Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is very common in the elderly, especially in women. It is also diagnosed in young people. This disease significantly reduces the quality of life and, if left untreated, can lead to disability.
How to recognize osteoarthritis? What are the causes of this disease? How to cure it?
signs
Osteoarthritis is a lesion of the hyaline cartilage of the joint. This cartilage is gradually being destroyed. First its structure, density changes, and then it becomes thinner. In severe cases, cartilage may be completely absent.
There is always a fairly large load on the knee joint, as it is one of the major structural elements of the lower extremity. Therefore, signs of osteoarthritis of the knee joint are noticeable even with minor joint damage.
In osteoarthritis of the knee, the symptoms are associated with pain and gradual loss of knee function.
There are three stages in the development of the disease. Each of them has characteristic symptoms and requires appropriate treatment.
The first phase
The first stage in different people may be of different duration. With some, the changes in the joint progress quickly, and after a few months, the disease progresses to the next phase. In others, dystrophy of cartilage tissue structure occurs slowly, years before new symptoms appear.
Signs of the first stage of knee osteoarthritis:
- Occasional pain in one or both knees. It usually occurs in the morning, when you are trying to take the first steps, during a long stay in a standing position or when walking up and down stairs. The reason for the appearance of particularly pronounced pain is the descent down the stairs. No pain at rest.
- Complaints of a mild feeling of stiffness during intense movements in the joint area are common. But changes in the amplitude of the movement are not noticed.
- There may be a slight deformity due to fluid in the joint cavity, but the bone has not changed.
All these symptoms indicate the need to visit a doctor. If you start treatment at this stage, there is a chance not only to stop the process, but also to start the recovery process in some parts of the cartilage.
Second phase
If you do not seek medical help, the disease progresses to the next, second stage. At the same time, the old symptoms worsen and additional complaints appear.
Signs that arthrosis has progressed to the second stage:
- The pain intensifies. It occurs with every movement of the feet. When walking for a long time, lifting heavy objects, the discomfort is especially pronounced. At rest, the pain gradually decreases.
- When moving, there is pain and creaking from the affected joint.
- The range of possible movements begins to decrease, which can cause discomfort. When a person tries to bend the leg at the knee to a stop, it either fails or the bending causes sharp pain.
- During the examination, the doctor notices small changes in the shape of the joint. If an X-ray is taken, it will be seen that the joint space is too narrow, and growths are formed on the bony edges.
- A large amount of fluid can accumulate in the joint cavity. This can be detected during diagnostic procedures and during routine examination.
Most often, patients go to the doctor at this stage. In this situation, it is very difficult to achieve a significant recovery, but some positive changes are possible.
The third phase
The third phase occurs with severe cartilage destruction and is the most severe. Complaints and examination results of patients with arthrosis of the third stage:
- Strong, almost constant pain in the affected joint. When trying to move, it intensifies. At rest, even in a lying position, the pain does not disappear, so sleep problems occur.
- Movements in the joint are very limited.
- The knee is often "frozen" in a slightly bent state. This affects the shape of the patient's legs and gait.
- Examination reveals a pronounced deformity of the joints and bones.
- X-ray shows the absence of cartilage in many areas of the joint surface, sclerosis of the bones. The joint space is sharply narrowed, there is a large number of osteophytes.
Taking care of these patients is especially difficult. You may even need surgery.
Reasons
The causes of osteoarthritis of the knee joint are very diverse. Very rarely a person diagnosed with this disease has only one factor that caused the pathological process. In most cases, changes in cartilage occur for several reasons. The more risk factors there are, the more intense the destruction and loss of functionality.
Most often, arthritis is caused by the following body characteristics and circumstances:
- age-related changes in the structure of the musculoskeletal system;
- knee injuries, as well as operations that could lead to joint damage;
- excessive strain on the lower limbs;
- congenital anomalies of the musculoskeletal system or metabolic processes;
- inflammatory processes of various etiologies in the knee area.
Let's take a closer look at these groups of causes.
Changes in age
Osteoarthritis of the knee most often develops after the age of 40. This is due to the fact that at this and older age, the structure of bone and cartilage tissue becomes fragile, their resistance to stress decreases. Therefore, even long walks can be difficult to tolerate in the lower extremity joints.
Changes in the musculoskeletal system in women during menopause are especially pronounced.
During this period, the level of estrogen, which previously protected the bones from calcium loss, gradually decreases, they become more vulnerable.
Injuries and operations
In young people, osteoarthritis can be caused by trauma. It can be a broken leg, a sprained knee, a torn ligament or a severe bruise. The longer the time from the moment of injury to the provision of adequate care, the greater the risk of complications and arthrosis in the near future. Therefore, even with minor knee injuries, you must go to the hospital.
There is also a high risk of developing osteoarthritis after knee surgery. Removal of the meniscus is especially dangerous. After such an operation, arthrosis occurs in approximately 80% of patients.
Traumatic osteoarthritis usually develops rapidly. Therefore, surgery may be required in such cases.
Overload
Excessive stress on the knees has been observed in athletes who are professionally engaged in sports related to running, jumping, lifting weights. The older a person gets, the more carefully they should choose options for physical activity in training. Particularly dangerous for the knees are squats, sudden movements and running on paved paths.
Too much stress on the ankles is typical for people who suffer from obesity. Then its own weight creates too much pressure on the cartilage and bones, which leads to their rapid wear.
Congenital pathologies
In the case of pathologies in the musculoskeletal system and metabolic processes, it can also affect the knee joints.
Congenital pathological conditions that mean a high risk of developing arthrosis:
- knee anomalies;
- flat feet;
- salt metabolism disorders;
- ligament weakness.
If you are aware of such problems, it is important to be especially careful about knee pain, not to ignore it, and to try to work closely with doctors.
Inflammatory phenomena
With arthritis of various etiologies, a large amount of fluid can accumulate in the joint. This leads to the fact that blood circulation is disturbed, nutrients do not reach the bones and cartilage, the structure of cartilage tissue is destroyed. As a result, secondary osteoarthritis developed.
No less dangerous are the inflammatory processes in the veins of the legs that feed the knee. When they are blocked by a thrombus, the blood flow is sharply reduced, which leads to degenerative processes in the cartilage.
Treatment
Therapy is prescribed taking into account the degree of development of the disease, its causes and the general condition of the organism. Principles of arthrosis treatment:
- pain reduction;
- improved cartilage supply of nutrients;
- stimulating the recovery process;
- increase the space of the joint space in order to reduce the pressure on the damaged cartilage;
- strengthening and restoring the functions of the muscles surrounding the joint;
- maximum recovery of motor skills.
There are several treatment options for osteoarthritis of the knee. They usually involve a set of therapeutic procedures.
What can be prescribed for the treatment of this disease:
- Therapeutic exercises. They are chosen by the orthopedist for each patient separately. If you try to assemble the complex yourself, get involved in the pain, the damage to the joint will progress.
- Diet.
- Surgery, prosthetics.
- Drug treatment: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (tablets or injections), painkillers, chondroprotectors, injections of glucocorticoids or hyaluronic acid preparations into the joint.
- Additional procedures: chiropractic, massage, magnetotherapy, paraffin or ozokerite heating, electrophoresis, manual therapy, etc.
If you experience joint pain, you should see a doctor. Timely treatment is the key to successful treatment.