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, ease the kidneys and liver. That is, to reduce excess weight, start eating right, reduce the amount of animal fats, meat, easily digestible carbohydrates. Include vegetable dishes, fermented milk products, rye, bran bread or whole wheat flour in the menu.
Correct diagnosis is the key to treatment. Joint injuries are a symptom of many diseases with different treatment regimens. Therefore, a misdiagnosis, and even more so an independent diagnosis, can be too expensive for the patient.
The question of how to treat osteoarthritis of the knee joint is not new to modern medicine. For its treatment, there are now various methods, both therapeutic and surgical. Since resorting to surgical methods is always a last resort, consider therapeutic methods.
Drugs
The effectiveness of treatment depends on the stage of destruction of the joint, its timeliness. It usually starts with non-steroidal 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 exclusively on the reduction of the main symptoms. The signs of inflammation diminish, the swelling subsides, the pain disappears or is greatly reduced.
With the help of anti-inflammatory drugs, severe pain sensations are relieved, which makes it possible to gradually switch to other methods of treatment, for example, 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 an image of a complete cure, but in reality the disease can progress. In addition, side effects can further improve the cartilage destruction processes. Therefore, if there is a question about the need for long-term use of drugs of this group, preference should be given to selective anti-inflammatory drugs.
If the diagnosis is established - arthrosis of the knee joint, vasodilators are prescribed: by strengthening the nutrition of the cartilage, the synovial membrane of the joint stops the destruction and improves the recovery processes. To reduce the allergic component, desensitizing drugs are prescribed.
Chondroprotectors in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee
How to treat osteoarthritis of the knee joint without trying to restore the structure of the cartilage damaged by the disease?
For this, a group of drugs called chondroprotectors is used.
They do not act only on individual symptoms, but influence the cause of the disease, helping to improve the condition of the cartilage surface, improving the production of joint fluid and its lubricating properties.
They improve the production of synovial fluid, improve its properties and restore the cartilage substance. The only thing to remember is that you can only restore what is still there, if the cartilage is completely absent, destroyed, there are bone marginal growths, these drugs do not help.
So, the best result from the use of chondroprotectors will be if you start using them early, no later than the I or II degree of osteoarthritis of the knee joints, moreover, with long courses, several times a year.
Unfortunately, these tools are far from instant. 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 the drugs of this group are completely ineffective in the third stage of the disease, when the cartilage is already completely destroyed. However, among all the drugs used for osteoarthritis, they are the most useful chondroprotectors for the patient, in addition, they have almost no contraindications and side effects.
Joint injection
Intra-articular injections of drugs give a good effect, however, it should be borne in mind that the procedure itself can damage the tissues of the capsule and cause infections of the joint cavity. As a rule, corticosteroid drugs are injected into the joint. For long-term action, steroid hormones are used (if it is necessary to relieve severe inflammation).
This procedure is usually done to provide emergency care to a patient. This allows for quick relief from pain and inflammation. But it is undesirable for a variety of reasons to inject into 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, quickly reach the goal 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 the cartilage injections of hyaluronic acid. Of course, these drugs are highly effective if there is no marked destruction of the cartilage.
External structures
Patients often wonder how to treat osteoarthritis of the knee by external means? After all, the first thing you want to do with knee pain is grind it and wrap it warm.
Unfortunately, neither ointments, nor creams, nor all kinds of rubbing can cure osteoarthritis. But they can alleviate the patient's condition, reducing pain and not acting irritatingly on the gastrointestinal tract, such as anti-inflammatory drugs. Warming ointments and ointments based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used. The skin absorbs only 5-7% of the active ingredient, so the effect of these ointments is not as effective as we would like.
But compresses for osteoarthritis of the knee joint are more effective. For them, medical bile may be recommended. Relieves inflammation directly in its center, have resolving and analgesic effects.
Massage and physiotherapy
Physiotherapy for osteoarthritis also has a positive effect. Procedures such as ultrasound, laser, magnetotherapy, 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 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 decreases. Only manipulations should be carried out 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 particularly effective in the initial stages of the disease, when it has not yet had its full destructive effect. It is good to do this after the remedial gymnastics exercise. A hot shower or Turkish bath is a good preparatory step for a massage. Subsequently, the muscles are warmed up and the massage has a deeper healing effect. In the treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint, sanatoriums also have a beneficial effect. Healing mud improves the course of regenerative processes in the cartilage, improves the supply of useful substances to the joints and the 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 derives from the causes of its onset, the main of which are overweight, trauma and poor physical activity. Physical education, performing feasible physical exercises, strengthens the muscles surrounding the joints. Thanks to this, the load on the cartilage decreases. Morning walks and swimming are useful.
At the same time, it is important to observe the alternation of load and rest and correct safety during exercise. Injuries and overloads should be avoided in every possible way. 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 enthusiasts, one must not forget protective equipment such as knee pads.
The prevention of osteoarthritis of the knee joint also implies adherence to the diet. Each extra pound of weight puts additional stress on the leg joints. You need to eat less sweet and flour and fruits and vegetables - as much as possible. Studies show that vegetarians are far less likely to develop osteoarthritis. Coffee and strong tea have a negative effect on the joints, eliminate calcium from the bones, but natural dairy products help replenish its reserves.