Arthritis is a joint disease that is caused by inflammation of the joint itself and its individual components. According to statistics, every 3 people have joint diseases. The prerequisites for arthritis are increasing every day. Many joint diseases develop due to metabolic pathologies caused by genetic addiction. In addition, there are a fairly large number of other conditions characteristic of the current rhythm and lifestyle, which contribute to the formation of arthritis. Many are interested in which doctor treats arthritis and arthrosis. Find the answer below.
Causes
In order to know which doctor to contact for arthritis, the cause of the disease should be determined. The following causes of arthritis are known:
- Malfunctions in human immunity. With frequent diseases, the human body weakens, his immunity releases an excessive amount of immune substances, which leads to the elimination of not only the sources of the disease, but also the destruction of useful and protective functions of the body. The negative effect extends even to the joints.
- Diseases of the nervous system. The reason lies in a strong emotional shock that triggers all the negative mechanisms in the body. In diseases of the nervous system, the joints of the hands and feet are affected.
- Improper metabolism, which does not allow the entire human body to work properly and leads to a decrease in immunity, an additional load on the joints. This applies to overweight, when the load on the joints exceeds the norm.
- Injuries. When injured, any component of the human body weakens. The same thing happens with frequent and debilitating workouts, when the joints “wear out” and cause pain in the future.
- Hypothermia of the body. Hypothermia affects exacerbation of arthritis and exacerbates the situation due to the lack of thermal effects on the already affected area.
Each cause is eliminated by another specialist. It is important to know which doctor treats arthritis and arthrosis.
Symptoms
Symptoms of arthritis vary from person to person. The main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are joint pain, swelling and numbness of the limbs. With untimely treatment, the disease can spread further and affect the work of other organs. Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis often develop gradually over several weeks, but some cases can progress rapidly over several days. Therefore, it is so important to know which doctor to contact for arthritis.
Common symptoms
There may be different symptoms for different types of arthritis, but there are common signs of arthritis for each type, such as:
- joint pains - especially in the early morning and during long immobility;
- inflammation in the joints, inflammation of the limbs, limited movement of the joints;
- the formation of rheumatoid nodes - small formations of various sizes, which can disappear and appear regardless of the state of the body;
- redness of the skin;
- deformation of the fingers and hands;
- muscle weakness and stiffness;
- fatigue;
- general feeling of malaise;
- weight loss;
- increased sweating;
- skin rash;
- visual impairment;
- pain in breathing and in the chest is a sign of the effect of arthritis on the lungs and heart system.
Kinds
Arthritis of the joints is divided by the nature of pain, causes, risk groups, etc. At the moment, several types of arthritis are distinguished. The patient should know which doctor to treat with arthritis of the hand and fingers.
Reactive (autoimmune)
Most often, this type of disease is caused by intestinal, urogenital, or respiratory infections. Since some cells of the harmful organisms are similar to the cells of the human body, during the fight against infection, the immune system may become confused and begin to attack the joints.
Rheumatoid
Which doctor should I contact for rheumatoid arthritis? To the rheumatologist, therapist. The disease can develop due to a genetic predisposition, an infectious disease, or due to commonplace stress or hypothermia. It is accompanied by frequent swelling of the joints, especially those that constantly receive a strong load, that is, knees, shoulders, lower back.
Purulent
Purulent arthritis can be affected by surgery or trauma, such as a fracture, but the main reason for its development is coccal flora. It is accompanied by severe pain, which in the end can completely deprive of sleep, rapid pulse and fever. May lead to sepsis.
Infectious (septic)
After injuries, blood diseases, or even allergies, infectious arthritis can begin to develop. Due to the accumulation of synovial fluid in the joints during the inflammation process, the disease can affect cartilage, ligaments and bones.
Chronic and acute
The etiology of chronic arthritis is very diverse: starting with tonsillitis and sinusitis and ending with tuberculosis and syphilis. It is accompanied by constant infrequent pains, which, over time, can intensify, going into an acute form.
Psoriatic arthritis
Which doctor should I contact for psoriatic arthritis? To an infectious disease specialist, therapist, and dermatologist. This type of arthritis can develop in people with psoriasis. It can appear both after the disease and become its harbinger. It is accompanied by pain and stiffness of the joints, as well as red-blue skin tones in the affected areas.
Juvenile rheumatoid
Which doctor should I contact for arthritis? To the pediatrician. The causes of the disease are still unknown, but this does not interfere with its progressive development. Usually sick - children under 16 years old. In addition to joints, the disease can also affect the internal organs, which can lead to death.
Gouty
Which doctor should I treat with arthritis of the knee joint and gouty form? To the therapist. The culprit in the appearance of this arthritis is uric acid, which is not excreted from the body, but only accumulates around the joints, leading to inflammation.
Diagnostics
In order to diagnose arthritis , methods such as:
- Radiography is a method aimed at analyzing the patient’s skeletal system and detecting formed changes.
- Ultrasound examination is a procedure aimed at studying large joints of the body. This includes the knee, shoulder and elbow joints.
- Computed tomography - this method is relevant in situations when it is impossible to analyze the state of soft tissues. The fact is that with the help of X-rays, the state of soft tissues cannot be investigated.
- Method for the study of synovial fluid. In order to determine the causative agents of arthritis and the subsequent prescription of the drug (antibiotics), this method is widely used.
- Myelography is a spinal cord examination.
- Arthroscopy is a local research technique. Arthroscopy is aimed at the study and subsequent treatment of knee joints.
- Magnetic resonance imaging. This method is a universal tool if the specialist intends to get an absolutely clear image of soft tissues and the skeletal system. Unfortunately, this method is expensive, but it provides the desired result.
Treatment
At the top of modern medicine, one of the challenges is the development of effective treatments for arthritis. Every year the number of patients with this problem is steadily growing, which stimulates scientific medical centers to develop and test new effective treatments. Arthritis treatment regimens are reviewed and supplemented annually. Thanks to new scientific discoveries in the field of treatment of arthritis, an opportunity has now been achieved not only to achieve remission of the disease, but also to help restore the functionality of the patient's articular apparatus.
The so-called basic therapy for the treatment of arthritis includes: synthetic (cytostatics) and biological agents.
Anti-inflammatory drugs (such as Diclofenac, Nimesulide, Meloxicam) and glucocorticoids may also be included in treatment regimens. The main goal of this therapy is to achieve clinical remission of the disease, to reduce the inflammatory process in the joints. To achieve the desired result in treatment, basic therapy should be started less than 3 months after the onset of the first symptoms, so that the drugs have time to act and reduce the likelihood of further disability. Currently, in medical institutions for the treatment of patients with arthritis, immunobiological therapy is widely used, which was introduced not so long ago. But at the same time, she showed quite good results. You need to understand that cytostatic therapy (Methotrexate) is the main tool to reduce the activity of the process and transfer the disease to remission, and immunobiological treatment is aimed at overcoming drug resistance in patients with severe forms of the disease.
The “Gold Standard” for the pathogenetic treatment of arthritis includes the administration of Methotrexate. These drugs disrupt the metabolism of folic acid in the body, this is what determines their anti-inflammatory effect. Based on this, such patients necessarily need to take folic acid - 5-10 mg per week, the interval between taking Methotrexate and folic acid should be 24 hours. Folic acid should be taken in order to avoid complications from the stomach, intestines and liver, as well as the blood system. The drug "Leflunomide" is not far from the effectiveness of "Methotrexate" and, according to many scientific studies, has good tolerance and minimal side effects, which are not a reason for its cancellation. The choice of a drug depends on the age of the patient, the degree of activity of the disease, and sensitivity to standard "basic" therapy.
The main recommendations for choosing the appropriate treatment for patients with arthritis:
- Selection of a treatment regimen for each patient, taking into account gender, age, characteristics of the course of the underlying disease, the presence of intercurrent pathology.
- Calculation of the effective dose of the drug.
The choice of a drug depends on the activity of the inflammatory process: with a high degree of activity, the drug of choice is Methotrexate or Leflunomide; with low activity, drugs from the group of 5-ASA (5-aminosalicylic acid) - "Sulfasalazine" are preferred.
Slow increase in the desired effect of the ongoing main therapy, which is a feature of treatment with these drugs. All this needs to be conveyed to the patient so that he is ready for long-term treatment and in no case interrupts the course.
From the moment biological agents, inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor, were introduced into the protocols for treating patients with arthritis, treatment approaches have changed significantly. Therapy is carried out with drugs that are already heard: Infliximab (Remicade), Adalimumab.
It is important to undergo a series of screening tests before starting treatment with these agents: the Mantoux test and the Diaskin test, an x-ray of the chest organs in order to exclude risk factors for complications during therapy.
Advantages of drugs from this group:
- Reduce the clinical symptoms of the disease.
- Slow down the pace of destructive changes in the affected joints (according to radiographs).
- They have a minimal negative effect on normal immune processes in the body (that is, they reduce the risk of immunosuppression).
The disadvantages of these drugs:
- They increase the risk of developing infectious diseases (for example, tuberculosis in previously infected individuals).
- Symptoms of congestive heart failure worsen.
- The risk of autoimmune changes in the body.
- Change in the blood system (pancytopenia, anemia).
The developed modern therapy for patients with arthritis is a promising direction in the search for new methods of therapy in pediatric and adult rheumatology.