Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint at home

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a disorder of the hyaline cartilage surrounding 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 nearby.

If you have osteoarthritis of the knee joint, you can treat it at home, but before doing so, you should familiarize yourself with the basic principles.First of all, it is important 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, defarthrosis.These are all different names for the same disease.

What is knee osteoarthritis?

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

Symptoms

The main question of interest for people with signs of arthrosis is the symptoms and treatment of the disease at home.Before contacting a doctor, do not ignore the signals that your body gives.The following symptoms indicate that you have gonarthrosis:

• pain that occurs during running, vigorous walking or climbing stairs;
• swelling, which is expressed by slight swelling of the knee cap;
• fluid accumulation in the joint, leading to an increase in its volume (the joint swells and becomes like a ball);
• a feeling of stiffness or tightness in the knees;
• pain that occurs when rising from a sitting position and the first steps taken after rising from the seat;
• heaviness in the knees;
• limited mobility;
• sharp pains with every effort to bend the leg.

The severity of symptoms depends on the degree of gonarthrosis.In the early stages, the pain appears rarely and disappears when the patient walks a certain distance.In the later stages, the signs of the disease appear continuously and do not subside 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 a consequence of injuries, pathologies and developmental disorders.This type of gonarthrosis can appear at any age.

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

1. Manifestations of gonarthrosis in the first stage are mild.Dull pain occurs irregularly.Most often this happens in cases where the joint is subjected to a prolonged and heavy load.There is no deformation of the joint in the first stage of the disease, only slight swelling is possible.
2. In the second stage, the symptoms of gonarthrosis appear at regular intervals.The nature of the pain changes: the discomfort becomes acute, intense and prolonged.Additional signs: the appearance of a crackle, stiffness and slight deformity of the joint.
3. The third stage of gonarthrosis: clinical manifestations intensify to the maximum.Pain becomes constant, walking is impaired, swelling increases and the temperature in the joint area increases.

In severe cases, fragments of broken osteophytes appear - growths on the surface of bone tissue.This leads to joint blockage, which is manifested by acute pain.Therefore, the patient cannot move independently.

Most often, patients wonder how to treat grade 2 arthrosis. At this stage, most patients consult a doctor.However, you should not delay visiting a medical institution.The sooner you start the treatment of gonarthrosis, the greater the chances that the treatment will give good results.

Causes of disease development

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

1. Injuries: meniscus damage, tibia fracture, ligament damage.The pathology develops 3-5 years after the injury, but in some cases it occurs much earlier - after 3-4 months.
2. Increased load on joints.Gonarthrosis often affects professional athletes and people engaged in heavy physical work.The risk group includes people who started playing sports after the age of 40.They do not take into account age-related changes, which is why they put an abnormal load on the joints.
3. Excess body weight.Excess weight causes increased axial load on joints.The latter leads to microtrauma, meniscus damage and ligament rupture.The greater the patient's weight, the higher the risk of developing the disease.
4. Diseases of the past.Pathologies that can lead to 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 ligamentous apparatus, which is determined genetically.

Doctors identify several other reasons: metabolic disorders, congenital abnormalities, capillary fragility, blood circulation pathologies, hormonal and endocrine system disorders, old injuries that have not been treated.

Preventing

Prevention of arthrosis of the knee joints includes a number of the following measures:

• maintaining optimal body weight through proper nutrition and dosed physical activity;
• drinking 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day;
• be careful when playing sports;
• See a doctor immediately if you feel discomfort in the knee area.

Experts recommend creating a diet taking into account the individual needs of bone and cartilage tissue.It is strictly forbidden to follow diets that are 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 approach the treatment comprehensively.Therapy includes taking medications, following a diet and physiotherapeutic procedures.Performing a massage for arthrosis is an equally important point that should be entrusted to medical specialists.Self-medication can lead to worsening of the disease.

Drug treatment

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

Medicines for arthrosis

To eliminate the inflammation and associated discomfort, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are prescribed.This is a group of drugs that have a complex effect: relieve pain, calm inflammation and reduce temperature.When gonarthrosis is treated, they are prescribed intravenously or intramuscularly.

Another group of sedatives is COX-2 NSAIDs.This category of drugs has a similar therapeutic effect, but the side effects of these drugs are milder.Medicines of 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 cure gonarthrosis, you should take chondroprotectors, hyaluronic acid, ointments and other medicines prescribed by a specialist.

Chondroprotectors

Chondroprotectors are a group of drugs intended for the restoration of cartilage tissue and the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis.Preparations of this group are made from animal or plant raw materials, hyaluronic acid, collagen and chondroitin sulfate.Medicines of the last generation are a combination of the listed substances.They are also supplemented with unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins.

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

ointment

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

• heat the affected area;
• soothe inflammation;
• activate local blood circulation and divert attention from pain.

Hyaluronic acid

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

It forms a film on the surface of the damaged tissue that performs a protective function.This helps prevent further destruction of the cartilage tissue and improves the gliding of the surfaces that come into contact with each other during movement.

Compresses with drugs

To improve effectiveness, ointments and solutions can be used in the form of compresses.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 cotton fabric is placed on it.You can keep this compress for no more than an hour.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine combined with traditional medicine gives excellent results.

Rubbing and bathing

The rub is a mixture of medicated solutions that are rubbed into the skin in the affected area.The goal is to improve blood flow, helping to warm the injured area and relieve the patient of pain.It is recommended to use this method in combination with a sauna or hot bath.First you need to warm the body with hot water or a steam room in a bath, and then apply a mixture of medicinal solutions to the injured area.

Infusions and decoctions

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

compress

You can make your own compresses based on natural ingredients.They are performed in the same way as wrapping with ointments and solutions.As a base you can use natural honey, clay, camphor oil and 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 worsening gonarthrosis.You can perform exercises only during periods when there is practically no pain and mobility is not limited.

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 on a chair, bend your knees at a right angle.To make it more comfortable, place a bench or small chair under your feet.
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 gentle circular strokes with the pads of the fingers is 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, elevated temperature, fever.

Thermal treatments

This is an effective treatment method used in conjunction with other methods.The procedure is performed after the acute phase of gonarthrosis has subsided.This treatment option aims to expand blood vessels, activate metabolic processes, accelerate regeneration and increase joint mobility.Pain relief is another bonus that thermal procedures offer.

Magnetic therapy device

There is a device that emits a magnetic field that comes into contact with charged particles in the body and accelerates metabolic processes.Thanks to this, the restoration of cartilage tissue is stimulated, the production of natural lubrication 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 eliminate harmful foods from his diet.Below are two charts that will help you lose weight and eat healthy foods for your joints.

Useful and prohibited foods

During the treatment of 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 eggs.	tomatoes; refined oils; mayonnaise; fast food; alcohol; coffee; flour and sweet products; fruits with high acid content; sausages; sausages; fatty meat; bell pepper; white cabbage.

You should eat often and in small portions (up to 300 g).The last meal should be no later than 2-3 hours before going to bed.

Sample diet

Sample menu:

BREAKFAST	lunches	Afternoon snack	Dinner	Late dinner
buckwheat porridge with mushrooms - 150 g; piece of rye bread - 20 g.	Jellied meat cooked on pig's feet - 250 g.	a glass of kefir - 250 ml.	mashed potatoes - 100 g; Baked pollock - 80 g.	chicken breast - 80 g.

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