This article will look at the causes of knee arthritis and treatment.
The knee joint is one of the largest in our body, any physical activity causes a huge load on it. Accordingly, a disease such as arthritis of the knee joint is very common. Arthritis is an inflammatory process that affects the surface of the joint and nearby tissues.
What is the difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis of the knee?
At first glance, it may seem that the symptoms of these joint pathologies are similar. In both cases, the patient is worried about a strong pain syndrome, mobility decreases. However, there is a significant difference between arthritis and osteoarthritis of the knee.
It is worth noting that both diseases can cause deformity and degenerative changes in the joint, but there is a difference between them, and it lies in the symptoms, the causes of developmentdiseases, the nature of pain. Such differences significantly affect the choice of drug therapy.
What is the difference between arthritis and arthrosis of the knee joint, many people are interested.
Arthritis is inflammatory in nature. It develops under the influence of local factors, for example, when an infection enters the joint, it can be the result of an allergic reaction.
Arthrosis, in turn, is a process of destruction of the structure of the joint. It occurs against the background of age-related changes, strong physical exertion, and circulatory disorders. Quite often, arthritis and arthrosis occur together. In this case, the process of destruction of the joint is combined with its inflammation.
Let's look at the causes of arthritis of the knee next.
Causes of pathology
The main reason for the formation of pathology is an infection that has entered the joint cavity. A weakened immune system plays a significant role. Arthritis can progress due to the following factors: injuries in the knee area; chronic diseases, and, as a result, weakened immunity; degenerative disorders; autoimmune pathologies.
Arthritis is primary and secondary. The primary form occurs due to infection of the articular cavity due to injuries or injuries. Signs of such inflammation are acute pain, high body temperature up to 40 degrees, as well as swelling of the affected areas. Often there is pus. The secondary form of arthritis provokes the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the blood.
Symptoms of arthritis
Adequate therapy presupposes timely diagnosis of the disease. The main symptoms of the disease include:
- The appearance of swelling in the joint area. This symptom is not always found and appears more often with inflammation in an acute form or as a result of inflammation of chronic arthritis. The reason for this phenomenon is an increase in the amount of synovial fluid in the joint or suppuration.
- Pain in the knee. Pain increases significantly with physical activity. Depending on the cause of arthritis and the degree of inflammation of the joint, the pain can be pulling, dull, sharp, intense.
- Violation of the functioning of the joint. Human movements due to pain may be limited. There is also swelling, deformation of the surface.
- Redness, local temperature increase. The skin over the affected joint is hotter and redder.
In the morning, a patient with knee arthritis may experience stiffness of movement. It is difficult to straighten the knee, only after warming up.
Children show some peculiarities in the symptoms of arthritis:
- Knee pain occurs mostly in the morning. It is practically not felt during the day.
- The disease begins to manifest itself after a cold or SARS.
- Quite often, children suffer from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. With such a disease, the articular surface is damaged, a stable deformation is observed.
Therapy of knee arthritis in childrenalso has its own characteristics and differs from the treatment of the disease in adult patients.
Treatment
If the corresponding symptoms appear, you should first consult a specialist. It is necessary to contact a therapist or rheumatologist. The doctor will conduct the necessary examination in order to identify the causes of the development of the disease, establish its nature. Diagnosis of arthritis involves such examinations as arthroscopy, MRI, ultrasound, rheumatic tests, clinical and biochemical laboratory tests of blood and urine. All this helps to establish the diagnosis of knee arthritis.
Then the specialist will prescribe treatment. Most often it is complex and completely depends on the stage of arthritis. For example, the acute stage involves taking anti-inflammatory drugs, using ointments and injections. In some cases, arthritis therapy requires the use of hormonal drugs. With a purulent form, the joint cavity is washed, antibiotic drugs are prescribed
For reactive arthritis, treatment should be directed at the underlying disease.
Therapy of gouty arthritis in the period of exacerbation involves the observance of a special diet and the exclusion from the patient's diet of products containing purine bases and s alts of uric acid. In this case, the patient should be provided with complete rest, the load on the diseased joint is completely prohibited.
Complex treatment of arthritis of the knee joint is supplemented by taking chondroprotectors based on glucosamine, chondroitin, sulfate.
Chondroprotectors help to improve the nutrition of cartilage tissues and do notallow further damage to the articular surface. As a supplement, you should take vitamin complexes and drugs that improve articular circulation.
After eliminating acute inflammation, it is necessary to supplement therapy with physiotherapy, exercise therapy and massage. Most of the exercises are performed lying down or sitting, which allows you to remove the load from the affected joint. The most common procedures are: paraffin therapy, phonophoresis with hydrocortisone, UHF, magnetotherapy, mud baths.
In some cases, the doctor may prescribe surgical treatment. It is relevant if there is a combination of arthrosis and arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis. With appropriate indications, the knee joint is replaced with an endoprosthesis. Such prostheses have a large margin of safety, they can be used for 10 years or more.
Arthritis therapies
If there is an exacerbation of arthritis of the knee joint and swelling, you should immediately consult your doctor and limit the load on the inflamed joint. In order to improve one's own condition, it is necessary to take at home those drugs that were prescribed by the doctor. Gymnastics will help relieve pain.
In addition, you need to reconsider your own lifestyle, try to get rid of such bad habits as taking drugs and alcohol, smoking tobacco. It should be remembered that eating a large number of spicy foods and spices can provoke the occurrence ofside effects from taking hormonal drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
It is worth paying attention to your body weight and diet. Refined and fatty foods should be excluded from the menu. Warm compresses or wellness baths may be used as recommended by your doctor.
Let's consider what types of therapy are used for arthritis of the knee joint.
Treatment methods are as follows:
- Medicine use.
- Performance of he alth-improving gymnastics.
- Physiotherapy treatments.
- Massage.
- Surgical treatment.
- Using folk remedies and methods.
Arthritis drugs
Most often, in the complex therapy of arthritis, the following groups of drugs are prescribed to the patient:
- Chondroprotective agents.
- Warming ointments.
- NSAIDs.
- Steroid hormones.
- Fortifying medicines.
- Vitamin complexes.
Therapy can be carried out using one group of drugs, or several at the same time. This is due to the individual characteristics and susceptibility of the patient to drugs of different groups. Accordingly, there is no single treatment regimen for arthrosis.
Anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal drugs
Most often, experts recommend taking anti-inflammatory drugs thatdispensed from pharmacies without a prescription. It can be Aspirin, Paracetamol, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen. These drugs can relieve pain in the joint and relieve inflammation.
Painkillers for inflammation of the knee joint are used in the first place. Do not forget that even the simplest drugs can cause side effects, and their effect can weaken over time due to the body's addiction.
In some cases, doctors prescribe drugs that have a more pronounced analgesic effect. These drugs are only available with a prescription. Most of them also have a number of side effects that disappear after the drug is discontinued.
Glucosamine and chondroitin
These preparations are sulphate food supplements that can relieve pain associated with arthritis. They are made on the basis of components of animal origin, or synthesized artificially. The greatest effect of these drugs is observed when taken in the early stages of arthritis.
Use chondroitin and glucosamine in accordance with the instructions for use and doctor's recommendations.
Corticosteroids have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. In the treatment of arthritis, they are injected directly into the knee joint. They are used for severe swelling and moderate or severe pain. It is not recommended to prescribe corticosteroids to patients in whom arthritis is accompanied by damage to the mechanics of the knee joint.
The use of drugs of the corticosteroid group has its own characteristics and nuances, so therapy with their use is ambiguous. For example, injections stimulate the development of pain and swelling. It is not excluded the accession of infection, the damage to the joint increases.
Quite often, hyaluronic acid is injected into the joint, which improves the quality of the joint fluid. Sometimes injections with gold s alts and other immunomodulators are prescribed.
Treatment of arthritis with ointments
Treatment of arthritis of the knee joint (ICD code 10 M13) in most cases involves the use of a variety of ointments and other drugs used externally. These include:
- "Diclofenac" (analogue is "Voltaren Emulgel"). This is one of the most effective external preparations against inflammatory processes. It is also the main active ingredient in the preparations "Diklonak" and "Ortofen".
- "Ketonal". Anti-inflammatory drug with a pronounced analgesic effect. The main active ingredient in the composition - ketoprofen - belongs to the group of non-steroidal medicines.
- Nise gel. A synthetic drug used to treat arthritis pain.
- "Collagen Ultra".
- "Indomethacin ointment"
- "Long Cream".
- "Quickgel". Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug based on propionic acid.
Ointment for arthritis of the knee should be selected by a doctor.
If you experience pain in the joint "Diclofenac" in the amount of 2-4 grams should be applieda thin layer on the skin in the area of the affected joint, and then rub it in with light movements.
In addition to these, other drugs are also used to treat arthritis. A fairly common way to fight the disease is to use traditional medicine recipes, many of which are recommended even by doctors.
Regardless of which treatment regimen is chosen, it is necessary to consult a specialist before using it. This will avoid complications and minimize side effects.
Diet for knee arthritis
Therapy of such a disease involves, first of all, a change in lifestyle and diet. The patient should stop smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs, because alcohol and nicotine contribute to the destruction of cartilage.
Eating is a very important aspect. Fatty, s alty and spicy foods should be excluded from the patient's diet. You should not consume caffeine, as it leaches minerals from the body to a large extent. It is recommended to reduce the number of meat dishes consumed. Honey, chips, egg yolks, crackers, french fries, butter are the enemies of the joints.
To achieve the best effect from the treatment, the patient should reconsider his diet, add natural chondroprotectors of animal and vegetable origin to it. Gelatin is an animal chondroprotector, and ginger is a vegetable chondroprotector. Fish is rich in amino acids necessary for normalfunctioning of the joints. Preference should be given to salmon fish species. Eating salmon dishes twice a week will provide the necessary anti-inflammatory therapy, as well as saturate the body with the necessary amount of vitamin D.
Vitamin E is able to protect joints from exposure to toxic substances, strengthen the joint bag. Foods rich in vitamin E include nuts, including almonds, peanuts, and walnuts.
Apples stimulate the production of collagen in cartilage tissues. It is desirable to eat them every day, along with the peel.
Beans are a natural anti-inflammatory agent. It contains trace elements necessary for the body.
Beijing cabbage contains the daily requirement of calcium. Broccoli is an excellent antioxidant, the leader among vegetables in the content of vitamins C and A. It has the ability to protect cartilage tissue from destructive processes.
Therapeutic exercises for arthritis
Symptoms of arthritis of the knee joint (ICD code 10 M13) will appear less if you perform a daily set of therapeutic exercises. Gymnastics can be ordinary in the pool. The complex should contain exercises that will affect the affected joint while not overloading it, but warming it up and kneading it. Each workout must begin with a light warm-up. It must be carried out from top to bottom: first of all, you should stretch your neck, shoulders, arms. After a warm-up, you can proceed to the implementation of the main set of exercises.
Taking into account the location of the disease, one shouldinfluence it with rotational movements, rhythmic circular strokes, flexion and extension, abduction, pinching.
Exercise for arthritis of the knee should be done carefully.
Therapeutic massage
To increase mobility in arthritis, doctors recommend doing daily exercises, swimming, and massaging the knee. Such activities help strengthen muscles, improve blood circulation in the lower extremities, relieve stiffness and limited movement.
Massage is an effective way to treat arthritis of the knee, helping the patient avoid surgery. Massage can be of the following types: therapeutic, deep, self-massage.
Massage for arthritis is more effective after a little therapeutic exercises. Its duration is approximately 15 minutes, twice a day. Only three techniques are used: rubbing, kneading, stroking.
Sitting on the bed, you need to stretch one leg on the bed, and lower the other down. Massage with arthritis of the knee joint should be done with both hands: the left should be placed slightly below the knee, and the right should be above. With both hands, you need to make stroking movements directed in different directions.
The lateral surfaces of the joints must be rubbed with your fingertips, then with your palms. Rubbing should take place in a spiral, you should press deeply, while shifting the skin. Self-massage ends with a light stroke.
How to treat arthritis of the knee joint with folk remedies?
Treatment of arthritis with compresses
As part of the complex therapy of arthritis of the knee joint, you can use folk methods. However, you should first coordinate them with your doctor.
Almost any expensive ointment can be replaced with various compresses based on boiled potatoes, onion leaves, garlic. Such compresses can relieve the symptoms of arthritis.
Another way to replace the ointment is a compress made from honey and cabbage leaves.
Good reviews also have paraffin-based compresses for arthritis of the knee joint. It should be pre-melted using a water bath, then cool slightly. After that, a tissue is lowered into the paraffin, which is then applied to the affected area. Quite often, paraffin compresses are recommended by doctors.
Compresses based on honey are very effective in the treatment of early stages of arthritis. To prepare a compress, mix equal parts of alcohol, aloe juice and honey. Apply a compress at night. This remedy will not only relieve symptoms, but also help cure the disease.
In addition, compresses based on radish juice are often used, inside it is advised to take an infusion of nettle, a mixture of lemon and celery.
