Treatment of arthrosis ("deforming arthrosis", osteoarthritis) cannot be postponed "for later". Pathology always changes the joint structure, affects the bone, cartilage, can completely destroy the articulation and the person becomes disabled. Therefore, it is dangerous to self-medicate, refuse an examination and official methods of therapy.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative-dystrophic disease of the joint in which the articulation is gradually deformed, its functionality deteriorates, osteophytes grow along the edge of the bone, and cartilage is destroyed.
The main symptoms of the pathology are the presence of squeaking during walking, pain syndrome of varying severity. Furthermore, in arthrosis, stiffness of movement appears, the pain becomes permanent, it constantly intensifies, atrophy of nearby muscles begins, and the gap between the bones of the joint narrows. If left untreated at this stage, ankylosis (joint adhesion) develops, disability occurs.
Conservative therapy of osteoarthritis
If you have symptoms of the disease, you need to be examined and start treatment for osteoarthritis immediately. Lack of adequate therapy can lead to complete loss of joint function and lead to disability.
In official medicine, the treatment of osteoarthritis is initially carried out by a conservative method. The patient is prescribed medication, exercise therapy, physiotherapy, orthopedic products, diet. With the permission of a doctor for arthrosis, you can additionally apply the methods of traditional, traditional medicine, homeopathy. The sick person should monitor their weight, avoid uneven loads on the joints, follow medical recommendations. If these complex methods do not give a positive result, surgery is performed.
After conservative and / or surgical treatment to prevent osteoarthritis, it is useful to undergo annual spa therapy. It is advisable to choose an institution that specializes in pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, and also has thermal springs, therapeutic mud.
Treatment
A disease such as osteoarthritis can be primary or secondary (it develops against the background of other pathologies). Therefore, the list of drugs used is selected for each patient individually.
The main drugs in the treatment of osteoarthritis:
- chondroprotectors;
- Medical preparations of microcirculatory action;
- multivitamins, vitamins C, group B;
- mineral complexes;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- corticosteroids (intra-articular injections);
- painkillers;
- desensitizing (antiallergic) drugs;
- medicines for external use (ointment, cream, solutions, balm, gel, tinctures and medicinal bile).
Chondroprotectors are prescribed in all phases, forms of the disease, because they affect the mechanism of joint cartilage regeneration. HP is prescribed for oral use, but arthrosis also involves injections into the joint cavity and / or muscle. Chondroprotectors and corticosteroids are also used for intra-articular injections.
Secondary deforming arthrosis is treated with the same group of drugs, but additional drugs are prescribed to treat the pathology that caused the degenerative-dystrophic changes in the joints.
Physiotherapy
Each physiotherapy has its own list of contraindications. Therefore, when choosing them, you may need to consult a cardiologist, neurologist, endocrinologist or other specialist.
Basic physiotherapy
Treatment of osteoarthritis with drugs is supplemented by electrophoresis (with anesthetic, zinc, lithium, sulfur), electrotherapy, ultraphonophoresis. Paraffin applications are applied to the affected joint, black wax and therapeutic mud are used. An arthritis-damaged joint is also treated with laser, magnetic field, diadynamic currents and other pulses.
Therapeutic exercise for osteoarthritis
Gymnastics is prescribed 3-5 days after the removal of acute symptoms. The set of exercise therapy exercises is selected individually for each patient for the identified phase, the form of arthrosis. The first workout should start with minimal strain on the aching joint and a slow pace. Then, every 7-10 days, the exercises are complicated according to the recommendation of a specialist.
Types of gymnastic tasks for the wrists:
- circular movements in arms, elbows, shoulders;
- rocking back and forth, up and down;
- shrug;
- splicing-disconnecting blades;
- turn the palms towards and away from the feet;
- flexion-extension in the elbows;
- squeezing the wrists with subsequent maximum straightening of the brush.
In the case of damage to the pathology of the spine (osteochondrosis), arthrosis of the joints of the upper extremities - gymnastics is done in a "sitting", "standing" position.
Types of gymnastic tasks for the ankles:
- flexion-extension, circular movements in the hip, knee, ankle;
- swing back and forth, right-left;
- raising the knees upwards;
- "bicycle";
- "butterfly";
- rolling small objects with your foot;
- catching the ball with the toes;
- raising the big toe "on itself".
With the development of coxarthrosis, gonarthrosis, arthrosis of the ankle, exercise 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 occurs, you need to reduce the load, the pace of execution. After each exercise, it is necessary to rest for up to 3 minutes.
Manual therapy of arthrosis
It is recommended to use chiropractors to restore joint mobility with the help of chiropractor's hands in cases of I-II degree of arthrosis. 
The chiropractor performs 2 types of correction of the deformed joint: manipulation (sharp movement of pressure) and mobilization (stretching of the damaged joint). The more complex the clinical case, the more sessions need to be done.
Manual treatment of joints with osteoarthritis is supplemented by massage. It is performed every other day for all stages of the disease every 2-3 months with a course of up to 25 procedures, but only in remission and in the subacute period.
Manipulation is performed with sliding movements with light pressure (sawing, kneading, rubbing, etc. ). They massage not only the diseased joint, but also the nearby spine and adjacent joints.
Physiotherapy at home for osteoarthritis
Now people diagnosed with osteoarthritis have the opportunity to undergo physiotherapy at home. Compact home appliances for medical purposes are sold on the Internet and in medical equipment stores.
The following devices are very popular for the treatment of osteoarthritis:
- magnetotherapy;
- magnetic laser therapy;
- low frequency pulsed magnetotherapy;
- laser therapy;
- reflex physiotherapy.
Before ordering an arthrosis machine, your doctor must clarify whether there are any contraindications to the effects of pulses, lasers, current or magnetic fields on your body.
Drug-free methods
Treatment of osteoarthritis requires the use of an orthopedic regimen. The purpose of the method is to relieve the diseased joint, to stabilize it in the correct anatomical and physiological position. In arthrosis, sticks, crutches, as well as corsets, special insoles with arch supports and cushions and shoes, splints, orthoses, fixators, prostheses are used. It is recommended to order in the local orthopedic salon according to individual plasters.
In online stores, you can buy cheaper those products whose design allows you to adjust the tension force yourself. These are usually elastic bandages, bandages, jaws, fixation belts, knee pads, elbows and similar orthopedic devices. However, before ordering a particular product for osteoarthritis, you need to clarify with your doctor all the necessary characteristics: the degree of tension, the presence and type of stiffness, whether it is necessary to adjust the angle of extension of the limb to the affected joint, additional conditions.
Climatotherapy is also one of the non-drug methods. During its use, special climatic conditions are created for a person by prescribing thalassotherapy procedures or he is recommended to go to a resort, preventive sanatorium treatment in health resorts.
dietary therapy
In secondary osteoarthritis, doctors recommend one of the treatment tables to the patient. For example, in order to correct body weight, excess weight is removed by diet no. 8. In most cases, patients are fed according to table no. 15 and ATS (general version of the diet).
Gelatin-based products (jelly, jelly, etc. ), avocado (1 piece per week), vegetable oils, freshly squeezed berry juices, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and flaxseeds help with osteoarthritis. It is advisable to exclude fatty, smoked, salty foods from the diet.
Homeopathic remedies and herbal remedies for osteoarthritis
Doctors supplement conservative methods with homeopathy and herbal remedies. Preparations based on natural ingredients improve the work of all body systems.
List of most commonly used homeopathic remedies for osteoarthritis:
- Hydrofluoric acid;
- calcium fluoride;
- Phosphorus;
- calcium phosphate;
- Potassium carbonate.
Their reception is combined with other methods of official and traditional medicine.
List of commonly used herbal remedies for osteoarthritis:
- peterolist;
- unpeeled oats;
- yukurba (removing the devil's claws);
- medicinal collection (marshmallow roots and licorice, chamomile flowers, calendula).
Homeopathic and herbal remedies reduce the need for large doses of NSAIDs, analgesics, corticosteroids, antihistamines.
Joint operations
Surgical treatment of diseases such as osteoarthritis is resorted to in case of inadequate use of conservative methods. The operation is usually performed when the patient asks for medical help late, when the pathology has already reached 3-4 stages of development and threatens disability.
Types of arthrosis surgeries:
- arthrodesis;
- arthroscopic debridement;
- arthroplasty;
- periarticular osteotomy;
- endoprosthetics.
After the operation, the patient is transferred to conservative treatment, and rehabilitation measures begin.
Use of lasers in arthrosis surgery and physiotherapy
Laser therapy is prescribed for all degrees and types of deforming osteoarthritis. The rays of the devices used affect the damaged tissues at the cellular, molecular and physiological (organic) level.
In the physiotherapy of arthrosis, this property of the laser helps to restore microcirculation, alleviate inflammation, pain and swelling, improve metabolism, and self-regulate the regeneration process. There are many types of devices and modes of operation. The rays of the device affect the surface and intra-articular layer of tissue, biologically active points (with laser acupuncture).
Laser treatment is also performed in surgery, only high-intensity equipment is used. The use of air during the operation, in addition to the listed properties, contributes to the rapid renewal 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 osteoarthritis
Raw materials of natural origin must be selected individually, because each substance has its own contraindications. Medicinal preparations for osteoarthritis include herbs that improve metabolism, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and analgesic effects. More often they use willow bark, linden, St. John's wort, burdock, rooster.
At home it is appropriate to treat osteoarthritis with clay. Good therapeutic effect has blue, kaolin (white), green, yellow and black medicinal agent. Clay for arthrosis is added to the baths (1 tablespoon / 1 liter of water), the damaged joint is wrapped, applied to it, and the sore spot is rubbed with a mixture of clay and vegetable oil.
Acupuncture and apitherapy show good results among the methods of traditional medicine. Some patients feel better after hirudotherapy, mineral therapy.
Sanatoriums and resorts
It is recommended to consolidate the effectiveness of the main treatment of osteoarthritis by resting in spas and rehabilitation centers specializing in joint diseases. It is better to give preference to those institutions that have thermal, mineral, mud springs, medicinal clay, special gases.
Treatment in spas is carried out with an emphasis on physiotherapy. The patient with arthrosis is definitely recommended to adhere to the diet, not to miss exercise therapy, massage. From physiotherapy, balneotherapy methods are used. These are hydromassage, swimming, baths (hydrogen sulfide, salt, nitrogen, sulfide and radon). In case of arthrosis, therapeutic mud compresses, exposure to heat, Bernard currents, laser, magnetic field are also prescribed. Each health resort has its own therapeutic program, which must be agreed with the representative of the selected institution before purchasing a ticket.
In every country there are institutions specialized in the treatment of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, it is better to choose a spa for osteoarthritis with the help of your doctor. He will recommend what kind of climate is needed, the holiday season, the necessary methods of physiotherapy for prevention, give information about resorts, and advise the best institution in your or a nearby area.
Prognosis of osteoarthritis therapy
It is very important not to miss the scheduled medical examination (1-2 times a year) and give blood, urine for analysis, because it allows doctors to detect pathological processes in time. But the later a person seeks medical help, the worse the prognosis. In chronic arthrosis, doctors can alleviate the pain only with conservative therapy, partially preserve joint function or recommend surgery to avoid disability.
The combination of methods of official, traditional and traditional medicine under the regular supervision of a doctor increases the prognosis for the treatment of arthrosis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system.