How to treat knee osteoarthritis so that it is effective? You need to help your body, reduce stress, normalize metabolism, improve bowel function, make it easier for the kidneys and liver. That is, to reduce excess weight, start eating right, reduce the amount of animal fats, meats, easily digestible carbohydrates. Include dishes made with vegetables, sour dairy products, rye, bran bread, or whole wheat flour on the menu.
A correct diagnosis is the key to treatment. Joint injuries are a symptom of many diseases with different treatment regimens. Therefore, a diagnostic error, and even more so an independent diagnosis, can be too expensive for the patient.
The question of how to treat osteoarthritis of the knee joint is not new to modern medicine. For its treatment, there are currently several methods, both therapeutic and surgical. Since resorting to surgical methods is always the last resort, we will consider therapeutic methods.
Medications
The effectiveness of the treatment depends on the stage of destruction of the joint, its timeliness. You usually start with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
They do not have a direct effect on the cause of the disease and they do not stop the destruction of the joint, their effect is only in the reduction of the main symptoms. The signs of inflammation subside, the swelling goes away, the pain goes away or becomes much less.
With the help of anti-inflammatory drugs, strong pain sensations are relieved, which makes it possible to gradually switch to other methods of treatment, for example, massage, which would be contraindicated due to pain and inflammation.
But the long-term use of these funds is undesirable, as it masks the manifestations of the disease, creating a picture of a complete cure, but in fact the disease can progress. In addition, side effects can further enhance cartilage destruction processes. Therefore, if there is a question about the need for long-term use of drugs of this group, preference should be given to selective anti-inflammatory drugs.
If the diagnosis is established: osteoarthritis of the knee joint, vasodilators are prescribed: by improving the nutrition of the cartilage, the synovial membrane of the joint stops the destruction and improves the recovery processes. To reduce the allergic component, desensitizing drugs are prescribed.
Chondroprotectors in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis
How to treat osteoarthritis of the knee joint without trying to restore the structure of cartilage damaged by the disease?
For this, a group of drugs called chondroprotectors is used.
They not only act on individual symptoms, but also affect the cause of the disease, helping to improve the state of the cartilaginous surface, improving the production of joint fluid and its lubricating properties.
They improve the production of synovial fluid, improve its properties and restore the substance of the cartilage. The only thing to remember is that you can restore only what is still there, but if the cartilage is completely absent, destroyed, there are bone marginal growths, these drugs will not help.
Therefore, the best result of using chondroprotectors will be if you start using them early, not after grade I or II osteoarthritis of the knee joints, and in long courses, several times a year.
Unfortunately, these tools are far from instant. Sometimes 2-3 courses of treatment are required to get the result, and this takes from six months to a year and a half. And the drugs of this group are completely ineffective in the third stage of the disease, when the cartilage is already completely destroyed. However, of all the drugs used for osteoarthritis, chondroprotectors are the most useful for the patient, in addition, they have almost no contraindications or side effects.
Joint injection
Intra-articular injections of drugs give a good effect, however, it should be noted that the procedure itself can damage the capsule tissues and cause an infection of the joint cavity. As a general rule, corticosteroids are injected into the joint. For long-term action, steroid hormones are used (if necessary to relieve severe inflammation).
This procedure is generally performed to provide emergency care to a patient. This achieves quick relief from pain and inflammation. But it is undesirable for various reasons to inject into the same knee more than once every 2 weeks.
If the joint is calmer, there are no obvious signs of inflammation, chondroprotectors can be injected directly into the joint, quickly reach the goal and have a positive effect.
Significantly improves the gliding of the articular ends of the bone against each other and reduces the load of hyaluronic acid injections on the cartilage. Of course, these drugs are highly effective if there is no pronounced cartilage destruction.
External installations
Patients often wonder how to treat knee osteoarthritis with external means. After all, the first thing to do with knee pain is rub it and wrap it with heat.
Unfortunately, neither ointments, nor creams, nor all kinds of rubbing can cure osteoarthritis. But they can alleviate the patient's condition, reducing pain and not acting in an irritating way on the gastrointestinal tract, like anti-inflammatory drugs. Warming ointments are used, as well as ointments based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The skin absorbs only 5-7% of the active ingredient, so the effect of these ointments is not as effective as we would like.
But compresses for osteoarthritis of the knee joint are more effective. For them, medical bile can be recommended. They alleviate inflammation directly in its focus, have resolving and analgesic effects.
Massage and physiotherapy
Physiotherapy for osteoarthritis also has a positive effect. Procedures such as ultrasound, laser, magnetotherapy, phonophoresis are used. Thanks to them, the sensitivity to pain of the joints decreases, the inflammatory processes in them decrease, and swelling is eliminated.
You can use radon, salt baths, apply compresses with bile.
If possible, you can undergo a course of manual therapy, traction. In this case, the ends of the bones move away from each other, and the load on them decreases. Only manipulations should be carried out with great care and by a qualified specialist. Manual therapy and massage of the knee joint also give good results, improving blood circulation in the diseased joint, stopping the development of destructive processes in it and restoring its function as far as possible.
Massage is especially effective in the early stages of the disease, when it has not yet had its full destructive effect. It is good to do it after your recovery gym exercise. Taking a hot shower or being in a steam room is a good prep step for a massage. After that, the muscles warm up and the massage has a deeper healing effect. In the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint, sanatoriums also have a beneficial effect. Healing mud improves the course of regenerative processes in cartilage, improves the supply of nutrients to the joints and the supply of blood to them.
If the joint is completely destroyed, only surgical treatment can help, replacing it with an artificial one.
Preventive measures: reduce the destruction process
The prevention of osteoarthritis is due to the causes of its appearance, the main ones of which are overweight, injuries and poor physical activity. Physical education, performing feasible physical exercises, strengthens the muscles that surround the joints. Thanks to this, the load on the cartilage becomes less. Morning walks and swimming are helpful.
At the same time, it is important to observe the alternation of load and rest and proper safety during exercise. Injury and overload should be avoided in every possible way. After all, injuries are one of the main causes of osteoarthritis. The appearance of microcracks determines the presence of initial sources of inflammation. Therefore, for athletes and sports enthusiasts, protective equipment such as knee pads should not be forgotten.
Prevention of osteoarthritis of the knee joint also implies adherence to diet. Each additional kilogram of weight puts additional stress on the leg joints. You need to eat less sweet and starchy foods, fruits and vegetables, as much as possible. Studies show that vegetarians are much less likely to develop osteoarthritis. Strong coffee and tea have a negative effect on the joints, they remove calcium from the bones, but natural dairy products help to replenish their reserves.