Arthrosis of the hip, shoulder, knee and ankle joint is a disease that occurs as a result of wear of the cartilage tissue, as well as deformation of the bones. In this case, the patient feels pain of varying intensity (depending on the form of the disease). As a result, the disease leads to problems with motor functions, partial or complete immobilization, and disability. It is important to determine whether arthrosis can be cured without surgery.
Lesion determination
A disease of the knee joint most often occurs in women, many reasons can lead to its appearance. People in old age face arthrosis in the knee joint more often than others.
If the treatment of arthrosis is not started in time, the joint-forming bones will be exposed, their damage will occur. In this case, surgery will not be dispensed with. When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, it is important to seek medical help as soon as possible. He will not be able to completely eliminate arthrosis, but will help to slow down the process of deformation of the knee joint, and stop the degeneration. Early identification of the lesion and proper treatment will help to avoid negative consequences and early disability status.
What are the common causes of arthrosis of the knee joint and is it possible to cure the disease? The main reasons include:
- Flat feet.
- Vein disease.
- Diabetes and other lesions associated with metabolic disorders. It will be difficult to get rid of arthrosis in this case, since not all medications and physiotherapy are allowed to be used.
- Overweight - in people with weight problems, arthrosis occurs much more often than in people with normal body weight.
- Adolescence - it is at this time that the metabolism and hormonal background of a person changes, which leads to a degenerative process.
- Bearing a child - at this time a woman is gaining weight, resulting in a significantly increased load on the knee. The hormonal background, which contribute to the appearance of arthrosis of the knees, is disturbed.
- Changes in the body associated with the age of the patient.
- Getting certain injuries. About 30 percent of knee arthrosis occurs due to injury. Injury leads to a change in the normal structure of the tissue, which provokes the process of destruction.
- Regular physical activity on the lower legs, to which the body has not adapted.
- The onset of inflammation in the body.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- The beginning of seizures in the muscle tissue of the thigh.
It is possible to cure the disease only if you contact a treating specialist. It is forbidden to start any treatment on your own in this case. Only a specialist will be able to prescribe an effective therapy, which will include physiotherapeutic and medication effects.
Preventative measures
About preventive measures it is important to remember even before the onset of the underlying disease. Arthrosis can be divided into two types. The first occurs due to metabolic disorders in the body, as well as age-related characteristics of the patient.
The second type appears as a result of injuries or infections. To prevent the second type of arthrosis, it is important to avoid possible injuries, bruises, fractures. To a greater extent this applies to those who engage in any kind of sport or dance. For such people, such a disease often becomes professional and does not allow them to do what they love more. This also applies to children who are very active, inadvertently behaving on the street; it is important for them to behave carefully so as not to get a dangerous injury.
The main factor that will help avoid arthrosis of the knee joint of the deforming form is mobility. Osteoarthritis is best prevented by moderate exercise. This is especially important for people whose work activities are mainly associated with sedentary labor. It is important to remember that in this case it is said about a moderate load on different joints.
The main stages of the disease
Arthrosis development can be divided into four separate stages. The more advanced the stage, the more difficult the process of treatment and relief of symptoms will go:
- at the first stage, the symptoms are mild, but the process of tissue destruction is already rapidly spreading;
- cartilage destruction continues, which leads to a decrease in leg mobility in the joint area and is accompanied by severe pain syndrome;
- in this case, the cartilage tissue is thinned, joint-forming bones begin to actively grow and damage;
- at the last stage of the development of the disease, the cartilage is almost completely destroyed, bone deformation leads to a change in the axis of the diseased limb, while the joint ceases to cope with the pressure exerted on it, and the leg in the knee completely loses mobility.
Diagnosis of arthrosis of the knee joint of the first degree is possible by short-term pain that occurs at the moment when the person is walking. There is no noticeable deformation that can be detected during examination, radiography also does not provide the necessary amount of information about the state of the joints in order to make an accurate diagnosis.
If the disease is detected in a timely manner and full treatment is started, then the process of destruction of the cartilage tissue can be completely stopped, and the diseased areas can even be restored.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the 2nd degree? Treatment at the 2nd stage of arthrosis development is aimed at eliminating unpleasant symptoms and slowing down the degenerative-dystrophic process. To restore tissue in this case is not always possible, but you can save what is left intact.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the 3rd degree? Upon reaching arthrosis of the 3rd degree of development, attempts to slow down the destructive process and damage to the bones most often do not bring results, the disease rapidly acquires the 4th degree of development (for some reason, some experts identify only three stages of the development of this disease).
With serious changes in the structure of the joint, it is necessary to use a prosthesis, this method of surgical correction is called endoprosthesis replacement.
Surgery in some cases is also used at the 2 stages of gonarthrosis. At the same time, a minimally invasive arthroscopic operation is performed, eliminating dead tissue, as well as pieces of damaged cartilage, through a small incision. With the help of such an operation, the range of motion increases, pain symptoms and the inflammatory process go away. But we must remember that the treatment does not end there. Such an operation will help get rid of unpleasant symptoms of the disease for several years.
Treatment
Can knee arthrosis be cured? Treatment of any disease can be carried out in three main directions:
- etiotropic - elimination of the root causes of the lesion;
- symptomatic - relief of the main symptomatology;
- pathogenetic - intervention in the process of disease progression.
To conduct effective treatment or at least suspend the development of arthrosis, it is important:
- activate the blood supply process and improve the condition of tissues;
- compensate for the lack or excess of enzymes in the body;
- give the body everything necessary for the reproduction of cartilage;
- restore the volume and composition of synovial fluid.
Many physiotherapeutic procedures and local ointments lead to improved tissue nutrition and normalization of their blood supply. With electrophoresis, tissues can be saturated with special enzymes. But the main way to treat such a disease is to take chondroprotectors. Recently, hyaluronic acid injections have been predominantly used to treat arthrosis. Biological treatment methods are considered more aggressive.
The use of chondroprotectors
Can arthrosis be cured completely? For complete treatment, chondroprotectors are suitable - drugs that include natural components of cartilage tissue or their synthetic analogues, which lead to the synthesis of certain components or inhibit their decay.
Chondroprotectors can be found in the following forms:
- tablets, capsules and powders for oral administration;
- solutions for intramuscular injection;
- special ointments for external use.
Medicines for external use should be used as an additional treatment in complex therapy.
Is it possible to cure deforming arthrosis? First you need to consider the features of treatment with chondroprotectors:
- many chondroprotectors help get rid of severe pain and inflammation, but this is not the main benefit of taking them; for symptomatic therapy, it is best to use more affordable NSAIDs;
- therapeutic measures bring a special effect at stages 1 and 2 of the development of the disease, when the cartilage is not yet destroyed to an extreme state;
- during treatment, it is important to undergo a long systematic course of medication, after each course you need to take a break; one course includes 6 months, so treatment lasts for years.
If the patient is prone to knee arthrosis, then he should start taking chondroprotectors in advance for prevention, before the first signs of the disease develop. Chondroprotectors can not be called a panacea, since they protect the cartilage, and do not restore its condition. Arthrosis is much easier to prevent than to start treatment.
The main difficulty of treatment
Can arthrosis be cured forever? The main difficulty of the treatment is that until today no drugs have been developed that could permanently and completely relieve arthrosis. But it is important to remember that there are quite effective comprehensive treatment methods that help get rid of pain and slow down the process of disease development.
Hip Arthrosis
Hip arthrosis is a degenerative-dystrophic process during which cartilage structures covering the surface of the femoral head, as well as the acetabulum, are damaged. To keep the cartilage in good condition, it is important to determine whether arthrosis of the hip joint can be cured.
Drug treatment
There are a large number of ways to treat this disease. Most often, the treating specialist prescribes a whole complex, which includes many therapeutic measures.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the hip joint? With arthrosis of 1 and 2 degrees, it is allowed to use drugs for treatment. The most effective medications in this case are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vasodilator medicines, which lead to improved blood supply to the joints, relax muscles and help eliminate cramping.
Chondroprotectors are also used that help preserve cartilage. In the first and second degree of development of the lesion, experts allow the use of local action: patches, applications, ointments and gels - they stimulate normal blood circulation.
It is important to remember that without effective and timely treatment, arthrosis of the hip joint can provoke ankylosis. Ankylosis - complete fusion of the femur and pelvis. In this case, the leg completely loses its mobility in the joint.
Arthrosis of the ankle
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the ankle joint? Before treating ankle arthrosis, it is important to make an accurate diagnosis. Most often, the doctor can establish an accurate diagnosis either when examining the patient’s foot, or by means of an x-ray.
Depending on the stage of development of the disease, the specialist will choose the most appropriate treatment. Even before visiting a specialist, the patient should significantly reduce the load on the diseased joint, avoid its hypothermia, as well as overload. The doctor prescribes a complex treatment to the patient: physiotherapy, balneotherapy, taking painkillers, as well as blood circulation stimulants.
Also, ankle therapy can be performed on an outpatient basis, in a hospital with the appointment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Difficulties with treatment may arise if the patient has obesity. It is important for such a patient to eat correctly, not only during the treatment itself, but also after it.
Gymnastic exercises
Gymnastics with ankle arthrosis is allowed only after the main symptoms of the disease have completely passed. A set of exercises and loads on the foot should be made together with the treating specialist.
Any gymnastic exercises during arthrosis should strain the ligaments and muscles in the joint, without overloading the joints themselves, otherwise it can be very dangerous.
Can the arthrosis of the joint be cured? The course of gymnastics in the treatment of arthrosis will not require the patient to spend money, purchase medicines or expensive devices, but the patient will have to be patient and hard-working in order to finish the course accurately.
Problems with the shoulder joint
Some injuries can lead to the onset of an inflammatory or degenerative process in the joints. Most often, the following causes lead to brachial arthrosis:
- strong physical stress on the shoulder joint at work, resulting in active wear of its components;
- getting a shoulder injury;
- dysplasia of the shoulder joint;
- changes in hormone production;
- problems with blood supply to articular tissues, which leads to the appearance of vascular pathologies;
- natural cartilage wear, which is typical for older people.
Common in this case is the process of inflammation, accompanied by pain symptoms. The causes of this lesion are different, they can be associated with trauma, infection or disruption of the functioning of individual systems in the body.
Most often, the appearance of arthritis requires additional external influence: stress, hypothermia, infection of organs, infection through an open wound, the immune response to the infection.
When determining the disease, the doctor draws attention to the degree of the disease, the main complaints of the patient and the results of a number of examinations. The main diagnostic measure is a biochemical blood test, which helps confirm the presence of inflammation and in some cases determine its nature.
Another important study is X-ray, which helps to determine the location of joint deformation at an early stage of its appearance.
Is it possible to cure arthrosis of the shoulder joint? In the presence of arthrosis of the first two degrees, an exclusively conservative treatment is used. And only with a complicated form of the disease is an operation prescribed.
The main methods of conservative treatment:
- taking medication;
- treatment with alternative methods;
- physiotherapeutic measures;
- health resort treatment;
- massages;
- acupuncture;
- physiotherapy;
- special diet.
Before starting therapy, it is important to provide complete rest to the damaged joint, which is much easier to do if arthrosis is common in the shoulder region. The easiest treatment is considered to be the first stage of diseases, when cicatricial changes have not yet occurred, and the tissue has retained its regenerative ability.
But in the presence of this form of lesion, unpleasant sensations, as a rule, do not manifest themselves very much, the pain is weak, so the patient very late seeks help from a doctor. In the future, after the end of treatment, the patient will also have to observe a gentle regimen.