When people have a little pain in the knee joint, not many people pay attention to it at first. But in vain. This may be the first sign of a serious illness. Synovitis is an insidious disease. Sharp pain affects the knee joint. Puncture is one of the types of treatment for this disease. Many are afraid to perform this surgical operation, but doctors assure that there is nothing wrong with it. Are there risks for an unfavorable outcome after a puncture? How to conduct it correctly? We will try to answer these questions in the article.
What is the insidious disease of synovitis?
If pain is localized in the knee joint, you should immediately consult a doctor. These may be the first signs of synovitis. This disease can appear at any age. It occurs due to injuries, arthritis, allergic reactions.
A large amount of fluid begins to accumulate around the knee joint, as a result of which any movement of the leg causessharp pain. There are main symptoms by which this disease can be identified:
- The knee grows in size.
- Redness or blueness appears around the joint.
- Sharp pain.
- Increased body temperature (in rare cases).
What to do if the knee joint hurts? The puncture will help to cope with the disease. The doctor removes excess fluid, then an antibiotic is injected into the leg, the patient immediately feels relief.
The disease is dangerous because if the problem is not eliminated in time, the knee joint can collapse, hitting the meniscus. To cope with this problem, surgery and long-term treatment will be required.
Causes of disease
Faced with acute knee pain, the patient should immediately consult a surgeon. Synovitis will be diagnosed in 90% of cases. It can arise for several reasons. The following types of disease are distinguished:
- Infectious. It occurs quite often in those people who suffer from serious illnesses, such as AIDS or tuberculosis. The infection penetrates the knee joint, resulting in the formation of fluid.
- Aseptic. Very common among athletes. It occurs as a result of bruises and injuries of the knee, meniscus, ligaments. Also fairly common among people with arthritis.
- Allergic. Doctors note that the percentage of occurrence of this type of synovitis is quite low.
If the doctordiagnosed with synovitis, treatment should follow immediately. Otherwise, complications are possible.
Is a puncture necessary?
Many patients are interested in: "If the knee joint is bothering, is a puncture mandatory?". Doctors give an unequivocal answer, it is simply necessary. First, this procedure is almost painless. No special training is required to carry it out. Secondly, the patient will immediately feel relief after removing the fluid.
Some patients are wary of the puncture, believing that the doctor may make a mistake and puncture the bone. This manipulation is common for a traumatologist or surgeon. This process cannot be classified as an operation. The procedure is carried out without anesthesia, it takes no more than 7-10 minutes in time.
If the patient has fluid in the knee, the doctor will tell you what to do. The main rule is to seek help from a specialist in time to prevent complications.
Treatment of a complex disease
After the diagnosis of synovitis is made by the doctor, treatment begins on the same day. Actually, it's easy. The first thing experts do is remove excess fluid. Manipulation is carried out in the office, on the couch. To do this, a thin needle is inserted into the knee joint, fluid is pumped out with a syringe. The resulting cavity is filled with an antibiotic to clear the infection.
After the procedure, the patient must be provided with complete rest. It is better to spend treatment in a hospital. The knee joint is fixed with an elastic bandage, antibiotics and ointments are prescribed.
To prevent the disease from reappearing, it is necessary to find out the cause of the disease. This is done by a rheumatologist or surgeon.
How a puncture is performed
Hearing that the doctor is going to remove fluid from the knee joint with a syringe, many patients experience panic and fear. Their first question is: “How is a puncture done?”. There is nothing difficult in the procedure. An experienced specialist will cope with the process in 7-10 minutes. In this case, the patient should not feel acute pain.
There are certain puncture points of the knee joint. The doctor mentally divides the patella into several parts, the needle is inserted from the side into the soft zone. If the specialist feels that he has rested against the bone, it is necessary to disconnect the syringe and move the needle a little.
Important rule: the procedure should be performed when the patient is in the supine position, the limbs are extended.
In the treatment of synovitis, the puncture is performed only once. During the procedure, all excess fluid is removed and the process of treatment with antibiotics and topical ointments begins.
When a procedure should be abandoned
There are situations when a puncture should be abandoned:
- Increased blood clotting.
- There are wounds or ulcers on the skin.
- The patient has psoriasis.
- Skin cancer.
Everywhere elsecases, the procedure can be carried out mono. The main thing is to choose an experienced specialist so that the manipulation is done correctly.
On the forums you can often find the question: "The knee joint hurts, is a puncture mandatory or can I do without it?". Doctors are convinced that it is quite difficult to cure synovitis without this procedure. It is necessary to first remove excess fluid, and then prescribe antibiotics and apply ointments.
