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The surfaces of the bones that form the joints are covered with special hyaline cartilage - smooth, providing minimal friction during motor skills on the joint surface. If arthropathy is diagnosed, it means that the cartilage is in the process of destruction.

As the process progresses, the destructive process spreads to the bone and then to the joint capsule.

The disease has the universal code of microorganism 10 - M15-M19, which classifies it as a class of lesions of musculoskeletal and connective tissue.

According to medical statistics, 12% of the world's population suffers from osteoarthritis, and most of them are elderly, from people over 65 years old. However, there has been an alarming trend every year that the number of cases among young people has increased.

The diagnosis is not fatal, but the threat of recurrence of joint disease and total disability is insidious.

origin mechanism

As the disease develops gradually, we can conditionally distinguish four stages:

  1. Initially, areas of cartilage with insufficient blood supply or damaged cartilage appear. Gradually, in the presence of traumatic factors, the area does not recover, on the contrary, grows.
  2. The body attempts to restore the collapsed cartilage, replacing the damaged area with mineralized tissue that has no clear structure. Generally, this tissue is an inferior substitute for the smooth, sliding, and elastic hyaline cartilage.
  3. Gradually, the cartilage surface is covered with scars and bone growths - osteophytes.
  4. Healthy areas with several times the load are quickly worn away, and as a result, the entire cartilage tissue becomes one large scar.

If the pathological process is not stopped, the following adverse changes occur in the joints:

  • Bone is involved in the destruction process;
  • Inflammation of the synovium;
  • The joint capsule becomes denser and loses elasticity;
  • The lumen of the joint cavity shrinks rapidly;
  • Bones, unable to withstand friction, deform, like whole joints;
  • The joint tissue is regenerated, so the possibility of movement is completely lost.

Types of Arthropathy

This disease affects absolutely any joint surface! At the same time, although the pathological mechanism is the same, it is divided into several types.

Therefore, depending on which joints are ill, they can distinguish:

  • Knee joint disease or patellofemoral joint disease (referred to as knee joint disease);
  • Arthropathy of the hip (referred to as hip arthropathy);
  • Shoulder joint disease;
  • interphalangeal joint disease;
  • Ankle joint disease;
  • hand joint disease;
  • cervical spondylosis;
  • jaw joint disease;
  • Arthropathy of the metatarsophalangeal joint;
  • iliac osteoarthropathy;
  • Clavicle-acromial arthropathy;
  • Temporal joint disease;
  • heel joint disease;
  • Arthroarthropathies affecting the arcuate processes of the vertebrae (spondyloarthropathy for short);
  • facet joint disease of the spinal joints;
  • Uncinate joint disease;
  • costal spondylosis;
  • talar joint.

According to the specific conditions of the pathological process of cartilage tissue, there are:

  • Osteoarthropathy is the name for a disease that has reached its end stage;
  • Arthropathy - the presence of typical inflammatory processes is characteristic;
  • chronic;
  • acute arthropathy.

Depending on the pathological cause, there are:

  • joint dystrophic arthropathy associated with severe metabolic disorders;
  • Fractured joints caused by the corresponding injury;
  • Post-traumatic arthropathy.

Important to know! Arthropathy without internal organs, for example, cardiac arthropathy is not a disease, but a consequence: disruption of cardiac activity due to the destruction of the cartilage in the chest.

There is another classification based on whether the disease is independent or caused by a predisposing factor:

  • primary - occurs on perfectly healthy cartilage, another name - idiopathic arthropathy, or the appearance of age-related geriatric changes;
  • Secondary - Caused by many reasons.

Symptoms of joint disease

All sites have very typical signs of arthropathy, varying in severity depending on the degree of progression of the pathology:

  • Pain, pain syndrome, aggravated by high humidity and low temperature;
  • decreased joint mobility;
  • Crackling, squeaking, and scraping sounds when the articular surfaces move;
  • External changes in joint contours;
  • puffiness and swelling;
  • Redness of the skin.

pain

The first signs of disease are mild or moderate short-term pain that rarely occurs at night but usually only occurs when the joint surface is under load.

When the inflammatory process reaches its final stage, the patient begins to experience excruciating "gnawing" pain due to stagnant blood and increased pressure in the joint pocket. Pain is characterized by long duration and at any time of the day, regardless of whether the affected area is at rest or in motion.

joint stiffness

This symptom is typical of fairly advanced disease. At the same time, in the early stages, patients still experience discomfort with movement after waking up in the morning, manifesting as a somewhat stiff feeling.

As the destructive reaction progresses, the patient notices:

  • Limit the range of habitual movements;
  • Inability to change the position of the limbs at rest, even when trying to straighten the joints manually;
  • Strong immobilization (contracture) in one position of a joint, resulting in a long-term lack of motor activity.

Finally, in the fourth stage of the pathology, ankylosis forms in the form of scars with complete loss of function.

voice in joints

Tightening may be accompanied by any dysfunction of the bones and cartilage, not only by arthropathy.

However, this disorder is characterized by sounds:

  • Occurs only in painful joints;
  • with movement difficulties;
  • It tends to intensify as the pathology progresses and enters during tonic formation.

Change the appearance of joints

Significant changes will occur later. As a result, the axis of the affected limb is bent and the joint area itself is disfigured - it becomes larger and the shape becomes unsightly.

All of this demonstrates the irreversible destruction of the joint, with the formation of a new, unstructured tissue inside the joint.

If such a pathogenic process occurs in the knee joint, the load on the ankle and metatarsophalangeal joints is increased, causing damage to them over time.

If there is also swelling or swelling in the part of the body that is deformed outwards, it means that the synovium is inflamed, and the synovial fluid accumulates in the joint pocket in large quantities, causing severe pain.

Causes of Arthropathy

Pathology can occur in a single joint or spread to multiple joints. The disease occurs least frequently at a young age - there is still enough energy to carry out the body's self-healing.

Healthy joints and joint arthropathy

However, for all age groups, the direction of exposure occurred because:

  • Internal - some diseases, bad habits, unbalanced diet, etc. ;
  • External, - injury, occupational factors.

Intrinsic factors are factors that cause negative changes in the joints in the form of joint inflammation. There are various sources of inflammation:

  • Infectious (Escherichia coli and Kochella, viruses, Chlamydia, Staphylococcus, Treponema pallidum, etc. );
  • rheumatism;
  • Septic arthritis;
  • autoimmunity;
  • gout;
  • psoriasis.

In addition, causes of internal irradiation include congenital or acquired structural cartilage disorders and malnutrition, which may be related to:

  • Genetic failures and mutations;
  • Intrauterine developmental abnormalities, including perinatal trauma;
  • old age;
  • Osteoporosis, the "washing out" of building blocks from bone tissue;
  • hormonal imbalances and overload, including menopause;
  • Violation of normal metabolism;
  • nutritional deficiencies of vitamins and minerals;
  • diseases that cause muscle weakness;
  • Internal long-term poisoning.

The deterioration of many musculoskeletal disorders can also lead to cartilage degeneration.

External causes of disease development are factors that damage the joints, such as:

  • Frequent hypothermia;
  • dislocation;
  • strong blow
  • fracture;
  • Meniscus damage;
  • intense physical activity (such as lifting weights);
  • professional sports;
  • Joint surgery.

Degree of joint disease

Arthropathy is divided into four stages based on clinical manifestations and disease progression:

  1. 1st degree arthropathy, which is the initial stage of arthropathy, characterized by negative changes in the composition of synovial fluid and hidden symptoms of weakening of muscle fibers, if pain occurs, only during physical activity;
  2. Arthropathy of the second degree - due to skeletal joint collapse and osteophyte formation, which is already a pain, disturbance of reflex neurotrophic regulation and audible creaking;
  3. Third-degree arthropathy is characterized by marked degenerative changes in the joints, with marked deformation associated with the bending of the limb axis, shortening of the ligaments, and the joints becoming pathologically mobile;
  4. Degree 4 arthropathy is complete ankylosis, complete contractures, and severe pain, even at rest.

All four stages proceed unevenly: during the pathological period, there may be moments of sharp exacerbations and remissions.

Treatment of joint disease

Clinically proven treatment and prevention in the form of elimination of predisposing factors for hyaline cartilage damage, although they do not relieve the disease in its initial stages, halt its development and restore the function of the joint.

Basically, mild and moderately severe disease is treated conservatively. If the surface of the cartilage is severely damaged, resulting in the destruction of the bone, surgical joint replacement is required.

In this case, the main principles of treatment are:

  • An integrated approach involving the use of multiple treatments;
  • Purposeful, that is, focus on eliminating causative factors and consequences.

Healing with folk remedies

Get comprehensive treatment, but at home, you can also turn to traditional healers' recipes to effectively treat health problems through herbs and bee products.

Plant use:

  • Bay leaf in the form of decoctions, vodka tinctures and special oils, applied externally, directly to the site of inflammation;
  • Arthropathy with honey has become a reliable topical remedy for rubbing against inflammation and nourishing the skin, muscles and cartilage;
  • Cabbage leaves - better than cabbage - knead a little, wrap in the sore spot, cover with felt and keep warm overnight;
  • Aloe vera juice comes in the form of compressing and rubbing the skin;

Using burdock for knee joint disease also helps: the leaves are bandaged to the painful area and insulated overnight.

Important to know! With phytotherapy, it is necessary to enhance the effect, forget bad habits and pay attention to proper nutrition.

Arthritis Drugs

Pharmacotherapy associated with classical treatment methods is divided into drugs according to the dosage form used:

  • External use, in the form of ointment for joints, scrubs, lotions;
  • injection;
  • Pills for joint disease;
  • capsule.

ointment

The pharmaceutical industry produces ointments based on natural, highly active ingredients:

  • Heparin ointment.

Medications containing 1% diclofenac are helpful: apply the gel to the skin.

injection

Injections have proven effective in therapy, not only intravenously and intramuscularly, but also directly into the affected area, for example with non-steroidal drugs.

Therefore, intra-articular injections are injected into damaged joint tissue:

  • Glucocorticoids, enhance the nutrition of cartilage tissue, relieve inflammation and increase elasticity;
  • analogues of chondroprotective agents and intra-articular fluid;
  • Hyaluronic acid acts as a lubricant and pain reliever.

Formulations in the form of tablets and capsules

A special group in drug therapy are the so-called articular chondroprotectants, which contain the structural elements of hyaline cartilage, thereby restoring it.

These medicines come in tablet and capsule forms and are intended to be taken by mouth through the gastrointestinal tract (oral).

In addition, patients were prescribed NSAIDs—anti-inflammatory drugs used for non-steroidal arthropathy that stop acute pain and ease exacerbations.

Painkillers are also available in the form of neocaine blockers.

In addition, multivitamins are prescribed for joint disease.

From natural preparations for topical action, medicinal bile is recommended, applied to the skin in compressed form.

joint exercise

Special Exercise and Rehabilitation Gymnastics (LFK) has proven itself to be very good, its complexes physically exercise the unhealthy parts of the body in a gentle, dosed manner.

Dr. Bubnovsky and Dr. Evdokimenko developed their own set of therapeutic exercises.

Important to know! Physical exercise can be very effective in helping to restore health, but only if you take them at the very beginning of the development of the disease!

joint massage

Very beneficial for therapeutic and medical massage, improving microcirculation and nutrition in deep tissues.

arthritis diet

In this case, it is important to adhere to proper and reasonable nutrition to slightly improve the patient's condition. It is recommended to avoid overeating and exclude animal fats and fried foods.

Important to know! In addition, in the quest for healthy cartilage, it is necessary to use physical therapy in the form of magnetic therapy, electrophoresis, paraffin and therapeutic mud packs.

which doctor treats arthritis

First, if you are complaining of bone and joint pain, you should see a therapist. It is he who, after summarizing the patient's medical history and questioning him in detail, will be referred to the necessary stenotic specialist.

Depending on the cause of the disease and its type, the following types of doctors can be:

  • Orthopedist;
  • Traumatologist;
  • surgeon;
  • Rheumatologist.