The symptoms and treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee

Osteoarthritis of the knee is the most common disease of the locomotor system, represents the complete destruction or deformation of the cartilage tissue. According to the statistics he suffer up to 22% of the total population of the world. Primarily a disease common in the elderly or in athletes. Every person who encountered this unpleasant disease, the question arises: how do you treat osteoarthritis of the knee?

osteoarthritis of the knee

Causes of the onset of osteoarthritis

Before you start of immediately the treatment of osteoarthritis, one must find out the cause from which it has emerged. The reasons are very diverse:

  • expansion of the load. Active physical sports should be appropriate to the age. That is why, the man after the age of 40 it is preferable to do sport in the temperate zones of the boundaries and the loads. Not to manage a difficult task, which is posed by the people of the third age, the joints that do not bear and suffer damage. Can sometimes appear crack, that clearly is not, and the damage they can cause to the articulation of a huge;
  • injuries. This is precisely the source of osteoarthritis in younger people. Any fracture, dislocation or damage to the meniscus can be the cause of the development of the disease. Therefore, to cure the injury, it is necessary to fix the knee. The deterioration when the circulation of the blood and leads to osteoarthritis;
  • obesity and excess weight. All the weight of the body lying in the knee joint, the cartilage, the tissue breaks down under the load, which causes the disease. If, in addition to obesity, there are varicose veins, it is possible the development of a severe form of osteoarthritis;
  • the alteration of metabolism. In this situation, sometimes it is lack of calcium, which has a negative influence on the state of the bone and cartilage in general;
  • the stressful situations. Any nervous tensions, stress adversely affects the health of the joints of the person. To avoid this, it's worth more often to rest, not overworked, and constantly toggle the intellectual work with the physical.

The symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee

The symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee are very diverse, but are very characteristic:

  1. the pain. In the early stages of the disease is quite weak and feels when they sweat. Last, this status can and a couple of years ago, until the disease does not get worse. When it comes to osteoarthritis of the knee of grade 2, the pain becomes more noticeable. The knee can hurt, even in a state of rest after a long walk or lifting heavy objects;
  2. the crunch. It is characterized by intense pain. Appears in 2-3 stages of osteoarthritis;
  3. the deformation. In the early stages of the knee is slightly swollen, in addition to begins to change shape;
  4. the limited mobility. Occurs in the late stages of the disease. All the attempts of bending and straightening the knee causes a sharp pain. The movement is only possible in the folded legs;
  5. a baker's cyst. It's called the soft-sealing on the back of the knee. Also occurs due to accumulation of large amounts of joint fluid. Is easily treated without the need for surgical intervention.

The degree of osteoarthritis

the degree of osteoarthritis
  1. 1 degree of osteoarthritis of the knee, is almost asymptomatic. May be the tiredness in the legs, and transient violation of the mobility that occurs after sleep. The pain may be negligible. Identify the pathology only with the help of x-rays.
  2. 2 the degree of osteoarthritis of the knee, the pain is increasingly severe. Occurs when prolonged load in the joint and disappears after a long break. It adds the crunch to the walk, the progression of synovitis (baker's cyst), the change of the bones of the joints, difficulty in bending the knee.
  3. 3 the degree of osteoarthritis of the knee is different pains out of the loads. The second feature turns on the inability of man to bend the knee independently. The pain is very startling during sleep, the affected area actively responds to climate change. The deformation of the joint of the knee can lead to disability.

The diagnosis of the disease

To begin with, the physician consulting the patient and examine her. After this, necessarily assigns a survey in the form of x-ray. In addition, the doctor can send in the magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. With the help of a set of procedures to figure out the exact cause of the onset of the disease and understand that it is knee osteoarthritis, and no other disease.

How to cure osteoarthritis of the knee

When the diagnosis you can proceed to immediate treatment. It includes several methods:

  • The pharmacological treatment.
  • The therapy with the help of massage, physiotherapy.
  • The surgical intervention.
  • Of the restoration.

Very important are physical treatments, massage, and diet compliance. The comprehensive treatment should eliminate the pain, and establishing motor function of the joint, the possibility of restoring the cartilage.

The treatment with the help of the prepared medicated

Drugs to a greater extent, your objective in the relief of pain, already annoyed himself directly the treatment. To do this, the doctor may prescribe certain pain medications and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ointments, gels.

When all of the above does not help, it is prescribed the treatment of the drugs. This method can cause a lot of side effects. This is why we only prescribe short courses in your application.

  1. Ointments may relieve the pain and reduce some of the inflammation.
  2. Hyaluronic acid is a very effective in the early stages of osteoarthritis. The medication is injected directly into the interior of the joint. This procedure should be performed only by an expert. As in the case of the penetration of the acid in the blood can be major complications.
  3. Symptomatic drugs slow-action capable of influencing the cause of the onset of osteoarthritis, especially in the initial phase. Medications recover the production of joint fluid and the cartilage damaged.

Physical therapy

This treatment is very effective in the early stages of osteoarthritis of the knee: relieves pain, helps restore the functional capacity of the joint, eliminates the spasm of the muscle. A personalized program of physical exercise that sets out a doctor on the basis of the results of the survey.

In the surgery

The surgical treatment is different. It depends is the measure of intervention:

  1. arthroscopy. This procedure is performed by inserting an endoscope and the instruments of support especially by the punctures in the knee. So it is removed from the fabric, which have become a source of pain. The operation careful, can be repeated several times. Is performed even in the first stage of the disease;
  2. an osteotomy. Is a fracture of the artificial bone of cloth have been achieved successfully. It carries out the procedure of the deformation of the joint of the knee;
  3. the arthroplasty. This operation will be carried out by the complete replacement of the victim of the knee on the implant.

Proper nutrition

Very often the cause of development of osteoarthritis can be a simple error in the exchange of substances. Since this leads to a set of excess weight and obesity, which becomes a cause of osteoarthritis. That is why in the period of treatment must follow a special diet.

The patient should consume foods rich in vitamins and macro, as well as counting calories. Eating is necessary often and in small portions, which will accelerate the metabolism. The breakfast should be full and satisfactory, to stock up on energy throughout the day. In the day-to-day diet should contain cereals, vegetables, fruits, and vegetables.

To exclude from the reception, you should fatty and the excitement of the kitchen, soft drinks, semi-finished products. It is not desirable to the consumption of bananas, grapes, cabbage, tomato, pepper Bulgarian, any kind of confectionery products and chocolates. Do not forget that in this period, as never needed the protein. Therefore, the consumption of cottage cheese, yogurt, and cheese should be mandatory.

Excuse that not later than two hours before bedtime. Throughout the day, preferably drink up to two liters of water. If of course the patient does not suffer from the disease of the kidneys.

In the popular medicine

The cure of osteoarthritis of the knee can be prepared with your own hands. Can be all kinds of ointments, compresses, friction, lotion. But they should be used only in combination with other drugs, and only after consultation with your doctor.

  1. Dandelion. Its flowers are washed and eat up to 6 pieces a day. Even prepare the cooking. To do this, dry dandelion pour boiling water. After he has cooled down, drink 1/3 cup three times a day. It also prepares the tincture of the teeth of a lion. For its preparation it is necessary to take the dark out of the bottle, fill your flowers and pour the alcohol. After a month of the infusion can be used as the friction in the joint ill.
  2. The aloe. Purified of your worksheet, you can to adapt to the knee, the whole night. This will help reduce the pain and relieve the swelling. From this floor you can prepare a remedy for the friction. To do this, in a meat grinder pulverized in a dozen sheets. After squeezing out the juice through a cheesecloth and mix it with half cup of honey. Add 150 ml of wine and mix everything place in a dark place. It is necessary to use a month.
  3. For the effectiveness of the compress can take the salt, mustard, and sand. All the ingredients to mix, heat in a frying pan and put in the bag. Applying to the diseased section. This method of treatment will help with the activation of the recovery process, improves blood flow and eliminates the pain.