It is widely believed that deforming rheumatoid arthritis threatens only the elderly. But in fact, people of all age categories are subject to it - both children, and youth, and adults. At the moment, more than 70% of Russians over 40 suffer from deforming arthritis, arthrosis. They go to the doctors when they have difficulty walking.
Reasons
Often, when self-medicating, patients confuse the concepts of arthrosis and arthritis. The first is degeneration of the joints, at risk are athletes and the elderly. It's all about the thinning of the cartilage that covers the joints: under the influence of stress, they become weaker. While arthritis is a disease characterized by inflammation or malfunction of the immune system. Infections of various nature can provoke deforming arthritis of the joints.
The development of the disease begins with a severe pain syndrome, the joints swell, and the skin around them becomes red. Often there is an increase in body temperature. Initially, the disease proceeds without any symptoms. But under the influence of any factor, whetherthen stress, hypothermia, infection, makes itself felt. The reason for the onset of the active phase can also be cystitis. Often, the disease develops in those who have done a lot of sports, who have a hereditary predisposition. The cause of deforming arthritis of the knee joint in young people is also metabolic disorders. Injured limbs are also at risk for cartilage degeneration.
In general, it is believed that the appearance of deforming arthritis of the fingers, toes, knees in a person is directly related to the fact that people have increased life expectancy. Joints wear out faster than a person has time to live the allotted time.
Forecast
While deforming osteoarthritis is not actually cured, rheumatoid arthritis is amenable to therapy. The final cure is possible provided that the treatment began in a timely manner. For a favorable prognosis, it will be necessary to use antibiotics, immunomodulating agents. Sometimes difficult cases require several courses of treatment in a row.
As a rule, with arthritis, deformed joints are treated for virtually a lifetime. The person will use medications aimed at eliminating the symptoms of inflammation, corticosteroids. In the 1990s, new drugs were invented that made it possible to achieve a fairly long remission. But the disease does not go away without a trace, and it can always return again.
Clinical picture
Deforming arthritis of the hip joint (or knee) is manifested in the destruction of cartilage and tissues under them. Suffer usually and those who arenext to the ligament. When the connective tissue grows, bone formations appear around the joints.
Soon the person begins to limp. The features of this phenomenon will depend on the phase of the disease. As a rule, lameness is barely noticeable at first, but over time it becomes more and more severe. At the initial stage, the treatment of deforming arthritis of the knee joint should be successful, the prognosis is favorable. But if the case is neglected, it may turn out to be unfavorable.
To get rid of the disease, doctors prescribe local remedies in the form of ointments. They are irritating to affected surfaces. Spot cauterization is also necessary, autohemotherapy is used.
In advanced stages
In the advanced stages of arthritis, deformed joints are treated with drugs injected directly into the joints. They contain substances that trigger tissue regeneration.
Electrical impulses relieve the patient from the sensation of pain that always accompanies deforming arthritis of the knee joint in the advanced stage.
What to look out for
It is important to consider that diseases of this kind never occur spontaneously. This is a gradual process of cartilage wear, which can be tracked with a careful attitude to your body. The first suspicions should cause pain in the knees when moving. They will intensify when climbing or descending the stairs. Usually, discomfort disappears gradually after moderate movement. But if the load on the joints is prolonged, the pain returns.
If you ignore such symptoms, the joints deformed by arthritis will wear out even more, and the disease will begin to smoothly flow into arthrosis. As a result, the joints will increase in size. Experts recommend that complaints of discomfort in the joints should never be ignored. Having found the first signs of the onset of deforming arthritis, it is necessary to consult a doctor immediately. This will increase the chances of a successful healing from the disease.
If the symptoms are left without attention, over time, the pain syndrome will increase. In the later stages, treatment will require a large investment of both time and resources. The further, the more difficult it is to get rid of the disease.
As a rule, deformed knees due to arthritis change their shape due to the fact that fluid accumulates in the joints. Gradually, any load on the joint causes severe pain. External signs are quite bright here - damaged areas will increase in size even more.
In the final stages, the cartilage actually disappears completely in the joint. Sometimes there is a fusion of bones, and the limb becomes completely immobilized. A person tries to find a position in which pain could be less intense, but there are none. He begins to suffer from sleep disturbance, he needs a stick to move.
Diagnosis
Only a professional should treat joints deformed by arthritis. It is important to treat the examination and treatment with all responsibility. As a rule, the doctor prescribes a special diet to the patient in addition toan existing course of treatment.
There is never a single scenario for the treatment of this disease. It is believed that only after examination with the help of a radiograph, the clinical picture becomes clear.
In no case should you rely solely on herbal preparations bought from healers. The best solution would be to undergo treatment and rehabilitation in organizations specially created for this purpose.
Medications are usually necessary for patients, because they allow you to stop the pain syndrome. Modern medicines perfectly and quickly cope with the elimination of inflammatory processes, which is arthritis.
Folk methods
One of the oldest remedies for arthritis is honey. It was used in tinctures, and in body wraps, massages. Of course, no bee product can stop the disease on its own, but honey contributes to a faster recovery in many diseases. It is enough to add it to flower infusions. For example, it is recommended to add one teaspoon of honey to lime or chamomile tea.
Surgery
Remarkable is the fact that surgery is performed in many different forms. They are selected after the initial examination of the client. A fairly well-known surgical intervention aimed at eliminating the consequences of deforming arthritis is arthroscopy. It should be borne in mind that such an operation in itself is quite traumatic, and no one is able to eliminate the risk. In cases whereoperation is indicated, it is carried out as soon as possible, ensuring the safety of the process. Sometimes dissection of the joints during it is not required.
Treatment with alternative methods
Since ancient times, people have used bee products to get rid of arthritis. For example, they prepared infusions from linden flowers and honey. They made honey wraps, massaging the areas damaged by the disease, they smeared them with honey. In modern medicine, there is no evidence of the positive effects of bee products on the joints.
Puncture and arthroplasty
To get rid of excess joint fluid, doctors perform a puncture. This small procedure leads to the fact that the inflammatory processes stop. As a result, the knees become mobile again.
Sometimes, if the disease has already been started, the situation can be saved by arthroplasty. During such an intervention, the joints are replaced with special structures. But after that, as a rule, a long rehabilitation is required. For this reason, the operation is carried out in extreme cases.
Procedures
Special treatments help relieve some of the symptoms of arthritis. Among them, myostimulation is distinguished. This effect on the joints with a weak current leads to the fact that the damaged areas become more mobile. The pain syndrome disappears, the person becomes more resilient during physical activity.
Phonophoresis is a combination of ultrasound and medications. Due to this, the absorption of useful substances from medicineshappens much more efficiently. The result is faster healing combined with savings in healing agents.
Ozone therapy involves the action of oxygen on the joints. As a result, the inflammatory processes subside, and often this allows the patient to stop using hormonal drugs. At least their dosage is down anyway.
Therapeutic exercise can help not resort to surgery. If a person trains every day, his muscles are strengthened, as a result, the load on the joints is reduced. Sometimes this is enough to stop the development of pathology and return to the previous way of life. The most important thing here is to perform the exercises in a competent sequence. This is taught by professionals.
Massage and manual therapy
Because of this effect on the joints, sedentary patients experience improvement. It's all about stretching the joints. This stops the manifestations of pain, their destruction stops. In this case, it is important that the procedures are systematic. A long course of treatment using such techniques leads to a slowdown in the development of arthritis.
Diets
One of the causes of problems in the joints is the presence of excess weight. When a person normalizes his weight, the manifestations of arthritis decrease. At least the process of disease development is completed. As a rule, if a person has a lot of excess weight, surgical intervention is indicated for him. After getting rid of fat, a person forgets about the symptoms of arthritis. But the besttake care of disease prevention. Wear comfortable shoes and exercise. Swimming will be helpful. It is worth making sure that the weight does not exceed the norm. It is important not to smoke, to prevent hypothermia of the legs. With the appearance of the first alarming symptoms in the joints, you should immediately contact an orthopedist.
Lifestyle
Those who are at risk of suffering from deforming arthritis, doctors recommend radically reconsider their lifestyle. Somewhere lies the reason why the pathology of the joints develops. First of all, it is important to review your diet. It is necessary to provide enough motor activity for the joints. But dynamic loads should be moderate. These requirements are fully observed in swimming. It is also worth paying attention to physiotherapy. It will effectively maintain the tone of the joints. It is believed that the risk of encountering deforming arthritis is reduced by mud applications. They need to be done on a regular basis.
Complications
If there was no treatment for some time, or the patient himself ignored medical prescriptions, there is a high risk of complications. They can be very different, most often depend on the reason why the disease developed. As a rule, the joints are deformed to the point that the person simply loses control over the affected limb. So, he loses the ability to pick up objects, cannot walk. This leads to disability, in fact, the patient loses independence in his daily life.
Special attention to the jointsshould be addressed to certain groups of people. For example, people suffering from autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, need medical supervision. When the first complaints about the joints from patients with psoriasis, gout, lupus, it is important to make a complete examination of them. Indeed, with a high degree of probability, such patients will suffer from deforming arthritis, which has every chance, in the absence of adequate treatment, to go into arthrosis. Very often, patients are helped by a change in working conditions, since the reason for the accelerated development of pathology can be hidden here. Most often this applies to female representatives.
