How to treat osteoarthritis of the knee: from prevention to therapy

methods for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee

How to treat osteoarthritis of the knee so that it is effective? You need to help your body, reduce stress, normalize metabolism, improve bowel function, facilitate the kidneys and liver. That is, to reduce excess weight, start eating right, reduce the amount of animal fats, meat, easily digestible carbohydrates. Include in the menu dishes made from vegetables, fermented dairy products, rye, bran bread or wholemeal flour.

Proper diagnosis is the key to treatment. Joint lesions are a symptom of many diseases with different treatment regimens. Therefore, diagnostic error and even more independent diagnosis can be too costly for the patient.

The question of how to treat osteoarthritis of the knee is not new to modern medicine. There are already various methods for its treatment, both therapeutic and surgical. Since recourse to surgical methods is always a last resort, we will consider therapeutic methods.

Medicines

The effectiveness of treatment depends on the stage of destruction of the joint, its timeliness. It usually starts with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

They do not have a direct effect on the cause of the disease and do not stop the destruction of the joint, their effect is only on reducing the main symptoms. The signs of inflammation decrease, the swelling subsides, the pain disappears or becomes much less.

Anti-inflammatory drugs relieve severe pain, making it possible to gradually switch to other treatments, such as massage, which would be contraindicated due to pain and inflammation.

But long-term use of these drugs is undesirable, as it masks the manifestations of the disease, creating a picture of a complete cure, but in fact the disease can progress. In addition, side effects can further improve the processes of cartilage destruction. Therefore, if there is a question about the need for long-term use of drugs from this group, preference should be given to selective anti-inflammatory drugs.

If the diagnosis is arthrosis of the knee joint, vasodilators are prescribed: by improving the nutrition of the cartilage, the synovial membrane of the joint stops the destruction and intensifies the recovery processes. Desensitizing drugs are prescribed to reduce the allergic component.

Chondroprotectors in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis

How to treat osteoarthritis of the knee if you are not trying to restore the structure of cartilage damaged by the disease?

A group of drugs called chondroprotectors is used for this.

They act not only on individual symptoms, but also affect the cause of the disease, helping to improve the condition of the cartilage surface, improve the production of joint fluid and its lubricating properties.

They improve the production of synovial fluid, improve its properties and restore cartilage substance. The only thing to remember is that you can only restore what is still there, but if the cartilage is completely absent, destroyed, there are bone marginal growths, these drugs will not help.

So, the best result from the use of chondroprotectors will be if you start using them early, no later than I or II degree of osteoarthritis of the knee joints and, in long courses, several times a year.

Unfortunately, these tools are far from instantaneous. Sometimes 2-3 courses of treatment are needed to get the result, and this takes from six months to a year and a half. And drugs from 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, chondroprotectors are the most useful for the patient, and they have almost no contraindications and side effects.

Joint injection

Intra-articular injections of drugs give a good effect, but it should be borne in mind that the procedure itself can injure the capsule tissue and cause infection of the joint cavity. As a rule, corticosteroid drugs are injected into the joint. Steroid hormones are used for long-term action (if necessary to relieve severe inflammation).

This procedure is usually performed to provide emergency care to a patient. In this way, rapid relief of pain and inflammation is achieved. But it is undesirable for a number of reasons to inject in the same knee more often than once every 2 weeks.

If the joint is calmer, there are no obvious signs of inflammation, chondroprotectors can be injected directly into the joint, they quickly reach the target and have a positive effect.

Significantly improves the sliding of the joint ends of the bone relative to each other and reduces the load on cartilage injections of hyaluronic acid. Of course, these drugs are highly effective if there is no pronounced destruction of cartilage.

Outdoor facilities

Patients often ask the question how to treat osteoarthritis of the knee with external means? After all, the first thing you want to do with knee pain is rub it in and wrap it warm.

Unfortunately, neither ointments, nor creams, nor all types of rubbing can cure osteoarthritis. But they can relieve the patient's condition by reducing pain and not irritating the gastrointestinal tract, such as anti-inflammatory drugs. Warming ointments are used, as well as ointments based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The skin absorbs only 5-7% of the active substance, so the effect of these ointments is not as effective as we would like.

But compresses for osteoarthritis of the knee are more effective. Medical bile may be recommended for them. They relieve inflammation directly in its focus, have a dissolving and analgesic effect.

Massage and physiotherapy

Physiotherapy for osteoarthritis also has a positive effect. Procedures such as ultrasound, laser, magnetic therapy, phonophoresis are used. Thanks to them, the pain sensitivity of the joints decreases, the inflammatory processes in them decrease and the swelling is removed.

You can use radon, salt baths, apply bile compresses.

If possible, you can undergo a course of manual therapy, traction. In this case, the ends of the bones move away from each other and the load on them decreases. Only the manipulations should be performed very carefully and by a qualified specialist. Manual therapy and massage of the knee joint also give good results, improving blood circulation in the diseased joint, stopping the development of destructive processes in it and restoring its function as much as possible.

Massage is especially effective in the early stages of the disease, when it has not yet had its full destructive effect. It is good to do it after practicing therapeutic gymnastics. A hot shower or steam bath is a good preparatory step for a massage. Then the muscles warm up and the massage has a deeper healing effect. In the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint, sanatoriums also have a beneficial effect. Healing mud improves the course of regenerative processes in cartilage, improves the supply of nutrients in the joints and blood supply to them.

If the joint is completely destroyed, only surgical treatment can help - replacing it with an artificial one.

Preventive measures: reduce the destruction process

The prevention of osteoarthritis stems from the causes of its occurrence, the main of which are overweight, trauma and poor physical activity. Physical education, performing feasible physical exercises strengthen the muscles around the joints. Thanks to this, the load on the cartilage becomes less. 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 training. Injuries and congestion must be avoided in all possible ways. After all, injuries are one of the main causes of osteoarthritis. The appearance of microcracks determines the presence of initial foci of inflammation. Therefore, for athletes and sports fans, we should not forget about such protective equipment as knee pads.

Prevention of osteoarthritis of the knee also requires diet. Each extra pound of weight puts extra stress on the joints of the legs. You should eat less jam and flour, and fruits and vegetables - as much as possible. Studies show that vegetarians are much less likely to develop osteoarthritis. Coffee and strong tea have a bad effect on the joints, they wash away calcium from the bones, but natural dairy products help to replenish its reserves.