Autoimmune arthritis is a disease that occurs as a result of disorders that occur in the immune system when your own tissues are perceived as foreign. Immune cells against them begin to produce special proteins that cause inflammation in the membrane of joints, cartilage and blood vessels. There are several forms of arthritis, many of which are autoimmune. The article will consider the causes, symptoms and treatment of this ailment.
Causes of the disease
Inflammation of the joints of the musculoskeletal system is an urgent problem for modern people. Rheumatoid arthritis, which is a type of autoimmune disease, is mainly affected by people of working age after forty years, moreover, in women it is more common than in men, five times. The main causes of joint disease are considered:
- Genetic predisposition associated with abnormal chromosome structure. Blood relatives are four times more likely to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.
- Infections - viral diseases: rubella, herpes, retrovirus, Epstein-Barr. All of them are a factor contributing to the development of the inflammatory process in the joints.
- Adverse environmental conditions: radioactive radiation, constant exposure to low temperatures, chemical pollution.
- Systematic stressful situations, emotional overload. Autoimmune arthritis in the female half of the population often occurs during pregnancy, after childbirth, abortion, during menopause.
- Rapid weight gain.
- Alcohol and tobacco addiction.
All of the above factors contribute to the development of the inflammatory process primarily in the cartilage of the joints.
Symptoms
In the early stages, the disease is most often relatively mild, so patients do not immediately seek medical help. Symptoms of autoimmune arthritis are formed gradually, and the development of a complete clinical picture of the disease takes several years. Most often, at the very beginning of the onset of the disease in adults, small joints are affected, especially the hands, and in children, on the contrary, large ones. During this period, the patient has only general symptoms. These include:
- weakness;
- malaise;
- loss of appetite;
- weight loss;
- low-grade fever.
The main symptoms of malaise are:
- Morning pain and stiffness of the joints for an hour or longer.
- Painful sensations and swelling.
- Characteristically symmetrical damage to the joints of the right and left side.
- Restriction of function due to swelling of the joints.
With the development of autoimmune arthritis, characteristic signs of the following character arise:
- Typical deformation of the hands and feet.
- The occurrence of muscle destruction.
- The collapse of damaged joints, compression of the fibers.
At the final stages of the disease, the following are possible:
- The appearance of rheumatoid nodules that do not cause pain.
- Enlarged lymph nodes.
- Inflammation of the blood vessels.
- Pathological processes in the kidneys, lungs.
- Problems with heart.
- Osteoporosis.
- Gastrointestinal diseases.
- Neuropathy.
- Eye lesions.
Autoimmune disease (arthritis) leads to damage to all organs and damage to the small joints of the limbs. Due to the fact that for a long period of time a person may not experience typical joint pain, he comes to the doctor's office when significant changes have already occurred in the cartilage and joints, which greatly complicates the treatment.
Diagnostics
At first, exacerbations appear in the form of minute attacks, and sometimes last several days. But abnormal changes in the immune system begin to occur long before the obvious signs of the disease. It is very important that when the initial symptoms of the disease occur, do not miss them and visit the clinic on time. Patients often ask - joints hurt, which doctor should I go to? If you don’t know which doctor to visit, you can always ask about it at the reception or go to the reception of a therapist who will examine you and give you the direction to the necessary specialists: neurologist, rheumatologist, orthopedist and surgeon. Timely detection of the disease makes it possible to slow down its development and improve the quality of life of the patient. When visiting a doctor with a patient:
- a conversation during which complaints, the duration and characteristics of the disease are clarified;
- external examination and palpation are done;
- going to a complete medical history.
After that, the following laboratory tests are performed to diagnose autoimmune arthritis:
- Clinical blood test - a characteristic feature is an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, with the development of the disease, hemoglobin decreases.
- Biochemical analysis of blood - nitrogenous toxins are detected, the functioning of the liver, pancreas, carbohydrate metabolism is evaluated, blood coagulation is checked.
- Blood test for antibodies - their presence and concentration are detected.
- C-reactive protein indicates the development of an inflammatory process.
In addition, the following hardware studies are prescribed to make an accurate diagnosis of autoimmune arthritis:
- Radiography is one of the important diagnostic methods: it determines the presence of injuries during injuries; changes associated with inflammation; joint deformation; proliferation of bone tissue; changes in the joint cavity.
- Ultrasound - more often used to establish changes in large joints.
- CT - allows you to see the condition of the soft tissues.
- MRI - is widely used to monitor changes in ligaments, intervertebral discs, and muscle structures.
- Scintigraphy - this method is often used to diagnose arthritis (according to ICD-10 code M05 – M99) and is able to detect the disease in the early stages.
- Arthroscopy - often used for the knee joint.
- Puncture - is performed to take synovial fluid for the purpose of its subsequent study.
After the readiness of the results of all studies, consultations with narrow specialists, an accurate diagnosis is made and appropriate treatment is prescribed.
Therapies
The most important tasks in the treatment of arthritis are:
- Reducing the inflammatory process in the synovial region to support and normalize the dynamic ability of the joints.
- Prevention of the development of a destructive process.
Methods of treating autoimmune arthritis include a range of diverse activities:
- Removing symptoms - most often you have to deal with pain. They are well removed with NSAIDs.
- Basic therapy - it begins immediately after the detection of the disease. With the correct prescription of drugs, it is possible to relieve inflammation and achieve remission for a long period. Particularly effective first-line drugs, for example, Methotrexate, second-line drugs are less effective and are used for intolerance to the first.
- Local treatment - rubbing with ointments and other means are used, for example, compresses for joints with "Dimexidum".
- Physiotherapeutic procedures - eliminate inflammation, reduce pain. They are used at various stages of the disease.
- Surgical intervention - is used extremely rarely in the absence of the effect of conservative treatment.
- Folk remedies - are used only after consultation with a doctor. Very often, traditional healers recommend burdock and bay leaf.
- Dietary nutrition is an invariable condition for the successful fight against arthritis.
Drug therapy
The following groups of drugs are used to treat autoimmune articular disorders:
- The main ones help to slow down the destructive and inflammatory processes in the joints: “Chlorbutin”, “Cyclophosphamide”, “Plaquenil”. To suppress autoimmune failure, preparations are selected by an immunologist. They help restore immune processes.
- Local - medical products used for external use. They relieve inflammation, swelling, reduce pain in the affected joint. To do this, compresses with Dimexide are prescribed for joints affected by arthritis, as well as Hydrocortisone, Novocain.
- Symptomatic - non-steroidal drugs that have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. These include: "Ibuprofen", "Voltaren", "Ketonal."
Treatment requires prolonged use of drugs that have serious side effects. Therefore, constant laboratory monitoring of their effects and timely detection of side effects is necessary. To achieve success, it is very important to follow all the recommendations of the attending physician and treat him with confidence.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is an integral part of the complex treatment of arthritis disease (ICD-10 code M05 – M99) of the joints. Some of them are used in the acute period of the disease. Procedures that are done on sore joints:
- glucocorticoid electrophoresis;
- ultraviolet radiation.
They relieve inflammation and pain.
In other stages of the disease, it is prescribed:
- magnetotherapy;
- laser irradiation;
- light therapy using lamps;
- massage and self-massage;
- mud baths;
- hydrotherapy.
In case of damaged joints, therapeutic exercises are very important. It helps to improve their mobility, prevents the formation of adhesions. The patient needs to perform exercises daily from the very beginning of the diagnosis, excluding the time of exacerbation of the disease. In addition, patients with arthritis having an autoimmune nature should receive a course of spa treatment annually, while taking essential drugs is not canceled.
Arthritis Diet
In case of autoimmune disorders, it is very important to observe a limited diet, not only during an exacerbation of the disease, but also in remission. Dietary food involves the exclusion of fatty and fried meat and fish products, strong broths, canned foods and processed foods from the diet. It is necessary to reduce the use of salt and sugar. It is undesirable to eat corn, whole dairy products, wheat porridge and rye bread.
Dishes made from plant products, low-fat sea and river fish, lean meat of poultry, rabbit and calf are useful for arthritis. For drinking, use infusions of rose hips and herbs, fruit drinks from berries, green tea, slightly mineral water without gas.
ethnoscience
If your joints are deformed and you are in severe pain, you can consult a doctor and try using folk remedies at the same time as taking medications. There are many recipes, here are a few of them:
- Grind burdock root, take a teaspoon and pour half a liter of boiling water. Capacity to wrap up and insist day. The next day, drink in small portions. Continue treatment for a week.
- 50 g of chopped burdock leaves in a meat grinder, pour half a liter of vodka on the grinder, shake and put in a cold place. At night, do lotion on the affected joints. The pain gradually subsides.
- 100 g of saberfish herb insist for two weeks in a liter of vodka. Shake contents periodically. Squeeze the finished tincture and take 30 g an hour before meals.
- Grind leaves of bay leaf. Pour a tablespoon of the powder with a liter of boiling water, hold over low heat for 10 minutes, remove and insist for eight hours. Strain the resulting broth and take it before meals three times a day, 30 ml each.
- From grated fresh potatoes, do a compress over the damaged joint overnight.
All procedures should be carried out with the permission of the doctor.
Surgery
Experts resort to surgery for arthritis only when all methods of conservative therapy have been tried. With surgical intervention, the use of two methods is of greatest importance:
- synovectomy - removal of the articular synovial membrane;
- complete replacement of the joint with an endoprosthesis.
The decision to replace the joint is made by the orthopedist together with a rheumatologist. The operation is performed when the joint is very deformed and has lost motor ability. And the most important thing is the patient’s desire to have surgery. In this case, the postoperative period is much more successful. An artificial prosthesis can last from 5 to 15 years. The patient must carefully treat the new joint and limit its mobility.
Conclusion
Chronic disease of the joint tissues, which subsequently captures the cartilage and bone structures, is a very serious ailment. In the absence of proper therapy, it constantly progresses and leads to disability. Only complex treatment and patient compliance with all doctor's recommendations leads to remission. Now you know if your joints hurt, which doctor to go to. Do not delay the visit to the clinic. Self-medication, as well as unauthorized drug withdrawal, is unacceptable with this disease. They will turn into a deterioration in health and the progression of the disease.