How to treat osteoarthritis of the knee to be effective? It should help your body, reduce stress, normalize metabolism, improve bowel function, and make it easier for the kidneys and liver. That is, start eating right to lose weight, reduce the amount of animal fats, meat, easily digestible carbohydrates. The menu includes vegetables, sour milk products, rye, wholemeal bread or wholemeal flour dishes.
Correct diagnosis is the key to treatment. Joint lesions are a symptom of many diseases with different treatment regimens. For this reason, a diagnostic error and a more independent diagnosis can be very costly for the patient.
The question of how to treat osteoarthritis of the knee joint is not new to modern medicine. Both therapeutic and surgical methods are now available for treatment. We will consider therapeutic methods, as resorting to surgical methods is always the last resort.
Medications
The effectiveness of treatment depends on the stage of joint destruction and its timeliness. It usually starts with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
There is no direct effect on the cause of the disease and they do not stop the destruction of the joint, the effect is only to reduce the main symptoms. Symptoms of inflammation are reduced, swelling is reduced, pain is eliminated or less.
With the help of anti-inflammatory drugs, severe pain is eliminated, which allows you to gradually switch to other treatments, such as massage, which is contraindicated due to pain and inflammation.
However, long-term use of these funds is undesirable, because it hides the manifestations of the disease, creates a complete form of treatment, but in fact the disease can develop. In addition, side effects can exacerbate cartilage destruction. Therefore, if there is a question about the need for long-term use of drugs of this group, selective anti-inflammatory drugs should be preferred.
If diagnosed - osteoarthritis of the knee joint, vasodilators are prescribed: it strengthens the nutrition of cartilage, stops the destruction of the synovial membrane of the joint and increases the recovery process. Desensitizing drugs are prescribed to reduce the allergic component.
Chondroprotectors in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis
How to treat osteoarthritis of the knee joint if you do not try to restore the damaged cartilage structure?
A group of drugs called chondroprotectors are used for this purpose.
They not only act on individual symptoms, but also affect the cause of the disease, improve the condition of the cartilage surface, improve joint fluid production and lubrication properties.
Improves synovial fluid production, improves properties and restores cartilage. The only thing you need to remember is that you can only restore what is there, if the cartilage is completely gone, destroyed, if there is growth on the edge of the bone, these drugs will not help.
Thus, the best result from the use of chondroprotectors will be to start using it several times a year, not later than in the first or second degree arthrosis of the knee joints, and for a long time.
Unfortunately, these tools are far from instantaneous. Sometimes 2-3 courses of treatment are required to achieve results, and it takes six months to a year and a half. And drugs of this group are completely ineffective in the third stage of the disease, when the cartilage is already completely destroyed. However, of all the drugs used for osteoarthritis, the most useful for the patient are chondroprotectors, although there are almost no contraindications and side effects.
Joint injection
Intra-articular drug injections work well, but we must not forget that the procedure itself can damage the tissues of the capsule and cause infection of the joint cavity. As a rule, corticosteroid drugs are injected into the joint. Steroid hormones are used for long-term effects (if severe inflammation needs to be eliminated).
This procedure is usually performed to provide emergency care to the patient. This achieves rapid relief of pain and inflammation. However, for a number of reasons, it is undesirable to inject more than once every 2 weeks for the same week.
If the joint is calmer, there are no obvious signs of inflammation, chondroprotectors can be injected directly into the joint, reach the target quickly and have a positive effect.
Significantly improves the sliding of the articular ends of the bone relative to each other and reduces the load of hyaluronic acid on cartilage injections. Of course, these drugs are very effective in the absence of obvious destruction of cartilage.
External capabilities
Patients often ask how to treat osteoarthritis of the knee with external means? After all, the first thing you want to do with the pain in your knee is to rub and bend in a warm way.
Unfortunately, neither ointments, nor creams, nor any kind of rubbing can cure osteoarthritis. However, it can alleviate the patient's condition, reduce pain and does not have an irritating effect on the gastrointestinal tract as anti-inflammatory drugs. Heating ointments and ointments based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used. The skin absorbs only 5-7% of the active substance, so the effect of these ointments is not as effective as we would like.
However, compresses are more effective for osteoarthritis of the knee joint. Medical bile may be recommended for them. Eliminates inflammation in direct focus, has a dissolving and analgesic effect.
Massage and Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy for osteoarthritis also has a positive effect. Procedures such as ultrasound, laser, magnetotherapy, phonophoresis are used. Thanks to them, the sensitivity of the joints to pain is reduced, inflammatory processes in them are reduced and swelling is eliminated.
You can use radon, salt baths, apply compresses with bile.
If possible, you can take a course of manual therapy, traction. In this case, the ends of the bones move away from each other and the load on them is reduced. Only manipulations should be performed very carefully and by a qualified specialist. Manual treatment and massage of the knee joint also gives good results, improves blood circulation in the patient's joint, stops the development of destructive processes in it and restores its function as much as possible.
Massage is especially effective when the disease is not yet completely destructive. It is better to do this after therapeutic gymnastics. Taking a hot shower or being in a steam room is a good preparation for a massage. After that, the muscles are warmed up and the massage has a deeper therapeutic effect. Sanatoriums also have a beneficial effect in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint. Healing mud improves the regenerative processes in cartilage, improves the supply of nutrients to the joints and their blood supply.
If the joint is completely destroyed, only surgical treatment can help - replace it with an artificial treatment.
Prevention measures: reduce the destruction process
Prevention of osteoarthritis is mainly caused by overweight, trauma and poor physical activity. Physical training, physical exercises that can be performed strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints. As a result, the load on the cartilage is reduced. Morning walks and swimming are helpful.
At the same time, it is important to observe the alternation of load and rest, and proper safety during sports. Damage and overload must be prevented in every way. After all, one of the main causes of osteoarthritis is injuries. The appearance of microcracks determines the presence of primary foci of inflammation. Therefore, we must not forget about protective equipment such as knee pads for athletes and sports fans.
Prevention of osteoarthritis of the knee joint also involves following a diet. Each extra kilogram of weight puts extra stress on the joints of the legs. You should eat as little sweet and floury fruits and vegetables as possible. Studies show that vegetarians are less likely to develop osteoarthritis. Coffee and strong tea have a detrimental effect on the joints, wash away calcium from the bones, but help increase the reserves of natural dairy products.