Symptoms and causes of arthrosis

When the patient develops arthrosis, the symptoms of the disease indicate a process that affects the cartilage and other elements of the joint immediately adjacent to the cartilage.

This pathological process is inherently a degenerative-dystrophic lesion, in which initial changes in the form of rarefaction of cartilaginous tissue are replaced by its thinning, compensatory growth of other areas of cartilage and bone, and the development of osteophytes. In this case, pathological changes can occur in almost all joints of the skeleton, and their severity directly depends on the load that the joint has to experience.

It is often enough the degenerative-dystrophic process of non-inflammatory etiology is "superimposed" on inflammatory changes, on arthritis of the joint. It is the disease of arthrosis, according to statistics, becomes the most common cause that leads patients of any age to consult a rheumatologist or orthopedist. The cause of this frequent disease is a degenerative process in the articular cartilage, resulting in the development of severe deformation and disruption of the function involved in the process of articulation.

Most physiologists believe that as a disease, arthrosis becomes a payment that all mankind has to pay for the possibility of movement on two legs, in a straightened position - the cartilage is much more destroyed in joints that are forced to experience a significant static load. The restructuring of the structure and the change in the thickness of the cartilage become only the first stage of pathological changes, then the stage of the appearance of secondary changes inevitably follows - at this stage the synovial membrane, the vascular elements, which provide blood circulation at the microcirculatory level and bone tissue, are involved in the process. Signs of arthrosis and arthritis are very similar, but in the dystrophic process there are never signs of a general and local inflammatory reaction - redness of the skin and fever, fever, general malaise.

Why arthrosis occurs

The causes of arthrosis can not be unequivocally stated - this disease occurs as a consequence of the action on the joint of a whole complex of various factors. There is also a rapid "rejuvenation" of arthrosis in the last thirty years - even in the middle of the last century the main contingent of such patients was at least 65-70 years old, and now the symptoms of arthrosis can be found in young people who have just turned 25 years old.

The huge problem of this disease lies in the fact that the initial signs of arthrosis can be absent for a long time - bright clinical manifestations( pain, difficulty in moving) arise only at the moment when the destruction of the cartilage "gets" to the bone tissue. The most common causes of arthrosis are:

1. joint injury - any damage can change the structure of the cartilage and initiate its destruction;
2. genetically determined metabolic disturbances in cartilage - under their influence cartilaginous tissue quickly wears out, and a thin growth layer of cartilage can not provide restoration of the affected area;
3. static loads on the joint, worsen blood supply conditions and alter metabolism;
4. changes that occur with age - the cartilage loses its plasticity and any damage becomes critical;
5. excess body weight of the patient - every 5 kilograms of "extra" weight three times increase the load;
6. metabolic diseases cause metabolic disturbances in the cartilage, the size of the affected joint in this case has no significance for the severity of arthrosis;
7. flat feet often initiates changes - this is how arthrosis of the spine develops, gonarthosis or arthrosis of the hip joints
8. vascular disease - this factor affects the symptoms of arthrosis of the hands and feet, which in this case tend to steadily progress.

Depending on the development of the disease can be diagnosed:

1. primary arthrosis - its cause can not be detected even during the examination;
2. secondary arthrosis - resulting as a result of trauma, endocrine pathologies or inflammation of the joint - this is the type of rheumatoid arthrosis;
3. generalized arthrosis with symmetrical lesion of large joints, quickly becoming the cause of disability in the patient.

How to identify joint arthrosis

Often patients ask a question - how to determine arthrosis and whether it is possible to treat it independently. Rheumatologists and traumatologists insist that if the patient has symptoms of arthrosis, the diagnosis should be confirmed by clinical and instrumental research, including laboratory tests and radiography.

Undoubtedly, the most frequent manifestation of arthrosis is the pain and impossibility of movements in the affected joint with the maximum amplitude, whereas in the late stages of the disease arises defogation and deformation of the joint. The pain arises and intensifies with the load - if the patient develops arthrosis of the elbow joint - symptoms of it increase with an active load on the hand, while during rest the symptoms of the disease disappear at early stages independently, even without the use of medicines and methods of traditional medicine.

If the patient has arthrosis of the toes, his symptoms increase dramatically in the evening or occur at night, there may be an uncomfortable feeling at the beginning of the movement, which occurs when the load continues. In the case when the patient combines symptoms of arthrosis( rheumatoid arthrosis) and arthritis, the patient simultaneously displays signs of autoimmune disease and signs of joint destruction - these processes mutually burden each other.

This combination is especially pronounced in arthritis of the knee joint or in the defeat of the largest joint of the body, the hip joint. Treatment of such a patient becomes a huge problem for doctors, and often it is necessary to combine medical treatment and surgical techniques( joint prosthetics).

Symptoms of arthrosis of the fingers rarely worsen the general condition of the patient, but significantly impair the functional abilities of a person, because with such a localization of the degenerative-dystrophic process, the patient's ability to self-service is limited. In addition to pain and swelling of the joint, there may be an increased meteosensitivity, pronounced crepitation in the affected joint.

The development of joint deformity accompanies almost any arthrosis - the equivalent changes in this condition are characteristic changes in radiographic images, which include narrowing of the joint gap, expressed by a decrease in the layer of cartilaginous tissue( this is what distinguishes arthritis from arthritis), the appearance of structural rearrangement of bone substance. In addition, a characteristic difference between arthrosis and arthritis is the patient's response to the prescribed anti-inflammatory therapy - in the degenerative-dystrophic process, any steroid and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs bring to the patient only very brief relief and the degree of deformation of the joint does not change.

Treatment of arthrosis - necessary measures

Before the appointment of arthrosis treatment, a physician should make sure that a patient with a degenerative-dystrophic joint injury has applied for it - prescribe clinical and biochemical analyzes of blood and urine, biochemical and autoimmune studies, and radiography of the affected joint. In the complex of medical measures, it is necessary to provide for the combination:

1. of drug therapy, which can quickly eliminate pain syndrome;
2. physiotherapy procedures aimed at restoring blood circulation in the joint
3. appoint chondroprotectors, vitamins and other metabolic therapies;
4. manual therapy;
5. massage;
6. thought over scheme of physical activities;
7. diet therapy.

Only in this case it is possible to "slow down" the rate of changes in the affected joint - it is already impossible to restore the structure of the cartilaginous tissue even using the most modern means of traditional and traditional medicine.