Osteoarthritis: can it be cured, possible causes, symptoms and treatment

Wrist joint pain

Arthropathy of the hip, shoulder, knee, and ankle joints is a disease that occurs due to wear and tear of cartilage tissue and bone deformation. In this case, the patient will feel pain of varying intensity (depending on the form of the disease). As a result, the disease causes motor function problems, partial or complete immobilization and disability. It is important to determine whether joint disease can be cured without surgery.

Definition of failure

Knee joint disease most often occurs in women, and many reasons can cause it to appear. The elderly are more prone to knee arthropathy.

Knee pain

If the treatment of arthropathy is not started in time, the bones that form the joints will be exposed and damaged. In this case, it is impossible without surgical intervention. When the first unpleasant symptoms appear, it is important to seek medical help as soon as possible. It cannot completely eliminate arthropathy, but it helps to slow down the deformation process of the knee joint and prevent degeneration. Early identification of lesions and correct treatment can help avoid negative consequences and early disability.

What are the common causes of knee joint disease and can it be cured? The main reasons include:

  • flatfoot.
  • Venous disease.
  • Diabetes and other diseases related to metabolic disorders. It is difficult to get rid of joint disease in this case, because not all medicines and physical therapies are available.
  • Overweight-People with weight problems are more likely to develop joint disease than those with normal weight.
  • Puberty-it is at this time that a person's metabolism and hormonal background change, which leads to a degenerative process.
  • Bringing a child-At this time, the weight of the woman has increased, so the load on the knees has increased significantly. The hormonal background is disturbed, which can lead to knee joint disease.
  • Physical changes related to the patient’s age.
  • Suffer a certain amount of harm. About 30% of knee joint diseases are caused by injuries. Injury will cause changes in the normal structure of the tissues, leading to a process of destruction.
  • The body has not adapted to the regular physical activity of the calf.
  • The beginning of the inflammatory process in the body.
  • Genetic predisposition.
  • The thigh muscles began to cramp.

Only by contacting a therapist can it be possible to cure the disease. In this case, it is forbidden to start any treatment on your own. Only experts can prescribe effective treatments, including physical therapy and medication.

Precaution

It is important to remember the preventive measures even before the onset of the underlying disease. Arthropathy can be divided into two types. The first is due to the violation of the metabolic process in the body and the age characteristics of the patient.

The second type is due to injury or infection. In order to prevent the second type of joint disease, it is important to avoid possible injuries, bruises, and fractures. To a greater extent, this applies to people who participate in any sport or dance. For such people, such diseases often become professional and no longer allow them to do what they like to do. This also applies to children who are very active and careless in the street; they must be careful to avoid dangerous injuries.

Hiking to prevent joint disease

The main factor that helps avoid deformed knee arthropathy is mobility. Moderate exercise is the best way to prevent joint disease. This is especially important for people whose work activities are mainly related to sedentary work. It is important to remember that in this case, the load on the different joints is moderate.

The main stages of the disease

Developmental joint disease can be divided into four different stages. The more advanced the stage, the more difficult it is to treat and relieve symptoms:

  • In the first stage, the symptoms are mild, but the process of tissue destruction has spread rapidly;
  • The destruction of cartilage continues, resulting in decreased leg mobility in the joint area, accompanied by severe pain syndrome;
  • In this case, the cartilage tissue becomes thinner, and the bones that form the joints begin to grow actively and are damaged;
  • In the final stage of disease development, cartilage is almost completely destroyed, the deformation of the bones causes the axis of the affected limb to change, and the joint cannot cope with the pressure exerted on it, and the leg in the knee is completely incapable of movement.

The first-degree knee joint disease can be diagnosed by the short-term pain that occurs when a person is walking. There are no obvious deformities that can be detected during the examination, and X-ray photography cannot provide the necessary amount of information about the state of the joints to make an accurate diagnosis.

If the disease is detected in time and a comprehensive treatment is started, the destruction process of cartilage tissue can be completely stopped, and the diseased area can even be restored.

Can Grade 2 arthropathy be cured? The treatment of the second stage of the development of arthropathy aims to eliminate the unpleasant symptoms and slow down the process of degenerative malnutrition. In this case, it is not always possible to restore the structure, but you can keep it as it is.

Is it possible to cure Grade 3 arthropathy? When arthropathy progresses to level 3, attempts to slow down the destruction process and damage to bones usually do not bring results, and the disease quickly develops at level 4 (some experts only distinguish the development of this disease in three stages for this reason).

In the case of severe changes in the joint structure, a prosthesis must be used; this surgical correction method is called an endoprosthesis.

In some cases, surgery is also used in stage 2 of knee joint disease. At the same time, minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery is performed to remove dead tissue and damaged cartilage fragments through small incisions. With the help of this operation, the range of motion is increased, and the pain and inflammation disappear. But you need to remember that treatment does not stop there. Such surgery will help relieve the unpleasant symptoms of the disease for several years.

treatment

Can knee arthritis be cured? The treatment of any disease can be carried out in three main areas:

  • etiotropic-eliminate the root cause of the lesion;
  • Symptomatic-relieve the main symptoms;
  • Pathogenicity-Interference with the progression of the disease.

For effective treatment, or at least to stop the development of arthropathy, it is important to:

  • Activate the blood supply process and improve the tissue condition;
  • Compensate for the lack or excess of enzymes in the body;
  • Provide the body with everything needed for the regeneration of cartilage tissue;
  • Restore the volume and composition of synovial fluid.
Arthritis doctor

Many physical therapy procedures and topical ointments can improve tissue nutrition and normalize blood supply. During electrophoresis, the tissue can be saturated with special enzymes. But the main way to treat this disease is to take chondroprotective agents. Recently, hyaluronic acid injection is mainly used to treat arthropathy. Biological treatment methods are considered more aggressive.

Use of chondroprotective agents

Can arthritis be completely cured? For comprehensive treatment, chondroprotective agents are suitable-drugs that include natural components of cartilage tissue or their synthetic analogs, which can cause the synthesis of certain components or inhibit their decay.

There are several forms of chondroprotective agents:

  • Oral tablets, capsules and powders;
  • Intramuscular injection of the solution;
  • Special ointment for external use.

Topical drugs should be used as an add-on to complex therapy.

Can osteoarthropathy be cured? First of all, you need to consider the characteristics of cartilage protective agent treatment:

  • Many chondroprotective agents help to get rid of severe pain and inflammation, but this is not the main benefit of taking them. For symptomatic treatment, it is better to use the more affordable NSAID;
  • The treatment measures produce special effects in the first and second stages of disease development, when the cartilage has not been destroyed to an extreme state;
  • During the treatment period, it is important to carry out long-term systematic drug treatment, and rest after each treatment course; a treatment course includes 6 months, so the treatment lasts for several years.

If the patient is prone to knee joint disease, he should start taking chondroprotective agents for prevention before the first signs of the disease appear. Cartilage protective agents cannot be called a panacea because they protect cartilage and do not restore its condition. Prevention of osteoarthritis is much easier than starting treatment afterwards.

Main treatment difficulties

Can arthritis be cured forever? The main difficulty in treatment is that no drugs have been developed that can permanently and completely get rid of joint disease. But it is important to remember that there are very effective and complex treatments that can help get rid of the pain and slow the progression of the disease.

Hip joint disease

Arthropathy of the hip joint is a process of degenerative dystrophy in which the cartilage structure covering the surface of the femoral head and the acetabulum will be damaged. In order to maintain cartilage health, it is important to determine whether hip joint disease can be treated.

medical treatement

There are many ways to treat this disease. In most cases, the attending expert prescribes a set of comprehensive plans, including many treatment measures.

Hip pain

Can hip joint disease be cured? There are 1 degree and 2 degree arthropathy, allowing the use of medical treatment. In this case, the most effective drugs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and vasodilators, which can improve the blood supply to the joints, relax the muscles and help eliminate spasms.

Cartilage protective agents are also used to help protect cartilage tissue. In the primary and secondary development of the disease, experts allow the use of topical medications: plasters, applications, ointments and gels-they stimulate normal blood circulation.

It is important to remember that if there is no effective and timely treatment, arthropathy of the hip can cause joint stiffness. Ankylosis is the complete fusion of the femur and pelvis. In this case, the legs are completely incapable of movement in the joints.

Ankle joint disease

Can ankle joint disease be cured? Before treating ankle joint disease, it is important to make an accurate diagnosis. In most cases, doctors can confirm an accurate diagnosis by examining the patient's feet or X-rays.

Ankle pain with arthropathy

According to the development stage of the disease, the specialist will choose the most suitable treatment method. Even before going to a specialist, the patient should significantly reduce the load on the diseased joints to avoid hypothermia and overload. Doctors prescribe complex treatment plans for patients: physical therapy, balneotherapy, taking painkillers, and methods to stimulate blood circulation.

In addition, ankle treatment can be performed in an outpatient clinic, with an appointment for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the hospital. If the patient is obese, treatment may be difficult. For such patients, it is important not only to eat correctly during treatment, but also to eat correctly after treatment.

Gymnastic exercises

Only after the main symptoms of the disease have completely disappeared, will gymnastics with ankle joint disease be allowed. A set of foot exercises and loads should be developed with the attending expert.

Any gymnastics exercises during arthropathy should strain the ligaments and muscles in the joints, and do not overload the joints themselves, otherwise it will be very dangerous.

Can arthropathy be cured? The gymnastics course for treating joint diseases does not require the patient to spend money, purchase drugs or expensive equipment, but the patient must be patient and diligent to complete the course accurately.

Shoulder problems

Some injuries can cause inflammation or degenerative processes in the joints. In most cases, the following causes can cause shoulder joint disease:

  • Excessive physical exertion of the shoulder joint during work leads to active wear of its components;
  • Shoulder injury;
  • Dysplasia of the shoulder joint;
  • Changes in hormone production;
  • The blood supply problem of the joint tissues leads to the appearance of vascular disease;
  • The natural wear and tear of cartilage is a typical feature of the elderly.

Common in this case is an inflammatory process, accompanied by painful symptoms. The causes of this type of pathology vary, and they may be related to trauma, infection, or interruption of the work of certain systems in the body.

In most cases, for the appearance of arthritis, additional external influences are required: stress, hypothermia, organ infection, infection through open wounds, and immune response to the resulting infection.

When determining the disease, the doctor will pay attention to the degree of the disease, the main complaint of the patient, and the results of multiple examinations. The main diagnostic measure is a biochemical blood test, which helps to confirm the presence of inflammation and, in some cases, its nature.

Shoulder pain

Another important study is X-ray, which helps to determine the location of joint deformation in the early stages of its appearance.

Can arthropathy of the shoulder joint be cured? In the presence of the first two degrees of arthropathy, only conservative treatment is used. And only the complex forms of the disease prescribe surgery.

The main methods of conservative treatment:

  • take medicine;
  • Treat with folk methods;
  • Physiotherapy activities;
  • Sanitary treatment
  • massage;
  • acupuncture;
  • physiotherapy;
  • Special diet.

Before starting treatment, it is important to let the damaged joints rest completely. If joint disease is widespread in the shoulder area, it will be much easier to do so. The simplest treatment is considered to be the first stage of the disease, when scarring changes have not yet occurred, and the tissue still retains its ability to regenerate.

However, when such lesions appear, the discomfort is usually not strong and the pain is weak, so the patient seeks medical treatment very late. In the future, after the treatment is over, the patient must also follow the retention plan.