Treatment of arthrosis ("deforming arthrosis", osteoarthritis) should not be postponed. Pathology always changes the structure of the joints, affects the bone, cartilage, can completely destroy articulation and makes a person disabled. It is therefore dangerous to reject self-medication, testing, and formal therapies.
Symptoms of arthrosis
Arthrosis is a chronic degenerative-dystrophic joint disease in which articulation begins to deform gradually, its function deteriorates, osteophytes grow along the edge of the bone, and cartilage is destroyed.
The main symptoms of the pathology are cracking during walking, a syndrome of pain of varying severity. Furthermore, in the case of arthrosis, the stiffness of the movements occurs, the pain becomes constant, it intensifies continuously, the atrophy of the nearby muscles begins, and the gap between the bones of the joint narrows. If there is no treatment at this stage, ankylosis develops (fusion of the joint surface), disability occurs.
Conservative therapy for arthrosis
If there are symptoms of the disease, it should be examined and treatment for arthrosis should be started immediately. Lack of proper therapy can lead to complete loss of joint function and disability.
In formal medicine, osteoarthritis is initially treated using a conservative method. The patient is prescribed medication, gym therapy, physiotherapy, orthopedic products, diet. With the permission of your arthrosis doctor, you can also use traditional, traditional medicine and homeopathy methods. The sick person should monitor their weight, avoid uneven joints, and follow medical recommendations. If these complex methods do not yield a positive result, surgery will be performed.
After conservative and / or surgical treatment to prevent arthrosis, it is advisable to perform annual spa therapy. We recommend that you choose an institution that specializes in the pathologies of the musculoskeletal system and also has a thermal source and medicinal mud.
Medical treatment
A disease such as arthrosis can be primary or secondary (underlying other pathologies). Therefore, a list of drugs used is selected for each patient individually.
The main drugs for the treatment of arthrosis are:
- chondroprotectors;
- microcirculatory pharmaceutical preparations;
- multivitamins, vitamins C, group B;
- mineral complexes;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- corticosteroids (intraarticular injections);
- analgesics;
- desensitizing drugs;
- medicines for external use (ointments, creams, solutions, balms, gels, tinctures and bile).
Chondroprotectors are prescribed at all stages and forms of the disease because they affect the mechanism of articular cartilage repair. HP is prescribed for oral administration, but injections into the joint cavity and / or muscle are also given for arthrosis. Chondroprotectors and corticosteroids are also used for intraarticular injections.
Secondary deforming arthrosis is treated with the same class of drugs, but additional drugs are prescribed to treat the pathology that causes degenerative-dystrophic changes in the joints.
Physiotherapy
Each physiotherapy has its own list of contraindications. Therefore, you should consult a cardiologist, neurologist, endocrinologist, or other professional when choosing them.
Basic physiotherapy
Pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis is supplemented by electrophoresis (anesthetic, zinc, lithium, sulfur), electroconvulsive therapy, and ultrophorophoresis. Paraffin lubricants, black wax and medicated mud are used on the patient's joint. The joint damaged by arthrosis is also treated with a laser, magnetic field, diadynamic currents and other pulses.
Physiotherapy for arthrosis
Gymnastics is prescribed for 3-5 days after the removal of the acute symptoms. Therapeutic practices of the exercises are selected individually for each patient at the identified stage of arthrosis. The first workout should start with minimal strain on the sore joint and at a slow pace. The exercises are then performed every 7-10 days on the recommendation of a specialist.
Types of gymnastic exercises for the joints of the hand:
- circular movements in the hands, elbows, shoulders;
- swing back and forth, up and down;
- shrug;
- connecting and disconnecting the blades;
- turning the palms towards and away from the foot;
- elbow flexion;
- fist clamping and then maximum straightening of the brush.
Damage to the pathology of the spine (osteochondrosis), arthrosis of the joints of the upper extremities - gymnastics takes place in a "sitting", "standing" position.
Types of gymnastic exercises for the foot joints:
- flexion, circular movements in the hips, knees, ankles;
- swing back and forth, right and left;
- raising the knee;
- "bicycle";
- "butterfly";
- rolling with the feet of small objects;
- gripping the ball with the toes;
- raising the toe "to itself. "
With the development of coxarthrosis, gonarthrosis, ankle arthrosis, exercise therapy is performed lying down, standing and with damage to the small joints of the legs - sitting.
Exercise should not cause pain in the injured joint. If it appears, you need to reduce the load, the pace of execution. You should rest for at least 3 minutes after each exercise.
Manual therapy for arthrosis
Restoration of joint mobility with the help of a chiropractor's hand is recommended for grade I-II arthrosis. 
The chiropractor performs two types of corrections on the deformed joint: manipulation (sharp pressure movement) and mobilization (stretching of the damaged joint). The more complex the clinical case, the more sessions should be performed.
Manual treatment of arthrosis joints is complemented by massage. In all stages of the disease, every other day every 2-3 months, with a maximum of 25 procedures, but only during the remission and subacute periods.
Manipulation is done with sliding movements with light pressure (sawing, kneading, rubbing, etc. ). Not only is the diseased joint massaged, but also the nearby spine, the adjacent joints.
Home physiotherapy for arthrosis
Now people diagnosed with arthrosis have access to home physiotherapy. Compact household appliances for medical purposes are sold online and in medical equipment stores.
The following tools are very popular for treating arthrosis:
- magnetotherapy;
- magnetic laser therapy;
- low frequency pulsed magnetic therapy;
- laser therapy;
- reflex physiotherapy.
Before ordering a device to treat arthrosis, your doctor must make sure that there are no contraindications to the effects of pulses, lasers, currents, or magnetic fields on your body.
Non-pharmacological methods
Treatment of osteoarthritis requires orthopedic treatment. The purpose of the method is to relieve the load on the diseased joint and to stabilize it in an appropriate anatomical and physiological position. In case of arthrosis, sticks, crutches and corsets with special insoles with arch supports and cushions and shoes, rails, orthoses, fasteners, braces are used. It is recommended to order at your local orthopedic salon based on custom plaster.
In online stores, you can buy cheaper products whose design allows you to adjust the tension force independently. These are usually elastic bandages, bandages, calipers, restraint belts, knee pads, elbow pads and similar orthopedic devices. However, before prescribing a particular product for the treatment of arthrosis, you should clarify with your doctor all the necessary characteristics: the degree of tension, the presence and type of stiffeners, and whether it is necessary to adjust the angle of the limb in the body. diseased joint, additional conditions.
Climate therapy is also a non-pharmaceutical method. When using them, prescribing thalassotherapy procedures create special climatic conditions for a person, or we recommend that you visit a resort, take part in preventive sanatorium treatments at spas.
diet therapy
In the case of secondary arthrosis, doctors recommend one of the treatment tables for the patient. For example, to correct body weight, excess weight is removed with diet number 8. In most cases, patients eat according to Table 15 and the ATS (General Version of Diets).
Gelatin (jelly, jelly and so on), avocado (1 piece per week), vegetable oils, freshly squeezed berry juices, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and flaxseed products are good for arthrosis. It is advisable to exclude fatty, smoked, salty foods from your diet.
Homeopathic medicines and herbs for osteoarthritis
Doctors supplement conservative methods with homeopathy and herbs. Formulations based on natural ingredients improve the functioning of all systems in the body.
List of the most commonly used homeopathic remedies for the treatment of arthrosis:
- hydrofluoric acid;
- calcium fluoride;
- Phosphorus;
- calcium phosphate;
- Potassium carbonate.
Their reception is combined with other methods of formal and traditional medicine.
List of the most commonly used herbal preparations for the treatment of arthrosis:
- cinquefoyl;
- unpeeled oats;
- yukurba (extraction of devil's claws);
- medical collection (marshmallows and licorice, chamomile, calendula).
Homeopathic and herbal remedies reduce the need for high-dose NSAIDs, painkillers, corticosteroids, antihistamines.
Joint operations
If conservative methods are not used properly, surgical treatment of a disease such as arthrosis is used. Usually, surgery takes place when a patient seeks medical help late, when the pathology has reached 3-4 degrees of development and is at risk of disability.
Types of surgery for arthrosis:
- arthrodesis;
- arthroscopic debridement;
- arthroplasty;
- periarticular osteotomy;
- endoprosthesis.
After the operation, the patient is placed under conservative treatment and rehabilitation measures begin.
Use of laser in surgery and physiotherapy of arthrosis
Laser therapy is prescribed for all grades and types of deforming osteoarthritis. The rays of the applied devices act on the damaged tissues at the cellular, molecular and physiological (organ) level.
In the physiotherapy of arthrosis, this property of the laser helps to restore microcirculation, relieves inflammation, pain and swelling, improves metabolism and self-regulation of regeneration processes. There are many tools and modes of operation. The rays of the device act on the surface and intra-articular layers of tissues, biologically active points (with laser acupuncture).
Laser treatment is also performed in surgery, using only high-intensity equipment. In addition to their listed properties, the use of rays during surgery contributes to the rapid recovery of tissues and minimizes the risk of wound infection.
When diagnosing arthrosis, it is possible to prescribe laser spectroscopy and examine small joints with an infrared laser scanner. These methods are safer, cheaper than MRI, radiography.
Folk and traditional medicine for the treatment of arthrosis
Raw materials of natural origin must be selected individually, as each material has its own contraindications. Pharmaceutical compositions for arthrosis include plants that have metabolic, anti-inflammatory, allergy and analgesic effects. Willow bark, linden, St. John's wort, burdock, cinquefoyl are more commonly used.
It is convenient to treat osteoarthritis with clay at home. Blue, kaolin (white), green, yellow and black healing agents with good therapeutic effect. In case of arthrosis, clay is added to the baths (1 tablespoon / 1 liter of water), the damaged joint is wrapped, smeared, and the sore area is rubbed with a mixture of clay and vegetable oil.
Among the methods of traditional medicine, acupuncture and apitherapy show good results. Some patients feel better after hirudotherapy, mineral therapy.
Sanatoriums and resorts
It is recommended to consolidate the effectiveness of the main treatment for osteoarthritis in spas and rehabilitation centers specializing in joint diseases. It is better to give preference to institutions that have thermal, mineral, mud resources, healing clay, special gases.
At the resorts, the treatment is done by placing it on physiotherapy. Patients with arthrosis are strongly advised to follow a diet, not to miss movement therapy or massage. Among physiotherapy, balneotherapy methods are used. These are hydromassage, swimming, baths (hydrogen sulfide, salt, nitrogen, sulfide and radon). In the case of arthrosis, a mud mud pack, heat, Bernard current, laser, and magnetic field are also prescribed. Each spa has its own therapeutic program, which must be agreed with a representative of the selected institution before purchasing a ticket.
There are institutions in each country that specialize in the treatment of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, in case of arthrosis, it is better to choose a spa resort with the help of your doctor. He suggests the necessary climate, the festive period, the methods of physiotherapy for prevention, provides information about resorts, and gives advice to the best institution in your area or neighborhood.
Prognosis of arthrosis therapy
It is very important not to miss the planned medical examination (1-2 times a year) and to give blood and urine for examinations, so that doctors can detect the abnormal processes in time. But the later someone visits a doctor, the more the prognosis for treatment worsens. In chronic arthrosis, doctors can only relieve pain with conservative therapies, partially preserve joint function, or recommend surgery so that they do not remain disabled.
The combination of formal, traditional and traditional methods of treatment, under the regular supervision of the treating physician, increases the prognosis for the treatment of arthrosis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system.