of the raw yolk of one eggs, 15-20 ml of Apple cider vinegar and 5 ml of turpentine. All of the ingredients, stir and RUB the fluid into the joint for the night, after which it must heat wrap. In the morning you need to wash the leg with warm water and soap;
• Pain relief ointment. Mix 150 g of honey, a tablespoon of ammonia and 3 tablespoons of bile medical. The mixture, without rubbing it into the skin, lubricates the joint area with the outer and inner sides, in an hour and wash it with warm water;
• Vodka and aloe juice (100 g) mixed with honey (200 g). To insist 1-2 hours. Applied on the joint in the form of a compress on the night. Course – 2-3 weeks;
• 50 g of elecampane root (available at pharmacy) pour 125 grams of vodka. To insist in a dark place for 10 days. Drain. RUB into joints 3-4 times a day;
• Mix vegetable oil with propolis (100 g of each component). Put in a water bath and heat, stirring, until the complete compound of ingredients. The resulting ointment is applied on the joint 2-3 times a day.

Attention!

Apply these medicines without a prescription is strongly not recommended, since many of them have serious side effects. Use for the treatment of arthritis folk remedies can also be only after consultation with a specialist.

Operational methods for the treatment of osteoarthritis

So how to treat arthrosis of joints at a late stage of the disease, conservative methods is not always possible, doctors recommend patients surgical operations of varying degrees of invasiveness (trauma). There are different methods of surgical treatment of arthritis:

• Arthrodesis is an operation to remove the rest of the cartilage and damaged areas of articular tissues, splice hinge joint and the artificial closure of the joint to its immobilization to prevent further bone destruction;
• Arthroplasty means a partial replacement of the destroyed joint tissue with artificial;
• Arthroscopy – during this surgery, the surgeon under local anesthesia makes a small incision in the region of the joint, through which enter the arthroscope is a miniature probe with a camera on the end that allows the doctor to examine in detail the joint in great detail, and remove from the joint capsule, the particles of the destroyed disintegrated cartilage and joint tissues. Through the other incision is used to hollow tube, which serves saline, filling the joint cavity, it improves visibility and allows the manipulation more thoroughly and accurately;
• Arthroplasty – the most radical method of surgical correction of arthritis in which the joint is completely removed and replaced with artificial. This type of intervention has the highest performance – at the end of the rehabilitation period, the duration of which if successful outcome of the surgery and lack of complications does not exceed two to three weeks, motor function of the joint completely restored, and for the next 20-25 years the person may feel freed from all inconvenience and discomfort associated with osteoarthritis.

Interesting!

The endoprosthesis is used in cases when other treatments are ineffectual. But the operation has contraindications – it is not carried out in patients a severe form of diabetes, because in this case the risk of rejection of the prosthesis.

Experience with various means of treatment of joints proves that the treatment should start at an early stage of the disease. The more injured a joint, the harder it is to achieve a positive effect.