Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is very common in the elderly, especially in women. It is also diagnosed in young people. This disease significantly reduces the quality of life and, if not properly treated, can lead to disability.
How to recognize arthrosis? What are the causes of this disease? How to cure it?
signs
Arthrosis is a lesion of the hyaline cartilage of the joint. This cartilage is gradually destroyed. First, its structure, density changes, then it becomes thinner. In severe cases, cartilage may be completely absent.
There is always a fairly strong load on the knee joint, because it is one of the large structural elements of the lower limb. Therefore, signs of arthrosis of the knee joint are noticeable even with minor damage to the joint.
In osteoarthritis of the knee, the symptoms are associated with soreness and gradual loss of knee function.
There are three stages in the development of the disease. Each of them has characteristic symptoms and requires appropriate treatment.
First stage
The first stage in different people can be of different duration. In some, changes in the joint progress quickly, and after a few months the disease passes into the next stage. In others, the dystrophy of the cartilage tissue structure occurs slowly, years pass before the appearance of new symptoms.
Signs of the first stage of knee arthrosis:
- Intermittent pain in one or both knees. It usually occurs in the morning, when trying to take the first steps, during a long stay in a standing position or when walking up or down stairs. The reason for the occurrence of a particularly pronounced soreness is the descent down the stairs. There is no pain at rest.
- There are frequent complaints of a slight feeling of stiffness with intense movements in the joint area. But changes in the amplitude of movements are not observed.
- There may be slight deformity due to fluid in the joint cavity, but the bone is not changed.
All of these symptoms indicate the need to see a doctor. If you start treatment at this stage, there is a chance not only to stop the process, but also to start recovery processes in some parts of the cartilage.
Second stage
If you do not seek medical help, the disease passes into the next, second stage. At the same time, old symptoms are aggravated and additional complaints appear.
Signs that indicate that arthrosis has progressed to the second stage:
- The pain intensifies. It occurs with every movement of the foot. With prolonged walking, lifting heavy objects, the discomfort is especially pronounced. At rest, the pain gradually subsides.
- When moving, there is pain and a crunch from the affected joint.
- The range of possible movements begins to decrease, which can cause discomfort. When a person tries to bend the leg at the knee to the stop, he either fails, or bending causes a sharp pain.
- On examination, the doctor notes small changes in the shape of the joint. If an x-ray is taken, it will be seen that the joint space is too narrow, and growths form on the bony edges.
- A large amount of fluid can accumulate in the joint cavity. This can be detected during diagnostic procedures and during routine examination.
Most often, patients go to the doctor at this stage. In this situation, it is very difficult to achieve a significant recovery, but some positive changes are possible.
Third stage
The third stage occurs with severe destruction of cartilage and is the most severe. Complaints and examination results of a patient with arthrosis of the third stage:
- Severe, almost constant pain in the affected joint. When trying to move, it intensifies. At rest, even in the supine position, the pain does not go away, so there are problems with sleep.
- Movement in the joint is severely limited.
- Often the knee "freezes" in a slightly bent state. This affects the shape of the leg and the gait of the patient.
- On examination, marked deformity of the joint and bones is noticeable.
- The x-ray image shows the absence of cartilage in many areas of the articular surface, bone sclerosis. The joint space is sharply narrowed, a large number of osteophytes are found.
The management of these patients is particularly difficult. You may even need surgery.
The reasons
The causes of osteoarthritis of the knee joint are very diverse. Very rarely, a person who has been diagnosed with this disease has only one factor that caused the pathological process. In most cases, changes in cartilage are due to a number of reasons. The more risk factors, the more intense the destruction and loss of functionality.
Most often, arthritis is provoked by such features of the body and circumstances:
- changes in the structure of the musculoskeletal system associated with age;
- knee injuries, as well as operations in which damage to the joint could occur;
- too much load on the lower limbs;
- congenital anomalies of the musculoskeletal system or metabolic processes;
- inflammatory processes of various etiologies in the knee area.
Let's take a closer look at these groups of reasons.
Age changes
Most often, osteoarthritis of the knee develops after 40 years. This is due to the fact that at this and older age, the structure of bone and cartilage tissue becomes more fragile, their resistance to stress decreases. Therefore, even long walking can be difficult to tolerate by the joints of the lower extremities.
Changes in the musculoskeletal system in women during menopause are especially pronounced.
During this period, the level of estrogen, which previously protected the bones from calcium loss, gradually decreases, they become more vulnerable.
Injuries and operations
In young people, osteoarthritis can occur due to trauma. It can be a broken leg, a dislocated knee, a torn ligament, or a severe bruise. The longer the time from the moment of injury to the correct assistance was provided, the higher the risk of complications and the occurrence of arthrosis in the near future. Therefore, even with minor knee injuries, you need to go to the hospital.
There is also a high risk of developing arthrosis after surgical interventions in the knee area. Especially dangerous is the removal of menisci. After such an operation, arthrosis occurs in approximately 80% of patients.
Traumatic arthrosis usually develops quickly. Therefore, in such cases, surgical intervention may be necessary.
Overload
Excessive stress on the knees is observed in athletes who are professionally involved in sports related to running, jumping, lifting weights. The older a person becomes, the more carefully he should select options for physical activity in training. Particularly dangerous for the knees are squats, sudden movements and jogging on paved paths.
Too much stress on the joints of the legs is typical for people suffering from obesity. Then the own weight creates too much pressure on the cartilage and bones, which leads to their rapid wear.
Congenital pathologies
In the case when there are pathologies in the musculoskeletal system and metabolic processes, this can also affect the knee joints.
Congenital pathological conditions that mean a high risk of developing arthrosis:
- anomalies of the knee joint;
- flat feet;
- salt metabolism disorders;
- ligamentous weakness.
If you are aware of such problems, it is important to be especially attentive to pain in the knees, not to ignore them, and try to work closely with doctors.
Inflammatory phenomena
With arthritis of various etiologies, a large amount of fluid can accumulate in the joint. This leads to the fact that blood circulation is disturbed, nutrients do not reach the bones and cartilage, the structure of the cartilage tissue is destroyed. As a result, secondary arthrosis develops.
No less dangerous are inflammatory processes in the vessels of the legs that feed the knee. When they are clogged with a thrombus, the blood supply is sharply reduced, which leads to degenerative processes in the cartilage.
Treatment
Therapy is prescribed taking into account the degree of development of the disease, its causes and the general condition of the body. Principles of treatment of arthrosis:
- pain reduction;
- improved supply of cartilage with nutrients;
- stimulation of recovery processes;
- an increase in the space of the joint space in order to reduce pressure on the damaged cartilage;
- strengthening and restoring the functions of the muscles surrounding the joint;
- maximum recovery of motor abilities.
There are several treatment options for osteoarthritis of the knee. Usually they include a complex of therapeutic procedures.
What can be prescribed to treat this disease:
- Therapeutic exercises. They are selected by the orthopedist for each patient separately. If you try to compose a complex on your own, engage in pain, damage to the joint will progress.
- Diet.
- Surgery, prosthetics.
- Drug treatment: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (tablets or injections), painkillers, chondoprotectors, injection of glucocorticoids or hyaluronic acid preparations into the joint.
- Additional procedures: hirudotherapy, massage, magnetotherapy, warming up with paraffin or ozocerite, electrophoresis, manual therapy and others.
If you experience pain in the joint, you should visit a doctor. Timely treatment is the key to successful treatment.