Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint at home

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a disorder of the hyaline cartilage that lines the oval processes of the tibia and femur.This chronic disease develops slowly and constantly progresses, due to which the hyaline cartilage is gradually destroyed.In the later stages of the disease, the damage affects the joint and is transferred to a part of the bone located in the immediate vicinity.

If you have arthrosis of the knee joint, you can treat it at home, but before doing this, you should familiarize yourself with the basic principles.First of all, it is necessary to understand that therapy is a complex process.Treatment includes medication, diet, massage, exercise therapy, and physical therapy.

Arthrosis of the knee joint is called gonarthrosis, osteoarthrosis, defraarthrosis.All these are different names for the same disease.

What is knee osteoarthritis?

Gonarthrosis is a progressive disease of the intra-articular cartilage, where the nutrition of the tissues surrounding the joint is impaired.Osteoarthritis mainly affects older people.Less often, professional athletes or people engaged in heavy physical labor are affected by this disease.

Symptoms

The main question that interests people with arthrosis symptoms is symptoms and treatment of the disease at home.Don't ignore your body's signals before seeing a doctor.The following symptoms indicate gonarthrosis:

• pain that appears when running, brisk walking or climbing stairs;
• swelling expressed by slight swelling of the knee cap;
• the accumulation of fluid in the joint causes its volume to increase (the joint swells and becomes like a ball);
• stiffness or tightness in the knees;
• pain when getting up from a sitting position and taking the first steps after getting up from a seat;
• heaviness in the knees;
• limited mobility;
• sharp pain with any attempt to bend the leg.

The severity of symptoms depends on the degree of gonarthrosis.In the early stages, pain appears rarely and disappears when the patient walks a certain distance.In the later stages, the symptoms of the disease appear constantly and do not decrease even at night.

Degrees of arthrosis

Doctors distinguish 2 types of gonarthrosis: primary and secondary.Primary osteoarthritis occurs in elderly patients and is associated with age-related changes in their body.Secondary gonarthrosis is the result of injuries, pathologies and developmental disorders.This type of gonarthrosis can appear at any age.

There are 3 degrees (stages) of the development of the disease:

1. At the first stage, the manifestations of gonarthrosis are mild.Dull pain occurs irregularly.Often this happens when the joint is exposed to a long and heavy load.In the first stage of the disease, there is no deformation of the joint, only slight swelling is possible.
2. In the second stage, the symptoms of gonarthrosis appear regularly.The nature of the pain changes: the discomfort is sharp, intense and lasts a long time.Additional symptoms: the appearance of a crisis, stiffness and slight deformation of the joint.
3. The third stage of gonarthrosis: clinical manifestations intensify to the maximum.Pain is constant, walking is impaired, swelling increases, temperature rises in the joint area.

In severe cases, fragments of fragmented osteophytes - growths on the surface of bone tissue appear.This leads to joint blockage, which manifests itself with acute pain.Therefore, the patient cannot move independently.

Often, patients wonder how to treat grade 2 arthrosis.At this stage, the vast majority of patients consult a doctor.However, you should not delay visiting a medical facility.The sooner you start treating gonarthrosis, the better the chances of a good treatment result.

Causes of disease development

The occurrence of gonarthrosis is explained by a number of factors.Doctors identify a number of causes of the disease:

1. Injuries: meniscus damage, tibia fractures, ligament damage.It develops 3-5 years after the pathological injury, but in some cases it occurs earlier - after 3-4 months.
2. Increased load on the joint.Gonarthrosis often affects professional athletes and people engaged in heavy physical labor.The risk group includes people who start sports after 40 years of age.They do not take age-related changes into account, therefore they put an abnormal load on the joints.
3. Excessive body weight.Excess weight causes an increase in the axial load on the joints.The latter leads to microtraumas, damage to the meniscus and rupture of ligaments.The more the patient weighs, the higher the risk of developing the disease.
4. Past illnesses.Pathologies that can cause gonarthrosis over time include psoriatic, rheumatoid or reactive arthritis, gout, and ankylosing spondylitis.
5. Hereditary factor.The disease is caused by the weakness of the ligament apparatus, which is determined genetically.

Doctors identify several other causes: metabolic disorders, congenital anomalies, capillary fragility, circulatory pathologies, hormonal and endocrine system disorders, untreated old injuries.

Prevention

Prevention of arthrosis of the knee joints includes the following set of measures:

• maintaining optimal body weight through proper nutrition and moderate physical activity;
• drink 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day;
• be careful when exercising;
• If you feel discomfort in the knee area, see a doctor immediately.

Experts recommend creating a diet taking into account the individual needs of bone and cartilage tissue.It is strictly forbidden to follow diets based on the rejection of certain foods (for example, cereals).This can lead to metabolic disorders and subsequent pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.

How to treat arthrosis of the knee joint at home?

To get rid of gonarthrosis at home, you need to take a comprehensive approach to treatment.Therapy includes medication, diet and physiotherapeutic procedures.Massage for arthrosis is an equally important point that should be left to medical professionals.Self-medication can lead to aggravation of the disease.

Drug treatment

Before treating knee osteoarthritis, you need to understand how to relieve knee pain.Taking medication is the main part of treatment aimed at relieving pain and restoring cartilage tissue.

Medicines for arthrosis

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are prescribed to relieve inflammation and associated discomfort.This is a group of drugs with a complex effect: it relieves pain, calms inflammation and reduces temperature.When treating gonarthrosis, they are prescribed intravenously or intramuscularly.

Another group of pain relievers are COX-2 NSAIDs.This category of drugs has a similar therapeutic effect, but the side effects of these drugs are milder.Medicines in this group can be used to relieve pain for several months.

Painkillers help relieve pain, but do not affect the cause of the disease.To treat gonarthrosis, you need to take chondroprotectors, hyaluronic acid, ointments and other drugs prescribed by a specialist.

Chondroprotectors

Chondroprotectors are a group of drugs intended for cartilage tissue regeneration and symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis.Preparations in this group are made from animal or plant raw materials, hyaluronic acid, collagen and chondroitin sulfate.The latest generation of drugs is a combination of the listed substances.They are also enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins.

Chondroprotectors are available in the form of gels, ointments, tablets and injection solutions.

Ointments

Ointments, creams and gels are suitable products for rubbing.They have a number of effects:

• heat the affected area;
• soothing inflammation;
• activate local blood circulation and relieve pain.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid is a substance that is part of epithelium, nerves and connective tissues.Preparations based on this component act on the joint in the same way as natural joint lubrication, so they were given a second name - "liquid prostheses".

It forms a protective film on the surface of the damaged tissue.This prevents further destruction of the cartilage tissue and improves the sliding of the surfaces in contact with each other during movement.

He compresses with drugs

Ointments and solutions can be used in the form of compresses to increase effectiveness.Ointments, creams or gels are applied to the affected area using a napkin and fixed with a bandage.A plastic film is placed on top and a cotton cloth is placed on it.You can keep this compress for more than an hour.

Folk treatment

Traditional medicine together with traditional medicine gives excellent results.

Massages and baths

The rub is a mixture of medicated solutions rubbed into the skin on the affected area.The goal is to improve blood flow, help warm the painful area, and distract the patient from pain.It is recommended to use this method together with a sauna or a hot bath.First, you should warm the body with hot water or a steam room in the bath, and then apply a mixture of medicinal solutions to the painful area.

Infusions and decoctions

Infusions and decoctions will help relieve pain in the initial stages of gonarthrosis and improve the patient's condition.The following folk remedies are used to relieve symptoms: black bean herb tea, lemon, garlic and nettle infusion, beef hoof decoction.

Compresses

You can make your own compresses based on natural ingredients.They are carried out in the same way as wrapping with ointments and solutions.Basically, you can use natural honey, clay, camphor oil, young dandelion leaves.This compress can be left overnight.

Exercise therapy and procedures

Therapeutic gymnastics

Doing exercises for knee arthrosis at home is one of the most effective ways to self-treat this disease.Physiotherapy exercises are not prescribed for patients with exacerbation of gonarthrosis.You can do the exercises only when there is practically no pain and mobility is not restricted.

Therapeutic massage

For gonarthrosis, experts allow self-massage of the knee joint.In order for the massage technique to give the expected result, it is important to do it correctly.The knee joint massage technique is as follows:

1. Sit in a chair, bend your knees at a right angle.Place a bench or small chair under your feet to make it more comfortable.
2. During the process, one hand should be behind the knee and the other in front.
3. There are several ways to massage the knee: rubbing with the edge of the palm, a hand bent into a fist or soft circular strokes with the pads of the fingers are allowed.

Experts recommend knee massage for arthrosis at home up to 5 times a day.The total duration of the procedure is up to 15 minutes.Contraindications for massage: acute stage of the disease, bleeding, vascular thrombosis, temperature increase, fever.

Thermal treatments

It is an effective treatment method used in combination with other methods.The procedure is performed after the acute stage of gonarthrosis has passed.This treatment option is aimed at expanding blood vessels, activating metabolic processes, accelerating regeneration and increasing joint mobility.Pain relief is another bonus provided by thermal treatments.

Magnetic therapy device

The body has a device that emits a magnetic field in contact with charged particles and accelerates metabolic processes.Thanks to this, cartilage tissue regeneration is stimulated, natural lubrication production increases and metabolic processes are improved.

The device is often used in medical institutions and sanatoriums.Therapy with the device can also be performed at home.The kit includes detailed operating instructions.

Food

A patient with gonarthrosis should lose excess weight and also remove harmful foods from his diet.Below are two charts to help you lose weight and eat healthy foods for your joints.

Useful and prohibited foods

When treating arthrosis, doctors recommend maintaining a normal weight and following the following diet:

Healthy Products	Prohibited Products
lean meat; still mineral water; nuts; cereals; poultry and fish; fermented milk products; jellied meat made from bone broth; chicken egg.	tomatoes; refined oils; mayonnaise; fast food; alcohol; coffee; flour and sweet products; fruits with high acid content; sausage; sausage; fatty meat; bell pepper; white cabbage.

It is necessary to eat often and in small portions (up to 300 g).The last meal should be 2-3 hours before bedtime.

Diet pattern

Sample menu:

Breakfast	Lunch	Afternoon snack	Dinner	Late dinner
Buckwheat porridge with mushrooms - 150 g; piece of rye bread - 20 g.	jellied meat cooked in pork legs - 250 g.	a glass of kefir - 250 ml.	mashed potatoes - 100 g; cooked pollock - 80 g.	chicken breast - 80 g.

You can add any allowed product to the menu.The main rule is not to load the body with heavy food and eat according to the schedule.