Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is very common in the elderly, especially women. It is also diagnosed in young people. This disease significantly reduces quality of life and, if not treated properly, can lead to disability.
How to recognize osteoarthritis? What are the causes of this disease? How to cure it?
signs
Osteoarthritis 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, the cartilage may be completely absent.
There is always a fairly heavy load on the knee joint, because it is one of the great structural elements of the lower extremity. Therefore, signs of arthrosis of the knee joint are noticeable even with minor damage to the joint.
In knee osteoarthritis, symptoms are associated with pain 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, the changes in the joint progress rapidly, and after a few months the disease progresses to the next stage. In others, dystrophy of the cartilage tissue structure occurs slowly, years pass before new symptoms appear.
Signs of the first stage of knee osteoarthritis:
- Intermittent pain in one or both knees. It usually occurs in the morning, when trying to take the first steps, during a long stay on your feet or when going up or down stairs. The reason for the appearance of particularly pronounced pain 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 no changes in the amplitude of movements are observed.
- There may be a slight deformity due to fluid in the joint cavity, but the bone does not change.
All 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 proceeds to the next second stage. At the same time, old symptoms are aggravated and additional complaints appear.
Signs indicating that osteoarthritis has progressed to the second stage:
- The pain intensifies. It happens with every movement of the foot. With long walks, lifting heavy objects, the discomfort is especially pronounced. At rest, the pain gradually subsides.
- When moving, there is pain and a crunch of 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 as far as it will go, he either fails or the bending causes 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 cartilage destruction 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 sleeping.
- 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 patient's gait.
- On examination, a marked deformity of the joint and bones is noted.
- The X-ray image shows the absence of cartilage in many areas of the joint surface, bone sclerosis. The joint space narrows sharply, a large number of osteophytes are found.
Management of these patients is particularly difficult. You may even need surgery.
The reasons
The causes of arthrosis of the knee joint are very diverse. Very rarely, a person who has been diagnosed with this disease has only one factor that provoked the pathological process. In most cases, cartilage changes are due to various reasons. The more risk factors, the more intense the destruction and loss of functionality.
Very often, arthritis is provoked by such characteristics 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 may occur;
- too much load on the lower extremities;
- congenital abnormalities 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 causes.
age changes
Most often, osteoarthritis of the knee develops after 40 years. This is due to the fact that at this age and at an older age, the structure of bone and cartilage tissue becomes more fragile, and its resistance to stress decreases. Therefore, even long walks can be difficult for the joints of the lower extremities to tolerate.
Changes in the musculoskeletal system of women during menopause are especially pronounced.
During this period, the level of estrogen, which previously protected the bones from calcium loss, gradually decreases and they become more vulnerable.
injuries and operations
In young people, osteoarthritis can occur due to trauma. It could be a broken leg, a dislocated knee, a torn ligament, or a severe bruise. The greater the time from the moment of injury until the correct assistance is provided, the greater the risk of complications and the appearance of osteoarthritis 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 osteoarthritis after surgical interventions in the knee area. Especially dangerous is the removal of menisci. After such an operation, arthrosis occurs in about 80% of patients.
Traumatic osteoarthritis usually develops rapidly. 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 gets, the more carefully they should select options for physical activity in training. Particularly dangerous for the knees are squats, sudden movements and jogging on paved roads.
Too much stress on the leg joints is typical for people suffering from obesity. Then, the weight itself creates too much pressure on the cartilage and bones, which leads to their rapid wear.
congenital pathologies
In the event that there are pathologies in the musculoskeletal system and metabolic processes, this can also affect the knee joints.
Congenital pathological conditions that pose a high risk of developing osteoarthritis:
- abnormalities of the knee joint;
- flatfoot;
- salt metabolism disorders;
- ligamentous weakness.
If you know 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 cartilage tissue is destroyed. As a result, secondary arthrosis develops.
No less dangerous are inflammatory processes in the leg vessels 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 osteoarthritis:
- pain reduction;
- improved supply of cartilage with nutrients;
- stimulation of recovery processes;
- an increase in the space of the joint space to reduce pressure on damaged cartilage;
- strengthen and restore the functions of the muscles surrounding the joint;
- Maximum recovery of motor skills.
There are several treatment options for knee osteoarthritis. 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, get involved in pain, the damage to the joint will progress.
- Diet.
- Surgery, prosthetics.
- Pharmacological treatment: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (tablets or injections), analgesics, condoprotectors, injection of glucocorticoids or hyaluronic acid preparations in the joint.
- Additional procedures: hirudotherapy, massage, magnetotherapy, heating with paraffin or ozokerite, electrophoresis, manual therapy and others.
If you experience joint pain, you should visit a doctor. Timely treatment is the key to successful treatment.