Treatment of arthropathy ("degenerative joint disease", osteoarthritis) cannot be "postponed". Pathology always changes the structure of joints, affects bones and cartilage, and can completely destroy joints and make people disabled. As such, self-medication, refusal of tests and official remedies are dangerous.
Symptoms of joint disease
Arthropathy is a chronic degenerative dystrophic joint disease in which the joint gradually begins to deform, its function deteriorates, osteophytes grow along the edges of the bone, and cartilage is destroyed.
The main symptom of the pathology is a tightening when walking, a pain syndrome of varying severity. In addition, with arthropathy, motion stiffness occurs, the pain becomes permanent and intensifies, nearby muscles begin to atrophy, and the spaces between the joint bones narrow. If treatment is not performed at this stage, joint stiffness (fusion of the articular surfaces) and disability can develop.
Conservative treatment of joint disease
If you have symptoms of this disease, you need to get tested and start treatment for joint disease right away. Lack of proper treatment can lead to complete loss of joint function and lead to disability.
In official medicine, the treatment of osteoarthritis was initially carried out through a conservative approach. Prescribe medication, exercise therapy, physical therapy, orthopaedic products, diet to patients. With the approval of an arthrologist, you can additionally apply traditional, traditional medicine, homeopathic methods. Patients need to monitor their weight to avoid uneven joint loading and follow medical advice. If these complex methods do not bring positive results, then do the action.
Annual hydrotherapy is useful after conservative and/or surgical treatment to prevent arthropathy. It is recommended to choose an institution specialized in diseases of the musculoskeletal system, there are also hot springs, healing mud.
medical treatement
A disease such as arthropathy can be primary or secondary (it develops in the context of other pathologies). Therefore, a list of medications to use is selected individually for each patient.
The main drugs for the treatment of joint diseases:
- chondroprotective agent;
- Microcirculation-acting pharmaceutical preparations;
- Multivitamins, vitamin C, group B;
- mineral complexes;
- anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs;
- corticosteroids (intra-articular injection);
- painkiller;
- desensitizing (anti-allergic) drugs;
- Topical medicines (ointments, creams, solutions, balms, gels, tinctures, and medical bile).
Chondroprotective agents are prescribed in all stages and forms of disease because they affect the recovery mechanism of articular cartilage. HP is prescribed for oral administration, but is also used in arthropathy, by injection into the joint cavity and/or muscle. For intra-articular injections, chondroprotective agents and corticosteroids are used concurrently.
Secondary joint deformities are treated with the same set of drugs, but additional drugs are used to treat the pathology that causes degenerative dystrophic changes in the joints.
physiotherapy
Each physical therapy has its own list of contraindications. Therefore, you may need to consult a cardiologist, neurologist, endocrinologist or other specialist when choosing them.
basic physical therapy
The drug treatment of osteoarthritis is supplemented by electrophoresis (with anesthetics, zinc, lithium, sulfur), electrosleep therapy, ultrasound therapy. Apply paraffin wax to diseased joints, use black wax, healing mud. Joint damage can also be treated with lasers, magnetic fields, bikinetic currents, and other pulses.
Exercise for the treatment of joint disease
Gymnastics are prescribed for 3-5 days after the resolution of acute symptoms. A set of kinesiotherapy exercises are individually selected for each patient for the identified stage, form of arthropathy. The first exercise should start with minimal load on the painful joint and start at a slow pace. Then, every 7-10 days, with the recommendation of an expert, the practice becomes more complex.
Types of Gymnastics Tasks for Hand Joints:
- circular motion of the hands, elbows, and shoulders;
- Swing back and forth, swing up and down;
- shrug;
- Blade's connect-disconnect;
- turn the palm of the hand toward the leg and away from it;
- elbow flexion;
- Make a fist and then straighten the brush as far as possible.
Arthropathy of the joints of the upper extremities if the spine is pathologically damaged (osteochondrosis) - gymnastics are performed in "sitting", "standing" positions.
Types of Gymnastics Tasks for Leg Joints:
- Flexion and extension, circular motion of the hip, knee, and ankle;
- Swing back and forth left and right;
- raise the knee;
- "bike";
- "Butterfly";
- Roll with a one-foot object;
- Grab the ball with your toes;
- "Myself" raises toes.
With the development of hip, knee, ankle disease, exercise therapy is performed lying down, standing, and damages the small joints of the legs - sitting.
Exercise should not cause pain in the injured joint. If it occurs, you need to reduce the load and reduce the execution speed. You also need to rest for 3 minutes after each exercise.
Manipulative therapy for joint disease
In the case of arthropathy of degree I-II, it is recommended to restore the mobility of the joints with the help of a chiropractor.
Chiropractors perform 2 types of corrections for deformed joints: manipulation (severe stressful exercise) and mobility (stretching the damaged joint). The more complex the clinical case, the more courses of treatment need to be completed.
Manual treatment of arthropathy is supplemented by massage. For all stages of disease, every other day, every 2-3 months, up to 25 courses, but only in remission and subacute phases.
The operation is carried out by a sliding motion (saw, knead, rub, etc. ) with light pressure. They massage not only the diseased joint, but also the nearby spine, adjacent joints.
Home Physical Therapy for Arthritis
Now, people with joint disease have the opportunity to do physical therapy at home. Compact home appliances for medical purposes are sold on the Internet and in medical equipment stores.
The following devices are very popular for the treatment of arthropathy:
- magnetic therapy;
- Magnetic laser therapy;
- Low frequency pulsed magnetic therapy;
- Laser Treatment;
- Reflexology.
Before ordering an arthropathy device, your doctor must clearly state if there are any contraindications to the effects of pulses, lasers, electrical current or magnetic fields on your body.
non-drug methods
Treatment of osteoarthritis requires the use of orthopedic therapy. The goal of this approach is to unload the diseased joint and stabilize it in the correct anatomical and physiological position. For arthropathy, canes, crutches, and corsets, use special insoles and shoes with arch support and pads, splints, orthotics, immobilizers, braces. It is recommended to order at a local orthopedic salon based on individual circumstances.
In online stores, you can buy products that are designed to allow you to adjust the tension independently. Usually these are elastic bandages, bandages, calipers, braces, knee pads, elbow pads and similar orthopaedic devices. However, before ordering a specific arthropathy product, you need to identify all the necessary characteristics with the attending physician: the degree of tension, the presence and type of stiffeners, the need to adjust the extension angle of the limb. Diseased joints, additional conditions.
Climate therapy is also a non-drug method. During its use, people create special climatic conditions by devising thalassotherapy procedures, or they are advised to visit resorts and receive preventive sanatorium treatment in health resorts.
diet therapy
For secondary arthropathy, the doctor will recommend one of these treatment centers to the patient. For example, to correct for weight, use Diet No. 8 to get rid of excess weight. In most cases, patients eat according to Table No. 15 and the ATS (the general version of the diet).
For joint diseases, products based on gelatin (jelly, jelly, etc. ), avocado (1 tablet per week), vegetable oil, freshly squeezed berry juice, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and flax seeds are very helpful. It is recommended to exclude fatty, smoky, salty foods from the diet.
Homeopathic Medicines and Herbs for Osteoarthritis
Doctors supplement conservative methods with homeopathy and herbal medicine. Preparations based on natural ingredients improve the function of all body systems.
List of homeopathic remedies commonly used for joint diseases:
- Hydrofluoric acid;
- calcium fluoride;
- phosphorus;
- calcium phosphate;
- Potassium carbonate.
Their reception is combined with other official and traditional medical methods.
List of common herbs for arthritis:
- plum bossom;
- unpeeled oats;
- yukurba (extraction of devil's claws);
- Medicinal herbs (marshmallow and licorice root, chamomile flower, calendula).
Homeopathy and herbal remedies can reduce the need for high-dose NSAIDs, pain relievers, corticosteroids, and antihistamines.
joint action
Surgical treatment of diseases such as arthropathy when conservative methods are used inappropriately. Typically, surgery is performed when the patient seeks medical help late and the pathology has progressed to grade 3-4 and threatens disability.
Types of Surgery for Arthropathy:
- Arthrodesis;
- Arthroscopic debridement;
- Arthroplasty;
- periarticular osteotomy;
- Internal restoration.
After surgery, the patient was transferred to conservative treatment and rehabilitation measures began.
Application of laser in arthropathy surgery and physical therapy
Laser therapy is suitable for all degrees and types of osteoarthritis deformities. The radiation of the equipment used affects the damaged tissue at the cellular, molecular and physiological (organ) level.
In physiotherapy for arthropathy, this property of the laser helps to restore microcirculation, relieve inflammation, pain and swelling, improve metabolism and self-regulate the regeneration process. There are many types of devices and modes of operation. The device's rays affect the surface of the tissue and the lining of the joints, the biologically active points (using laser acupuncture).
Laser treatment is also performed during surgery, using only high-intensity equipment. The use of radiation during surgery, in addition to their listed properties, aids in the rapid recovery of tissue and minimizes the risk of wound infection.
During the diagnosis of arthropathy, laser spectroscopy can be turned on and the facet joints can be examined with an infrared laser scanner. These methods are safer and less expensive than MRI and X-rays.
Folk and Traditional Medicine for Arthropathy
Raw materials of natural origin must be selected individually, as each substance has its own contraindications. Pharmaceutical preparations for arthropathy include plants with improved metabolism, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and analgesic effects. They more often use willow bark, linden, St. John's wort, burdock, clover.
At home, it is convenient to treat osteoarthritis with clay. Healing agents in blue, kaolin (white), green, yellow and black with good therapeutic effect. Add the clay for arthropathy to the bathtub (1 tablespoon / 1 liter of water), wrap the damaged joint, apply it on it, wipe the painful area with a mixture of clay and vegetable oil.
Among traditional medical methods, acupuncture and apitherapy have shown good results. Some patients feel better after leech therapy, mineral therapy.
Nursing Homes and Resorts
It is recommended to consolidate the effectiveness of the main treatment of osteoarthritis by resting in health resorts and rehabilitation centers specializing in joint diseases. It is best to prioritize establishments that have hot springs, minerals, mud springs, healing clays, special gases.
Treatments at the health resort focus on physiotherapy. It is definitely recommended for patients suffering from arthropathy to go on a diet, do not miss exercise therapy, massage. In physical therapy, balneotherapy methods are used. These are hydromassage, swimming, bathing (hydrogen sulfide, salt, nitrogen, sulfide and radon). In the case of arthropathy, wrapping with therapeutic mud, exposure to heat, Bernard currents, lasers and magnetic fields are also prescribed. Each health resort has its own treatment plan, which must be clarified with a representative of the chosen institution before purchasing tickets.
Each country has a facility dedicated to the treatment of disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, for joint diseases, it is better to choose a health resort with the help of a doctor. He will recommend what kind of climate is needed, vacations, necessary physiotherapy prevention methods, provide information about the resort, and advise him or the best institutions in the nearby area.
Prognosis of Arthropathy Treatment
It is very important not to miss the scheduled check-ups (1-2 times a year) and donate blood, urine for testing, as this allows doctors to detect pathological processes in time. But the later you seek medical help, the worse the prognosis for treatment. For chronic joint disease, doctors can only treat pain conservatively with partial preservation of joint function, or recommend surgery to avoid remaining disability.
Under the regular supervision of the attending physician, a combination of the methods of official, traditional and traditional medicine increases the prognosis for the treatment of arthropathy and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system.