Recently, people are increasingly showing joint diseases. In most cases, a disease such as osteoarthritis affects the hands. Subsequently, a person loses the ability to bend his fingers normally, hold various objects or perform elementary small work. It should be noted that this disease is not the only ailment that affects the joints of the hands. But in any case, changes appear in the cartilage tissue itself, after which irreversible destruction occurs.
Causes of occurrence and development
If you look for the initial cause of osteoarthritis, you need to know what can give an impetus to this disease.
- Congenital pathology.
- Hereditary predisposition to bone disorders.
- Great physical exertion, especially on the hands.
- Diabetes mellitus and other endocrine diseases.
- Age.
- Poor nutrition.
Osteoarthrosis of the hands: symptoms
With a disease such as osteoarthritis of the hand, you can feel the following ailments:
- Aching pain in the joints.
- Increased pain when weather conditions change.
- Slight swelling of the hand.
- A noticeable deterioration in motor ability (it is difficult to sew or knit, work with small objects, etc.).
- Constant crunch when moving.
- Obvious curvature or lengthening of the fingers.
Stages of Osteoarthrosis
Osteoarthrosis of the hand has several stages of development:
- First one . There are no changes in the mobility of the hands, the pain is mild and can occur only at night, as well as with changing weather conditions.
- The second one . Mobility is noticeably impaired, the pain is pronounced and is accompanied by a crunch.
- The third . Constant pains are accompanied by a hindered movement of the hands and lack of flexibility.
Disease treatment
How to treat osteoarthritis of the hands? Therapy will be effective in the first stage. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to achieve the complete disappearance of the disease during its progression. If the disease manifests itself and proceeds for a long time, and its symptoms are severe, the doctors direct all their strength to rid the patient of the sensation of pain and discomfort, and bring the person to a stable state. Even such treatment will be long and complex.
There are several ways to eliminate osteoarthritis:
- Medication. The patient is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. Together with them, a person will be required to perform physiotherapy exercises. This will help improve blood flow and reduce pain.
- In order to remove pain and reduce the inflammatory process of the hands, physiotherapy is prescribed.
- Surgical. Used in extreme cases.
Osteoarthrosis of the hands: diet
When a person has this disease, in addition to the usual treatment, it is recommended to follow a certain diet. From his diet, the patient will need to exclude:
- Spicy food (peppers, seasonings, etc.).
- Salty food - do not abuse this product.
- Baking pastries, especially baking.
- Fried food (it is better to give preference to boiled, steamed and baked products).
Drinking more water and eating fresh vegetables and fruits is recommended. It is important to adhere to such nutrition not only for sick, but also for healthy people, so that in the future you will never encounter such a problem as osteoarthritis of the hand. Treatment with folk remedies often gives a positive result.
Grandma's recipes
Many people, for any ailments, are used to resorting to folk recipes that can reduce pain and symptoms of diseases, and sometimes even lead to a complete recovery. Is alternative treatment for osteoarthritis of the hands possible? Yes, but the main thing to remember is that any intention is best discussed with a doctor. Otherwise, you can do even more harm to the body than it was before. If a person has a disappointing diagnosis of "osteoarthritis of the hands", treatment with folk remedies can be quite effective.
The following recipes that help with osteoarthritis can be given as recommendations for combating the disease:
- You can make a compress. To do this, mix one tablespoon of honey and the same amount of vegetable oil. The mixture needs to be boiled and, after cooling, applied to sore spots for two hours.
- Preparation of wormwood ointment. The dry plant is stirred and heated in a bath with olive oil. Such a composition must be infused for a couple of days before use.
- The most effective way is to lubricate the hands twice a week with a mixture of castor oil and turpentine.
Procedure
You can summarize and put together all the recommendations for the treatment of this insidious disease. Since such a disease can overtake every person, you need to know how to treat osteoarthritis of the hands, and what to do. After all, it’s not in vain that they say: “Forewarned — it means armed.” To prevent the disease, you should adhere to such recommendations:
- Observe proper nutrition. Eat more natural vitamins.
- At the slightest symptoms of the disease, consult a doctor immediately, since at an early stage of development of osteoarthrosis, you can get rid of adversity.
- For yourself, you often need to carry out gymnastics of the hands and fingers. A daily warm-up will not only reduce pain, but also prevent the further development of the disease.
- Adhere to all the recommendations that the doctor gave - this will make the treatment as successful as possible.
Types of Disease and Predisposition
Osteoarthrosis is divided into two types:
- Primary.
- The secondary type that occurs with complications, injuries, etc.
In the first place, people may be predisposed to the disease:
- Overweight.
- The beautiful half of humanity.
- With problems of the musculoskeletal system.
- Over forty years old.
- Bone injuries.
Nature of the disease
Osteoarthrosis of the hand develops gradually, affecting the joints in turn. At first, nodules may appear, then aching pains occur, especially after sleep. The patient has a crunch and an unnatural movement of the fingers and hand. Sometimes a burning sensation at the site of the lesion or a sensation of high temperature may be felt. Cysts in joints often appear and burst. If you do not take any action to eliminate the ailment, the pathology will progress successfully, bringing more pain and discomfort to a sick person. It is important to remember that in the last stages this ailment is incurable, therefore, timely treatment in a medical institution will help to avoid big troubles in the future.
How to determine osteoarthritis?
To determine this disease, first of all you need to see a doctor. Most likely, he will send the patient to an X-ray, where the symptoms of the disease will be clearly visible. This option is suitable for the initial stages of osteoarthritis, when the symptoms are not so pronounced. You should tell the doctor in detail everything you feel so that there are no omissions. In more severe cases, you can identify with the naked eye a disease such as osteoarthritis of the hands. The photos in the article demonstrate the external manifestations of this ailment at different stages of its development.
Based on statistics, we can conclude that osteoarthritis is the main reason because of which people on the whole earth cannot fully live and work. This interference is observed in most people of advanced age.
To summarize
When medication for a long time does not bear any fruit, doctors resort to surgical intervention. Endoprosthetics can correct cartilage deformity or completely replace a limb joint. Often, neither patients nor doctors wait for the last stage of the disease, as a result of which a planned operation is performed.
It should be remembered that with inaction osteoarthritis can progress. As a rule, after a lesion of the hand, the disease passes to the hip joint. Then affects the knee and ankle. Therapy allows you to not cure, but slow down the course of the disease and relieve unpleasant sensations.
Osteoarthrosis of the hand appears due to impaired blood flow, injuries and other body problems. Most of all, women after menopause and men over forty are prone to this disease.
To achieve the maximum effect in treatment, you need to use several approaches at once:
- Drug treatment.
- Adherence to a diet.
- Regular physical education of the hands and fingers.
- Compliance with all doctor's recommendations.
If a person wants to resort to treatment with folk remedies, then you can make various lotions and ointments at home to alleviate the condition and reduce pain. Do not refuse to consult a doctor, even if the patient uses home-made home remedies. Perhaps he will recommend some of his medications or even say to use everything in combination. During treatment, it is necessary to exclude physical activity, especially those in which hands and fingers take part.
Since the joints are almost always involved in work throughout a person’s life, they wear out over time, leading to irreversible and unpleasant consequences. Therefore, it is important to take care of your health in advance. "The rescue of a drowning man is the work of the drowning man himself."