When people have a slight pain in the knee joint, not many at first pay attention to it. But in vain. This may be the first bell of a serious illness. Synovitis is an insidious disease. Sharp pain affects the knee joint. Puncture is one of the types of treatment for this disease. Many are afraid to perform this surgical operation, but doctors claim that there is nothing wrong with it. Are there any risks of an adverse outcome after a puncture? How to carry it out correctly? We will try to answer these questions in the article.
What is the insidious synovitis disease?
If pain is localized in the knee joint , consult a doctor immediately. These may be the first signs of synovitis. This disease can occur at any age. It occurs due to injuries, arthritis, allergic reactions.
Around the knee joint, fluid begins to accumulate in large quantities, as a result of which any movement with the foot causes acute pain. There are main symptoms by which you can determine this disease:
The knee is growing in size.
Around the joint appears redness or cyanosis.
Sharp pain.
An increase in body temperature (in rare cases).
What to do if the knee joint hurts? Puncture will help to cope with the disease. The doctor removes excess fluid, after an antibiotic is injected into the leg, the patient immediately feels relief.
The disease is dangerous in that if the problem is not resolved in time, the knee joint may collapse, while hitting the meniscus. To cope with this problem, you will need surgical intervention and long-term treatment.
Causes of the disease
Faced with acute pain in the knee, the patient should immediately consult a surgeon. In 90% of cases, synovitis will be diagnosed. It can arise for several reasons. The following types of disease are distinguished:
Infectious. It occurs quite often in those people who suffer from serious ailments, such as AIDS or tuberculosis. The infection enters the knee joint, resulting in the formation of fluid.
Aseptic. It is very common among athletes. It occurs as a result of bruises and injuries of the knee, meniscus, ligaments. Also quite common among people with arthritis.
Allergic. Doctors note that the percentage of occurrence of this type of synovitis is quite low.
If the doctor has diagnosed synovitis, treatment should be followed immediately. Otherwise, complications are possible.
Is a puncture necessary?
Many patients are interested in: “If the knee joint is bothering, is puncture necessary?” Doctors give a definite answer, it is simply necessary. Firstly, this procedure is almost painless. No special training is required to carry it out. Secondly, the patient will immediately feel relief after removing the fluid.
Some patients are wary of puncture, believing that the doctor may make a mistake and pierce the bone. This manipulation is commonplace for a traumatologist or surgeon. This process cannot be attributed to surgery. The procedure is carried out without anesthesia, in time it takes no more than 7-10 minutes.
If the patient has fluid in the knee, what to do, the doctor will tell you. The main rule is to seek the help of a specialist in time to prevent complications.
Complicated Disease Treatment
After the doctor has diagnosed synovitis, treatment begins on the same day. In fact, it is simple. The first thing that experts do is remove excess fluid. Manipulation is carried out in the office, on the couch. To do this, a thin needle is inserted into the knee joint, fluid is pumped out with a syringe. The resulting cavity is filled with antibiotic to remove the infection.
After the procedure, the patient needs to ensure complete peace. It is better to carry out treatment in a hospital. The knee joint is fixed with an elastic bandage, antibiotics and ointments are prescribed.
So that the disease does not arise again, it is necessary to find out the cause of the onset of the disease. This is done by a rheumatologist or surgeon.
How to perform a puncture
Hearing that the doctor is going to remove fluid from the knee joint with a syringe, many patients experience panic and fear. Their first question is: “How is a puncture done?” There is nothing complicated in the procedure. An experienced specialist will cope with the process in 7-10 minutes. In this case, the patient should not feel acute pain.
There are certain puncture points of the knee joint. The doctor mentally divides the patella into several parts, the needle is inserted laterally into the soft zone. If a specialist feels that he has rested on a bone, it is necessary to disconnect the syringe and slightly move the needle.
An important rule: the procedure should be performed when the patient is in a supine position, the limbs are unbent.
In the treatment of synovitis, puncture is performed only once. During the procedure, all excess fluid is removed and the process of treatment with antibiotics and ointments for external use begins.
When should the procedure be discarded
There are situations when a puncture should be abandoned:
Increased blood coagulation.
There are wounds or ulcers on the skin.
The patient has psoriasis.
Skin cancer.
In all other cases, the mono procedure is carried out. The main thing is to choose an experienced specialist so that the manipulation is done correctly.
On the forums you can often find the question: "Does the knee joint hurt, is puncture necessary or can you do without it?" Doctors are convinced that without this procedure, it is quite difficult to cure synovitis. First you need to remove excess fluid, and then prescribe antibiotics and the use of ointments.