The treatment of arthrosis ("deforming arthrosis", arthrosis) cannot be postponed "until later". Pathology always changes the joint structure, affects the bone, cartilage, can completely destroy the joint and the person becomes disabled. Therefore, it is dangerous to self-medicate, refusing examinations and official methods of therapy.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis
Arthrosis is a chronic degenerative-dystrophic joint disease, in which the joint gradually begins to deform, its ability to function decreases, osteophytes grow at the edge of the bone, and cartilage is destroyed.
The main symptoms of the pathology are the presence of a crunch when walking, a pain syndrome of varying severity. In addition, with arthrosis, there is a rigidity of movement, the pain becomes permanent, constantly intensifies, the atrophy of nearby muscles begins, and the gap between the bones of the joint narrows. If at this stage there is no treatment, ankylosis (fusion of the articular surface) develops, disability occurs.
Conservative treatment of arthrosis
If you have symptoms of the disease, you must be examined and start treating the osteoarthritis immediately. The lack of adequate therapy can lead to complete loss of joint function and disability.
In official medicine, osteoarthritis is initially treated conservatively. The patient is prescribed medication, exercise therapy, physical therapy, orthopedic products, diet. With the permission of the arthrosis doctor, you can additionally use the methods of traditional, traditional medicine, homeopathy. A sick person must monitor his weight, avoid uneven loads on the joints, follow medical recommendations. If these complex methods do not produce a positive result, an operation is performed.
After conservative and/or surgical treatment to prevent arthrosis, it makes sense to undergo an annual spa treatment. It is recommended to choose a facility that specializes in pathologies of the musculoskeletal system and also has thermal springs and medicinal mud.
Medical treatment
A disease such as arthrosis can be primary or secondary (it develops against the background of other pathologies). Therefore, the list of drugs used is selected individually for each patient.
The main drugs in the treatment of arthrosis:
- chondroprotectors;
- medicinal preparations with a microcirculatory effect;
- multivitamins, vitamins C, group B;
- mineral complexes;
- anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal drugs;
- corticosteroids (intra-articular injections);
- Painkiller;
- desensitizing (antiallergic) drugs;
- Medicines for external use (ointment, cream, solutions, balm, gel, tinctures and medicinal bile).
Chondroprotectors are prescribed at all stages and forms of the disease, since they affect the mechanism of articular cartilage restoration. HP is prescribed for oral administration, but injections into the joint cavity and / or muscle are also made for osteoarthritis. Both chondroprotectors and corticosteroids are used for intra-articular injections.
Secondary deforming arthrosis is treated with the same group of drugs, but additional drugs are prescribed to treat the pathology that provoked degenerative-dystrophic changes in the joints.
physical therapy
Each physiotherapy has its own list of contraindications. Therefore, when choosing, you may need to consult a cardiologist, neurologist, endocrinologist or other specialist.
Basic physical therapy
Drug treatment of osteoarthritis is supplemented with electrophoresis (with an anesthetic, zinc, lithium, sulfur), electrosleep therapy, ultraphonophoresis. Paraffin applications are applied to the diseased joint, black wax, medicinal mud are used. A joint damaged by arthrosis is also treated with a laser, a magnetic field, diadynamic currents and other impulses.
Remedial gymnastics for arthrosis
For 3-5 days after the elimination of acute symptoms, gymnastics is prescribed. A set of physical therapy exercises for the identified stage, form of arthrosis is selected individually for each patient. The first workout should begin with minimal loads on the sore joint and at a slow pace. Then the exercises are complicated every 7-10 days by the recommendation of a specialist.
Types of gymnastic tasks for the joints of the hands:
- circular movements in the hands, elbows, shoulders;
- swing back and forth, up and down;
- pull out;
- connection-disconnection of blades;
- rotation of palms towards and away from leg;
- flexion-extension at the elbows;
- clenched fists followed by maximum straightening of the brush.
With damage to the pathology of the spine (osteochondrosis), arthrosis of the joints of the upper extremities - gymnastics is performed in "sitting", "standing" positions.
Types of gymnastic tasks for leg joints:
- Flexion-extension, circular movements in the hips, knees, ankles;
- swing forward-backward, right-left;
- raise the knees;
- "Bicycle";
- "Butterfly";
- rolling with a foot of small items;
- grab the ball with your toes;
- Lifting the tip of the foot "onto itself".
With the development of coxarthrosis, gonarthrosis, arthrosis of the ankle, exercise therapy is carried out lying down, standing, and with damage to the small joints of the legs - sitting down.
Exercise should not cause pain in the injured joint. When it appears, you need to reduce the load and speed of execution. You also need to rest for up to 3 minutes after each exercise.
Manual therapy for arthrosis
It is advisable to use the restoration of joint mobility with the help of a chiropractor's hands in osteoarthritis degrees I-II.
A chiropractor performs 2 types of correction of a deformed joint: manipulation (strong pushing motion) and mobilization (stretching the damaged joint). The more complex the clinical case, the more sessions need to be conducted.
Manual treatment of joints with arthrosis is complemented by massage. It is carried out every other day for all stages of the disease every 2-3 months with a course of up to 25 procedures, but only during remission and in the subacute period.
The manipulation is carried out by sliding movements with light pressure (sawing, kneading, rubbing, etc. ). They massage not only the diseased joint, but also the nearby spine, neighboring joints.
Physiotherapy at home for arthrosis
Now people diagnosed with osteoarthritis have the opportunity to do physical therapy at home. Compact home appliances for medical use are sold on the Internet and in medical supply stores.
The following devices are very popular in the treatment of osteoarthritis:
- magnetotherapy;
- magnetic laser therapy;
- low-frequency pulsed magnetotherapy;
- laser therapy;
- reflex physiotherapy.
Before ordering an arthrosis device, it is essential to clarify with a doctor whether there are any contraindications to the effects of pulses, lasers, electricity or magnetic fields on your body.
Non-drug methods
Osteoarthritis treatment requires the use of an orthopedic regimen. The aim of the method is to relieve the diseased joint and to stabilize it in the correct anatomical and physiological position. With arthrosis, canes, crutches, as well as corsets, special insoles with arch supports and pads and shoes, splints, orthoses, fixators, orthoses are used. It is recommended to order them from a local orthopedic salon according to custom casts.
In online stores you can buy products cheaper, the design of which allows you to independently adjust the clamping force. As a rule, these are elastic bandages, bandages, pliers, fixation belts, knee pads, elbow pads and similar orthopedic aids. However, before ordering a specific product for arthrosis, you need to clarify with the attending physician all the necessary characteristics: the degree of tension, the presence and nature of stiffeners, whether it is necessary, the angle of extension of the limb in the diseased joint, additional conditions.
Climatotherapy is also one of the non-drug methods. During its use, a person is created special climatic conditions by prescribing thalassotherapy procedures, or he is recommended to visit a resort, undergo preventive sanatorium treatment in health resorts.
diet therapy
With secondary arthrosis, doctors recommend the patient to use one of the treatment tables. For example, to correct body weight, excess weight is removed with diet number 8. In most cases, patients eat according to Table No. 15 and ATS (general version of the diets).
With arthrosis, products based on gelatin (jelly, jelly, etc. ), avocados (1 piece per week), vegetable oils, freshly squeezed berry juice, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and flaxseed will help. It is recommended to exclude fatty, smoked and salty foods from the diet.
Homeopathic medicines and herbal remedies for osteoarthritis
Doctors supplement conservative methods with homeopathy and herbal medicine. Preparations based on natural ingredients improve the functioning of all body systems.
List of commonly used homeopathic remedies for osteoarthritis:
- hydrofluoric acid;
- calcium fluoride;
- Phosphorus;
- calcium phosphate;
- potassium carbonate.
Their reception is combined with other methods of official and traditional medicine.
List of commonly used herbal remedies for osteoarthritis:
- cinquefoil;
- whole oats;
- Yukurba (devil's claw extraction);
- Medicinal collection (marshmallow and liquorice roots, chamomile blossoms, calendula).
Homeopathic and herbal remedies reduce the need for large doses of NSAIDs, analgesics, corticosteroids, and antihistamines.
Common Operations
With inappropriate use of conservative methods, resort to surgical treatment of a disease such as arthrosis. Usually the operation is performed when the patient seeks medical help late, when the pathology has already reached the 3-4 degree of development and threatens disability.
Types of surgeries for osteoarthritis:
- arthrodesis;
- arthroscopic debridement;
- arthroplasty;
- periarticular osteotomy;
- endoprosthetics.
After the operation, the patient is transferred to conservative treatment, rehabilitation measures begin.
The use of lasers in surgery and physiotherapy for osteoarthritis
Laser therapy is prescribed for all degrees and types of deforming arthrosis. The radiation from the devices used affects damaged tissue at a cellular, molecular and physiological (organ) level.
In physiotherapy for arthrosis, this property of the laser helps to restore microcirculation, relieve inflammation, pain and swelling, improve metabolism and self-regulate regeneration processes. There are many types of devices and modes of operation. The device's rays act on the surface and intra-articular tissue layer, biologically active points (with laser acupuncture).
Laser treatment is also performed in surgery, only high-intensity devices are used. The use of rays during surgery, in addition to their listed properties, contributes to the rapid restoration of tissues and minimizes the risk of wound infection.
When diagnosing arthrosis, it is possible to prescribe laser spectroscopy and examine small joints with an infrared laser scanner. These methods are safer, cheaper compared to MRI, radiography.
Folk and traditional medicine for arthrosis
Raw materials of natural origin must be selected individually, since each substance has its own contraindications. Medicinal preparations against arthrosis include plants with metabolism-enhancing, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and analgesic effects. More often they use willow bark, linden, St. John's wort, burdock, cinquefoil.
It is convenient to treat arthrosis with clay at home. A good therapeutic effect has a blue, kaolin (white), green, yellow and black remedy. Clay for arthrosis is put in baths (1 tablespoon / 1 liter of water), the damaged joint is wrapped, it is applied, the sore spot is rubbed with a mixture of clay and vegetable oil.
Among the methods of traditional medicine, acupuncture and apitherapy show good results. Some patients feel better after hirudotherapy, mineral therapy.
sanatoriums and health resorts
It is recommended to consolidate the effectiveness of the main treatment for osteoarthritis with rest in spas and rehabilitation centers specializing in diseases of the joints. It is better to give preference to facilities with thermal, mineral, mud springs, healing earth and special gases.
Treatment in the health resorts focuses on physiotherapy. In any case, a patient with arthrosis is recommended to follow a diet, not to miss exercise therapy and massage. In addition to physiotherapy, balneotherapeutic methods are used. These are hydromassage, swimming, baths (hydrogen sulfide, salt, nitrogen, sulfide and radon). With arthrosis, wraps with healing mud, exposure to heat, Bernard currents, laser and magnetic field are also prescribed. Each spa has its own therapy program, which must be clarified with the representative of the chosen institution before purchasing a ticket.
Every country has facilities specializing in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Therefore, with arthrosis, it is better to choose a resort with the help of your doctor. He recommends the desired climate, the holiday season, the necessary methods of physiotherapy for prevention, gives information about health resorts and advises on the best facility in his or the vicinity.
The prognosis of arthrosis therapy
It is very important not to miss a scheduled medical examination (1-2 times a year) and to donate blood and urine for tests, as this will allow doctors to timely identify pathological processes. But the later a person seeks medical help, the worse the treatment prognosis deteriorates. In the case of chronic arthrosis, doctors can only relieve pain with conservative therapy methods that partially preserve the joint functions or recommend an operation in order not to remain disabled.
The combination of methods of official, conventional and conventional medicine under the regular supervision of the attending physician increases the prognosis of the treatment of arthrosis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system.