Arthrosis of the hip, shoulder, knee and ankle joints is a disease that occurs as a result of wear and tear of cartilage tissue, as well as deformation of bones.In this case, the patient feels pain of varying intensity (depending on the form of the disease).As a result, the disease leads to problems with motor functions, partial or complete immobility and disability.It is important to determine whether arthrosis can be cured without surgery.
Definition of lesion
Knee joint disease most often occurs in women; it can occur for many reasons.Elderly people experience arthrosis in the knee joint more often than others.
If treatment for arthrosis is not started in time, the joint-forming bones will be exposed and damaged.In this case, it will be impossible to do without surgical intervention.When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, it is important to seek help from a doctor as soon as possible.It will not be able to completely eliminate arthrosis, but it will help slow down the process of deformation of the knee joint and stop degeneration.Early identification of the lesion and properly formulated treatment will help to avoid negative consequences and early disability status.
What are the common causes of arthrosis of the knee joint and can the disease be cured?The main reasons include:
- Flat feet.
- Vein diseases.
- Diabetes and other lesions associated with metabolic disorders.In this case, it will be difficult to get rid of arthrosis, since not all medications and physical procedures are allowed to be used.
- Excess weight - people with weight problems experience arthrosis much more often than people with normal body weight.
- Adolescence - it is at this time that a person’s metabolism and hormonal levels change, which leads to a degenerative process.
- Carrying a child - at this time, a woman gains weight, as a result of which the load on the knee part increases significantly.Hormonal levels are disrupted, which contribute to the appearance of arthrosis of the knees.
- Changes in the body associated with the patient's age.
- Receiving certain injuries.About 30 percent of knee arthrosis occurs due to injury.Injury leads to a change in the normal structure of the tissue, which provokes the process of destruction.
- Regular physical activity on the lower legs, to which the body has not adapted.
- The beginning of the process of inflammation in the body.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- The onset of cramps in the muscle tissues of the thigh.
The disease can be cured only if you contact a treating specialist.In this case, it is prohibited to start any treatment on your own.Only a specialist will be able to prescribe effective therapy, which will include physiotherapy and medication.
Preventive measures
It is important to remember about preventive measures even before the appearance of the underlying disease.Arthrosis can be divided into two types.The first occurs due to a violation of the metabolic process in the body, as well as the age characteristics of the patient.
The second type appears as a result of injury or infection.To prevent the second type of arthrosis, it is important to avoid possible injuries, bruises, and fractures.This applies to a greater extent to those who engage in any sports or dancing.For such people, such an illness often becomes professional and prevents them from doing what they love.This also applies to children who are very active and behave carelessly on the street;It is important for them to behave carefully so as not to get dangerously injured.
The main factor that will help avoid arthrosis of the deforming knee joint is mobility.The best way to prevent arthrosis is moderate exercise.This is especially important for people whose work activity involves predominantly sedentary work.It is important to remember that in this case we are talking about a moderate load on different joints.
Main stages of the disease
Osteoarthritis can be divided into four distinct stages according to its development.The more advanced the stage, the more difficult the process of treatment and symptom relief will be:
- at the first stage, the symptoms are mild, but the process of tissue destruction is already rapidly spreading;
- the destruction of cartilage continues, which leads to a decrease in the mobility of the leg in the joint area and is accompanied by severe pain;
- in this case, the cartilage tissue is thinned, the joint-forming bones begin to actively grow and become damaged;
- at the last stage of development of the disease, the cartilage is almost completely destroyed, bone deformation leads to a change in the axis of the diseased limb, while the joint ceases to cope with the pressure exerted on it, and the leg at the knee completely loses mobility.
Arthrosis of the knee joint of the first degree can be diagnosed by short-term pain that occurs when a person walks.There is no noticeable deformity that can be detected during examination, and radiography also does not provide the necessary amount of information about the condition of the joints to make an accurate diagnosis.
If the disease is detected in a timely manner and proper treatment is started, the process of destruction of cartilage tissue can be completely stopped, and the diseased areas can even be restored.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the 2nd degree?Treatment at stage 2 of arthrosis development is aimed at eliminating unpleasant symptoms and slowing down the degenerative-dystrophic process.In this case, it is not always possible to restore the tissue, but you can keep what remains intact.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the 3rd degree?When arthrosis reaches the 3rd stage of development, attempts to slow down the destructive process and bone damage most often do not bring results, the disease rapidly acquires the 4th stage of development (some experts, for this very reason, distinguish only three stages of development of this disease).
In case of serious changes in the structure of the joint, it is necessary to use a prosthesis; this method of surgical correction is called endoprosthetics.
In some cases, surgical intervention is also used at stage 2 of gonarthrosis.In this case, a minimally invasive arthroscopic operation is performed, removing dead tissue, as well as pieces of damaged cartilage, through a small incision.With the help of this operation, the range of motion increases, pain symptoms and inflammation go away.But we must remember that the treatment does not end there.This operation will help relieve the unpleasant symptoms of the disease for several years.
Carrying out treatment
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the knee joint?Treatment of any disease can be carried out in three main areas:
- etiotropic – elimination of the root causes of the lesion;
- symptomatic – relief of the main symptoms;
- pathogenetic – intervention in the process of disease progression.
To carry out effective treatment or at least stop the development of arthrosis, it is important:
- activate the blood supply process and improve the condition of tissues;
- compensate for the lack or excess of enzymes in the body;
- give the body everything it needs to reproduce cartilage tissue;
- restore the volume and composition of synovial fluid.
Many physiotherapeutic procedures and topical ointments lead to improved nutrition of tissues and normalization of their blood supply.During electrophoresis, tissues can be saturated with special enzymes.But the main way to treat such a disease is to take chondroprotectors.Recently, hyaluronic acid injections have been predominantly used to treat arthrosis.Biological treatment methods are considered more aggressive.
Use of chondroprotectors
Is it possible to cure arthrosis completely?For complete treatment, chondroprotectors are suitable - medications that include natural components of cartilage tissue or their synthetic analogues, which lead to the synthesis of certain components or inhibit their breakdown.
Chondroprotectors can be found in the following forms:
- tablets, capsules and powders for oral administration;
- solutions for intramuscular injections;
- special ointments for external use.
Medicines for external use should be used as additional treatment in complex therapy.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis deformans?First you need to consider the features of treatment with chondroprotectors:
- many chondroprotectors help get rid of severe pain and inflammation, but this is not the main benefit of taking them; for symptomatic therapy it is best to use more affordable NSAIDs;
- therapeutic measures bring a special effect at stages 1 and 2 of the development of the disease, when the cartilage has not yet been destroyed to an extreme state;
- during treatment, it is important to take a long, systematic course of medication; after each course, you need to take a break;one course includes 6 months, so treatment continues for years.
If a patient is prone to the appearance of arthrosis of the knees, then he should start taking chondroprotectors in advance for prevention purposes, before the first signs of the disease develop.Chondroprotectors cannot be called a panacea, since they protect cartilage and do not restore its condition.Arthrosis is much easier to prevent than to start treatment afterwards.
The main difficulty of treatment
Is it possible to cure arthrosis forever?The main difficulty of treatment is that to this day no medications have been developed that could permanently and completely eliminate arthrosis.But it is important to remember that there are quite effective comprehensive treatment methods that help get rid of pain and slow down the progression of the disease.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint
Arthrosis of the hip joint is a degenerative-dystrophic process during which the cartilage structures covering the surface of the femoral head, as well as the acetabulum, are damaged.To keep cartilage in good condition, it is important to determine whether arthrosis of the hip joint can be cured.
Treatment with medications
There are a large number of ways to treat this disease.Most often, the treating specialist prescribes a whole complex that includes many therapeutic measures.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the hip joint?For grade 1 and 2 arthrosis, medications are allowed to be used for treatment.The most effective medications in this case are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vasodilators, which improve blood supply to the joints, relax muscles and help eliminate spasms.
Chondroprotectors are also used, which help preserve cartilage tissue.In the first and second stages of development of the lesion, experts allow the use of local agents: patches, applications, ointments and gels - they will stimulate normal blood circulation.
It is important to remember that without effective and timely treatment, arthrosis of the hip joint can provoke ankylosis.Ankylosis is a complete fusion of the femur and pelvis.In this case, the leg completely loses its mobility in the joint.
Arthrosis of the ankle joint
Can arthrosis of the ankle joint be cured?Before treating ankle arthrosis, it is important to conduct an accurate diagnosis.Most often, a doctor can establish an accurate diagnosis either by examining the patient’s foot or by taking an x-ray.
Depending on the stage of development of the disease, the specialist will choose the most appropriate treatment.Even before visiting a specialist, the patient must significantly reduce the load on the diseased joint, avoid hypothermia, as well as overload.The doctor prescribes a comprehensive treatment for the patient: physiotherapy, balneotherapy, painkillers, and drugs to stimulate blood circulation.
Also, ankle therapy can be carried out on an outpatient basis, in a hospital with the prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.Difficulties with treatment may arise if the patient is obese.It is important for such a patient to eat properly not only during the treatment itself, but also after it.
Gymnastic exercises
Gymnastics for ankle arthrosis is allowed only after the main symptoms of the disease have completely passed.A set of exercises and loads on the foot should be compiled together with the treating specialist.
Any gymnastic exercises during arthrosis should strain the ligaments and muscles in the joint without overloading the joints themselves, otherwise it can be very dangerous.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the joint?A course of gymnastics in the treatment of arthrosis will not require the patient to spend money, buy medicines or expensive devices, but the patient will have to be patient and hardworking in order to accurately complete the course.
Shoulder problems
Some injuries can lead to the onset of an inflammatory or degenerative process in the joints.The most common causes of shoulder arthrosis are:
- severe physical stress on the shoulder joint at work, resulting in active wear of its components;
- receiving a shoulder injury;
- shoulder dysplasia;
- changes in hormone production;
- problems with blood supply to joint tissues, which leads to the appearance of vascular pathologies;
- natural wear and tear of cartilage, which is typical for older people.
What is common in this case is the process of inflammation, accompanied by pain symptoms.The causes of such damage are different; they can be associated with injury, infection, or disruption of certain systems in the body.
Most often, the appearance of arthritis requires additional external influence: stress, hypothermia, infection of organs, infection through an open wound, immune response to the infection.
When determining a disease, the doctor pays attention to the degree of the disease, the patient’s main complaints and the results of a number of examinations.The main diagnostic measure is a biochemical blood test, which helps confirm the presence of inflammation and, in some cases, determine its nature.
Another important study is X-ray, which helps determine the location of joint deformation at an early stage of its appearance.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the shoulder joint?In the presence of arthrosis of the first two degrees, exclusively conservative treatment is used.And only in case of a complicated form of the disease is surgery prescribed.
Basic methods of conservative treatment:
- taking medications;
- treatment with traditional methods;
- physiotherapeutic measures;
- sanitary resort treatment;
- massages;
- acupuncture;
- physical therapy;
- special diet.
Before starting therapy, it is important to provide complete rest to the damaged joint, which is much easier to do if arthrosis is widespread in the shoulder area.The easiest treatment is considered to be the first stage of diseases, when scar changes have not yet occurred, and the tissue has still retained its regenerative ability.
But in the presence of this form of damage, the unpleasant sensations, as a rule, do not manifest themselves strongly, the pain is mild, so the patient is very late in seeking help from a doctor.In the future, after the end of treatment, the patient will also have to follow a gentle regimen.