Symptoms, causes and treatment of knee arthritis

Modern medicine distinguishes more than one hundred different types of arthritis. This disease is an inflammation of the joints, a peculiar reaction of the body to a disease or trauma.

Often inflammation is accompanied by swelling, pain and decreased mobility of the damaged joint. Arthritis is characterized by frequent repetition of inflammation, which after a while leads to tissue damage.

Symptoms and types of knee arthritis

This disease is slow and constantly progressing, accompanied by regular inflammation of the affected areas, pain and discomfort during movement. Specialists distinguish several different types of this disease, depending on the cause of its occurrence:

• when infection of the joint cavity as a result of injuries and wounds, arthritis is considered primary;
• secondary arthritis is diagnosed in the case where an infectious agent with blood or lymph from the affected organ falls into another joint.

In addition, modern medicine distinguishes several types of this disease, depending on its development and clinical symptoms:

• post-traumatic type develops after the trauma. This type of pathology can develop for several years after trauma with damage to the ligaments, a fracture or a break in the meniscus;
• is a reactive species due to infectious diseases that affect the urinary system or genitals. In addition, this type of arthritis can also cause food poisoning;
• rheumatoid arthritis is the most common type of disease, which is accompanied by stiffness of the affected joint, pain during movement, and fever. The causes of this type of disease have not yet been fully explored;
• deforming - there is subsequently a violation of blood circulation in bone tissues and joints, which is accompanied by negative changes in the cartilaginous cover.
• gouty knee arises due to metabolic disorders in the body, which leads to the deposition of crystals of the derivative of uric acid - urate sodium, systems and organs of the body;

Depending on the type of disease and the severity of symptoms, modern medicine distinguishes different degrees of the disease:

• for arthritis of the first degree is characterized by limited mobility of the affected joint to a minor extent and, as a rule, only in one direction. To detect the presence of such a disease at this stage is possible with the help of an X-ray is quite problematic;
• arthritis of the 2nd degree is characterized by easy fatigue, a feeling of tension and pressure in the affected areas, pain after physical exertion. At this stage of the disease, deformation begins;
• signs of arthritis of the knee joint of the third degree become very pronounced and cause the patient a lot of inconvenience. This includes severe and severe pain, reaction to weather conditions, stiffness of the affected area;

Causes of

As mentioned above, there are a huge number of different types of arthritis, but the causes of most of them are unknown to specialists. Among the most likely factors that cause this disease, experts identify the genetic characteristics of patients and the lifestyle that they lead.

The exact causes of the disease are unknown, but there are risk factors that multiply the likelihood of arthritis. This includes age, sex, obesity, working conditions, etc. At the same time, doctors recommend starting treatment of arthritis of the knee joint, the symptoms of which only began to manifest immediately to prevent tissue damage.

It is noteworthy that although age and increases the likelihood of developing this disease, some cases of it can not be explained by this factor. So, arthritis of the knee joint in children becomes quite frequent, and it occurs mainly against the background of colds.

How to cure ailment?

The aim of this pathology treatment is to alleviate the patient's condition, increase the mobility of the affected joints, relieve pain, and strengthen the joint and surrounding tissues. Among the methods of treatment are widely used different medications, cold and hot compresses, special protective equipment, surgical methods, and exercise.

For example, there are special exercises for this arthritis, the regular performance of which helps to reduce the intensity of manifestations of the disease. Treatment may include one or more different methods, depending on the individual condition of the patient, the degree of damage to the joints and other factors.

Diagnosis of the disease at an early stage greatly increases the chances of successfully overcoming pain and preventing a patient's disability. Moreover, the beginning of treatment of the early stage can prevent damage to the joint tissues and their further deformation. In any case, timely and adequate treatment of arthritis is of great importance.