It is widely believed that deforming rheumatoid arthritis threatens only the elderly. But in fact, people of all age categories are affected by it - children, youth and adults. At the moment, more than 70% of Russians over 40 suffer from deforming arthritis, arthrosis. They turn to doctors when difficulties with walking appear.
Causes
When self-medicating, patients often confuse the concepts of arthrosis and arthritis. The first is joint degeneration, at risk are athletes and the elderly. The thing is the thinning of the cartilage that covers the joints: under the influence of stress, they become weaker. While arthritis is a disease characterized by inflammation or malfunctioning of the immune system. Various types of infections are capable of provoking deforming arthritis of the joints.
The development of the disease begins with severe pain, the joints swell, and the skin around them turns red. Often there is an increase in body temperature. Initially, the disease proceeds without any particular symptoms. But under the influence of any factor, whether it is stress, hypothermia, infection, makes itself felt. The cause of the onset of the active phase may be cystitis. Often, the disease develops in those who have played a lot of sports, who have a hereditary predisposition. The cause of deforming arthritis of the knee joint in young people is also a metabolic disorder. Injured limbs are also at risk for cartilage degeneration.
In general, it is believed that the appearance in a person of deforming arthritis of the fingers, toes, knees is directly related to the fact that people have increased life expectancy. Joints wear out faster than a person manages to live the time allotted to him.
Forecast
While deforming osteoarthritis is actually not completely treated, rheumatoid arthritis therapy is amenable. Final healing is possible provided that treatment has begun in a timely manner. For a favorable prognosis, you will need to use antibiotics, immunomodulating agents. Sometimes complex cases require several courses of treatment in a row.
As a rule, with arthritis, deformed joints are treated practically all their lives. A person will take medications aimed at eliminating the symptoms of inflammation, corticosteroids. In the 1990s, the latest drugs were invented, which made it possible to achieve a sufficiently long remission. But the disease does not pass without a trace, and it can always come back again.
Clinical picture
Deforming arthritis of the hip joint (or knee) is manifested in the destruction of cartilage and the tissues underneath. The adjacent ligaments usually suffer. When the connective tissue grows, bone form around the joints.
Soon, the person begins to limp. Features of this phenomenon will depend on the phase of the disease. As a rule, at first lameness is barely noticeable, but over time it becomes stronger. At the initial stage, treatment of deforming arthritis of the knee joint should be successful, the prognosis is favorable. But if the case is neglected, it may turn out to be unfavorable.
To get rid of the disease, doctors prescribe local remedies in the form of ointments. They are irritating to affected surfaces. Point moxibustion is also necessary, autohemotherapy is used.
In advanced stages
With advanced stages of arthritis, deformed joints are treated with drugs that are injected directly into the joints. They contain substances that trigger tissue regeneration.
Electric pulses relieve the patient of the pain sensation that always accompanies deforming arthritis of the knee joint in an advanced stage.
What to look for
It is important to consider that diseases of this kind never arise spontaneously. This is a gradual process of cartilage wear that can be monitored with careful attention to your body. First suspicions should cause knee pain when moving. They will increase when climbing or descending the stairs. Usually discomfort disappears gradually after moderate movement. But if the load on the joints is long, the pain returns.
If you ignore such symptoms, the joints deformed during arthritis will wear out even more, and the disease will begin to flow smoothly into arthrosis. As a result, the joints will increase in size. Experts recommend never disregarding complaints of joint discomfort. Having discovered the first signs of the onset of deforming arthritis, it is necessary to consult a doctor immediately. This will increase the chances of successful healing from the disease.
If the symptoms are ignored, over time, the pain syndrome will intensify. In the later stages, treatment will require a large investment of both time and resources. The farther, the more difficult it is to get rid of the disease.
As a rule, knees deformed during arthritis change their shape due to the accumulation of fluid in the joints. Gradually, any load on the joint causes severe pain. The external signs are quite bright - the damaged areas will increase in size even more.
In the final stages, the cartilage tissue almost completely disappears in the joint. Sometimes bone fusion occurs and the limb becomes completely immobilized. A person is trying to find a position in which pain could be less intense, but none are. He begins to suffer from sleep disturbances, he needs a stick to move.
Diagnostics
Only a professional should treat arthritic deformed joints. It is important to treat the examination and treatment with all responsibility. As a rule, the doctor prescribes a special diet for the patient in addition to the existing course of treatment.
There is never a single treatment scenario for this disease. It is believed that only after the study with the help of an x-ray, the clinical picture becomes clear.
In no case should you rely solely on the herbal preparations bought from the healers. The best solution is to undergo treatment and rehabilitation in organizations specially created for this purpose.
Medications, as a rule, are necessary for patients, since they allow you to stop the pain syndrome. Modern medications also cope perfectly and quickly with the elimination of inflammatory processes, which is arthritis.
Folk methods
One of the oldest treatments for arthritis is honey. It was used in tinctures, and in wraps, massages. Of course, not a single beekeeping product can stop the disease itself, but honey helps to recover more quickly with many diseases. Just add it to the floral infusions. For example, it is recommended to add one teaspoon of honey to linden or chamomile tea.
Surgical intervention
It is noteworthy that the surgical intervention is performed in many different forms. They are selected after the initial inspection of the client. Arthroscopy is a fairly well-known surgical intervention aimed at eliminating the effects of deforming arthritis. It should be borne in mind that such an operation in itself is quite traumatic, and no one can eliminate the risk. In cases where the operation is indicated, it is carried out as soon as possible, ensuring the safety of the process. Sometimes dissection of joints during it is not required.
Alternative treatment
Since ancient times, people have used beekeeping products to get rid of arthritis. For example, infusions of linden and honey were prepared. They made honey wraps, massaging the areas damaged by the disease, they lubricated them with honey. In modern medicine, there is no evidence of a positive effect of beekeeping products on the joints.
Puncture and endoprosthetics
To get rid of excess joint fluids, doctors perform a puncture. This small procedure causes the inflammatory processes to stop. As a result, the knees again become mobile.
Sometimes, if the disease has already been started, endoprosthetics can save the situation. During this intervention, the joints are replaced with special designs. But after this, as a rule, a long rehabilitation is required. For this reason, surgery is performed in extreme cases.
Procedures
Special procedures help alleviate the symptoms of arthritis somewhat. Among them, myostimulation is distinguished. This effect on the joints with a weak current leads to the fact that the damaged areas become more mobile. The pain syndrome comes to naught, a person becomes more resilient during physical activity.
Phonophoresis is a combination of ultrasound and medications. Due to this, the absorption of nutrients from drugs is much more effective. The result is faster treatment, combined with savings in healing costs.
Ozone therapy implies the action of oxygen on the joints. As a result, the inflammatory processes subside, and often this allows the patient to stop using hormonal drugs. At least, their dosage is reduced in any case.
Physiotherapy exercises can help not to resort to surgery. If a person trains every day, his muscles strengthen, as a result, the load on the joints decreases. Sometimes this is enough to stop the development of pathology and return to the previous lifestyle. The most important thing here is to perform the exercises in a competent sequence. This is taught by professionals.
Massage and manual therapy
Due to a similar effect on the joints, sedentary patients experience an improvement. It's all about stretching the joints. This stops the manifestations of pain, their destruction stops. In this case, it is important that the procedures are systematic. A long course of treatment using similar techniques slows down the development of arthritis.
Diets
One of the causes of problems in the joints is the presence of excess weight. When a person normalizes his weight, the manifestations of arthritis are reduced. At least, the process of developing the disease ends. As a rule, if a person has a lot of excess weight, he is shown surgical intervention. After getting rid of fat, a person forgets about the symptoms of arthritis. But it is best to attend to the prevention of the disease. It is necessary to wear comfortable shoes, exercise. Swimming will be helpful. It is worthwhile to ensure that the weight does not exceed the norm. It is important not to smoke, to prevent hypothermia of the legs. With the appearance of the first alarming symptoms in the joints, you should immediately contact an orthopedist.
Lifestyle
Those who risk suffering from deforming arthritis, doctors recommend fundamentally reconsidering their lifestyle. Somewhere lies the reason why joint pathology develops. First of all, it is important to review your diet. It is necessary to provide enough motor activity for the joints. But dynamic loads must be moderate. These requirements are fully observed in swimming. It is also worth paying attention to physiotherapy. It will effectively maintain the tone of the joints. It is believed that mud applications reduce the risk of deforming arthritis. They need to be done on a regular basis.
Complications
If treatment was absent for some time or the patient himself ignored medical prescriptions, the risk of complications is high. They can be very different, most often depend on the reason why the disease developed. As a rule, the joints are deformed to the point that a person simply loses control over the affected limb. So, he loses the ability to pick up objects, cannot walk. This leads to disability, in fact, the patient loses independence in his daily life.
Particular attention should be paid to certain groups of joints. For example, people suffering from autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, need the supervision of a doctor. When the first complaints of joints from patients with psoriasis, gout, and lupus appear, it is important to conduct a full examination of them. Indeed, with a high degree of probability, such patients will suffer from deforming arthritis, which has every chance in the absence of adequate treatment to turn into arthrosis. Very often, patients are helped by a change in working conditions, since the reason for the accelerated development of pathology can be hidden here. Most often this applies to women.