Arthritis (Greek: arthr) is a group of diseases that damage the joints of the human body.
The left side of the photo is of a healthy person.On the right is a person with severe arthritis in the right hip joint.It can be seen that the channel is completely closed.Severe pain occurs and the patient cannot stand up.
There are more than 100 different types of arthritis.The most common form, osteoarthritis (damage to the joint ends of the bones of the joints) results from joint injury, joint infection, or age-related factors.
Other forms of joint disease include rheumatoid arthritis (rheumatism), gout, psoriatic arthritis, and related autoimmune diseases.Septic arthritis occurs due to joint infection.All forms have one common symptom - joint pain.
Symptom
All types of joint diseases are accompanied by pain, its nature determines its type.Characterized by redness of the skin, limited mobility in the knee joint, and changes in shape.Susceptible joints often crack abnormally under stress.Patients may have difficulty in situations where physical activity is required.
Elements of the medical history determine the diagnosis.Important factors are the time of onset and speed of development of the disease, morning immobility, pain, "locking" of the joints due to inactivity, etc.For more accurate diagnosis, X-ray and CT scans are used.
Causes of arthritis
Joint pain occurs due to inflammation around the joints.Joint damage due to illness, daily scratches, muscle strain.Joint pain is often continuous.Pain may be localized to the affected area.
Classification of osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is divided into primary and secondary.There are 4 levels of osteoarthritis:
Grade 1 knee osteoarthritis - soft cartilage appears, can be felt on the surface of the knee.Not visible on X-ray.
Grade 2 osteoarthritis - the cartilage begins to wear away and in the picture you can see the joint space narrowing.
Grade 3 knee osteoarthritis - bone spurs appear, treatment is more difficult.Difficult to distinguish from level 2.
4 degrees of knee osteoarthritis - the bones come into contact with each other, bone spurs increase, and the joint is deformed.
Patellofemoral arthritis
Patellofemoral osteoarthritis is damage to the cartilage between the kneecap and femur.Unlike other types of knee arthritis, which occur on the inside (medial) and outside (lateral) of the knee and cause difficulty walking on flat surfaces, patellofemoral osteoarthritis causes pain in the front of the knee when squatting and rising from a sitting position.In this case, a knee brace will help a lot.Patients who wore the brace daily were observed to have significantly less joint damage on MRI and reduced knee pain.
Prevention and treatment of knee osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis, like rheumatoid arthritis, cannot be completely cured without surgery, but steps can be taken to prevent the condition from getting worse.Measuring weight is key to improving symptoms and preventing disease progression.For osteoarthritis, physical therapy is prescribed to strengthen muscles and joints.In particular, the ESMA device is effective in treatment.Patients also need medical treatment.When the disease progresses rapidly and pain is constant, surgery may be recommended.Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis will benefit from joint replacement for many people.There are synovial injections - injections of fluid within the joint.They allow the patient to relieve pain for 8 months, after which the procedure is repeated.Bee venom treatment is also effective in reducing pain.
X-ray of the knee with an artificial prosthesis after joint replacement surgery.
Prevent arthritis
Includes a set of procedures: massage, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, herbal preparations, dietary supplements, aromatherapy, heat and cold therapy, health exercises, diet.
According to statistics, today more than 43 million Americans experience pain when bending their knees.According to statistics, this is one of the main causes of disability in this country.About 1 in 7 Americans has this condition.With age, the likelihood of developing joint disease increases.