Diseases awaiting a person are a huge variety, and some of them are becoming more and more likely over the years. It is known from medical statistics that in youth, only a small percentage of the world's population is concerned about joint disorders, which cannot be said about elderly people: many complain of joint pain. Arthritis, rheumatoid arthrosis of the knee joint, elbows, other parts of the musculoskeletal system are quite common problems.
Question Features
There is currently some confusion with terminology. Not everyone knows how arthritis differs from rheumatoid arthrosis. And are there any differences in principle? The disease considered in the current material is a symptomatic complex that combines the manifestations of arthritis and osteoporosis. Another common disease is rheumatoid arthritis. It has completely different symptoms and requires different approaches to treatment, so it deserves a separate consideration in a thematic article.
Rheumatoid arthrosis - arthritis that develops simultaneously with osteoporosis. The specificity of the pathological condition lies in the degenerative processes occurring in the cartilaginous areas. Various external and internal aggressive factors can provoke these. Arthrosis is a consequence of arthritis, in which tissue destruction occurs. The disease proceeds chronically, is a considerable problem, and is difficult to correct with medication.
About the disease
Modern medicine knows a lot about the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment of rheumatoid arthrosis, the essence of such a condition and its consequences, possible complications. A feature of the pathology is extremely slow-moving destructive processes, which means that they are hardly noticeable to the patient himself. To minimize risks, you need to remember the high likelihood of joint disease, monitor all negative changes in well-being, consult a doctor in time if you suspect a pathology. Preventive examinations are no less important - at least once a year. Only a responsible attitude to yourself and your body, visiting a doctor at the first suspicious symptoms will allow you to maintain freedom of movement and quality of life at a high level until the very advanced age.
State Clinic
Symptoms of rheumatoid arthrosis are somewhat similar to arthritis. As a rule, the patient notes that the affected area loses mobility, becomes a source of unpleasant, painful sensations. Arthrosis can cause inflammation in the joint. In the morning, the limbs are constrained, sometimes the temperature suddenly rises. Due to arthrosis, the diseased areas swell and swell. As a rule, lesions are symmetrical, leading to deformation of the limbs. There is a general poisoning of the body.
Rheumatoid arthrosis (knee and other areas of localization) most clearly indicates pain in the legs, a feeling of stiffness. The more pronounced the tumor, the greater the discomfort. The pain is paroxysmal, at first the duration of the next period is quite short, gradually increasing. Sensations may respond in other parts of the body.
Is it worth the attention?
Gradually, a person suffering from rheumatoid deforming arthrosis, gets used to discomfort and pain, and he begins to think that this condition is completely normal and does not require a responsible approach. At first, such errors are especially strong, since patients underestimate the severity of their misfortune. Other it seems that over time the pain will pass, the disease will disappear on its own. Unfortunately, this is nothing more than a delusion. Arthrosis alone cannot be cured, and sensations over time will only be stronger and more unpleasant.
Most often, the symptoms of rheumatoid arthrosis in the heels and hips indicate the need for treatment - these areas are considered the most susceptible due to the increased load on them. True, scientists do not claim that all the aspects causing such high risks for cartilage in these joints are known. Observation of a large number of patients showed: the entire limb is not completely affected by arthrosis, destructive processes and deformation are localized in separate areas.
Development features
If rheumatoid arthrosis started in the hip cartilage, gradually the pathological condition will cover all large areas of the limb - the disease progresses down. If the start is on the heels, then the destruction covers the areas above. Joint lesions are becoming more pronounced, coverage of other parts of the body is possible.
Do not assume that arthrosis threatens only the elderly. The main risk group is women of advanced age, but the disease can develop in both young people and children. Statistical studies have shown that approximately every tenth inhabitant of our planet suffers from arthrosis, and most often the processes are localized in the hip joint or heel area.
Knee joints
Often indicate the need for treatment of symptoms of rheumatoid arthrosis in the knee - this leg area is faced with increased stress. One-sided development of pathology is possible, but in most cases the knees of both legs hurt at the same time, although the symptoms, on the one hand, are more significant. Soon, arthrosis can cover areas in the neighborhood, spread to the hip area or go down to the foot.
It is customary to distinguish two varieties of knee arthrosis - the primary disease and the secondary form. Arthrosis, which is being formed for the first time, is caused by processes occurring in organic tissues. The cells that make up the cartilage die off, new ones are generated, the tissues are destroyed, restored. Normally, the processes are balanced. They occur best in children and adolescents, youth, especially if a person is not exposed to negative, dangerous external factors. The greater the age, the higher the likelihood of deterioration of natural mechanisms, as a result - metabolic disorders, trophism, regeneration at the cellular level. In older people, cartilage tissue is easily and quickly destroyed, while recovery takes a lot of time.
Primary Type: Nuances
Such rheumatoid arthrosis can form under the influence of a complex of factors. Each of them by itself is unlikely to cause a disease, but the combination of several at once with a greater degree of probability provokes tissue destruction. We are talking about the age and gender group, heredity and body weight. The first thing to pay attention to is age. If young people are simply not safe from arthrosis, then representatives of the older age group are at significant risk. According to statistics, the majority of patients are over 45 years old. About 90% of people over sixty years of age experience symptoms of varying severity.
Studies show that more often rheumatoid arthrosis bothers women than men. This is due to physique and a tendency to gain weight. However, by nature, female bones are thinner and more tender than those of the stronger sex, which means that cartilage is exposed to more significant loads throughout life, which sooner or later initiates tissue degeneration. Very often, women reveal knee arthrosis, which is to some extent due to longer life. Risk factors include a decreased estrogen content in the body, characteristic of the menopause.
Health Factors and Features
The risks are higher to find out what rheumatoid arthrosis is, how it manifests itself and what complications it can lead to in an overweight person. Body weight is directly related to articular load. The presence of extra pounds is often accompanied by a sedentary daily routine, due to which muscle tissues weaken, joints lose elasticity, degeneration is activated, the disease progresses rapidly.
According to statistics, if parents suffered from rheumatoid arthrosis, it is likely that their children will also encounter pathology over time. Some scientists claim that the disease is inherited, and no prophylaxis can help protect oneself from disaster. Studies show that more often a genetic factor accounts for arthrosis in women.
Secondary type
In some cases, treatment of arthritis, rheumatoid arthrosis of the secondary type is required. This pathological condition is usually associated with injury. Violation of the integrity of the ligaments, rupture of the meniscus also create conditions for the rapid progress of arthrosis. Often a pathological condition appears after a knee fracture.
What to do?
The treatment of rheumatoid arthrosis is best entrusted to the doctor. The patient should immediately mentally prepare for a long program consisting of many stages. There are several effective medicines, nutritional supplements, and procedures that can improve metabolism and normalize the state of cartilage. It is mandatory to have regular exercise. The program of exercises, the frequency of their execution, the optimal amount of loads will be chosen by the doctor - an excess of physical activity can harm. The patient is shown physiotherapy and massage. However, it will be necessary to review the diet and abandon fatty meat and alcohol. It is recommended to leave any bad habits in the past.
Sometimes treatment for rheumatoid arthrosis requires urgent surgery. They resort to it if conservative methods have not given the desired result and the installation of the prosthesis becomes the only method of restoring the patient's ability to move independently without pain.
The salt is to blame!
Some believe that the only cause of arthrosis is salt deposits, and you just need to stop eating salty foods, as any unpleasant sensations will remain in the past. Often, arthrosis leads to the formation of osteophytes, rather dense elements, due to which movements are difficult, become a source of pain. It is osteophytes who mistakenly consider salt deposits, but in fact, the formations differ in nature and composition.
This is also true for the treatment of arthrosis with diets. Healers can advise you to abandon certain foods, exclude salt and get some other types of food. In fact, there is no specialized diet for arthrosis . Of course, you need to monitor the diet, eat properly and balanced, excluding the excess of harmful foods, cholesterol, not too lean on salty and spicy, spicy, nevertheless this is only general recommendations, and not a strict nutrition program. Any joint diseases require the use of foods rich in components useful for cartilage, but this is an additional aspect of the therapeutic course, and not the main approach. Particular attention should be paid to fish, cartilage, poultry meat. From statistics it is known that in countries where the diet of people at an impressive percentage is formed by the seafood, arthrosis is less common than in countries remote from the coast.
General principles of therapy
In order for the treatment of arthrosis to be more effective and require the shortest possible time period, the load on the affected joint area should be limited. The orthopedist will advise a mode of rest and activity, which will have to be followed in detail. In addition, special physical education cannot be neglected. Among physiotherapeutic measures, UHF, ultrasound, electromagnetic course, magnetic therapy, laser procedures are considered the most effective.
The doctor may recommend oxygen treatment - procedures during which the internal areas receive gas indispensable for the course of reactions. With arthrosis, staying at resorts and treatment in sanatoriums, as well as eating without junk food, will benefit. In addition, the doctor will select the appropriate pharmacological products. This classic scheme allows you to quickly achieve improvement.
Preparations: what will help?
First, the doctor selects drugs that relieve pain. The classic option is non-hormonal drugs that stop inflammatory processes. They are injected into the muscles, vein, in order to avoid an aggressive effect on the gastric mucous membranes. Injections of drugs can achieve a quick effect. Sometimes additionally used locally anti-inflammatory - in the form of ointments and gels. The effectiveness of such drugs is not too high, so they are strictly additional elements of the course.
First, non-steroidal drugs are used in the minimum dosage, with a short program, and they begin with the weakest options. To minimize undesirable consequences, the patient is simultaneously shown Omeprazole.
In the acute phase of the disease, hormonal anti-inflammatory can be injected into the joint. Often resort to "Hydrocortisone", "Diprospan." Capsaicin can be used locally. On sale there are tinctures, ointments and plasters with this alkaloid.
Protect and protect
As part of the treatment of arthrosis, the patient is usually recommended a course of chondroprotectors. These are pharmaceutical products whose compositions contain compounds useful for articular cartilage, stimulating regenerative processes and protecting areas from aggressive factors. Under the influence of chondroprotectors, the synovial fluid becomes better in quality, which means that local metabolism is returning to normal. The most popular option is chondroitin sulfate. Glucosamine is often prescribed. The drugs are taken in long courses. If in the first six months of use no result is ever noted, the funds are canceled or changed to stronger ones.
Hyaluronic acid preparations may help. In pharmacies, they are presented under the names "Fermatron", "Giastat", "Ostenil". They are resorted to simultaneously with the means protecting the cartilage articular tissues. Acid is contained in connective tissue, is involved in the formation of chondrocytes. The best results are given by its introduction directly into the joint area.