Osteoarthrosis (Остеоартит)
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Description:
Osteoarthrosis - the most common form of arthritis. It develops slowly and usually does not cause serious loss of working capacity, especially with the corresponding guide to maintaining a disease. Nearly a half of people is more senior than 60 years and actually all is more senior than 80 years are ill an osteoarthritis, but cases at young people are fixed now, 21 years are younger.
The osteoarthrosis results from mechanical destruction of normal structures of a joint, change of the capsule and injury of a cartilage. The osteoarthritis most often affects large joints knee, femoral and a backbone. Process also often affects joints of hands.
Osteoarthrosis symptoms (Osteoarthrosis):
The osteoarthrosis often proceeds with a small amount of symptoms or asymptomatically, even when x-ray films can show change of a joint. You can have periods with instability and serious joint pain which are replaced by the long periods of stability.
Most of elderly people tests some attacks of a joint pain which soon pass or weaken after the rest and heat enclosed on a joint. Sometimes, however, symptoms are more expressed and can include any of the following:
Pain and constraint. The first symptom forcing will see a doctor, joint pain is. Patients speak more often, that it "aching", and indistinctly localized. Intensity of pain can be various depending on a disease stage - from sharply expressed, limiting mobility of a joint, to moderated, arising only at certain movements. Joint pain has tendency to strengthening at loadings and to reduction after rest. In process of progressing of an osteoarthrosis, pain begins to arise at the minimum activity, and in far come cases it can even awake the patient in the middle of the night.
Constraint or "starting" pains usually arise after a dormant period, especially in the mornings, and after the period of small activity when it is difficult to begin the movement, and soon pass against the background of a physical activity. Constraint of joints at osteoarthrites is short-term, usually it does not happen longer than 15 minutes.
Increase in a joint in volume (swelling).
It occurs when the irritation of a synovial membrane causes outpouring of additional lubricant liquid in a joint the same as your eye develops tears on any irritation. But in a joint, additional lubricant liquid cannot stream so easily, and thus it causes a joint swelling. It most often occurs in large joints: in coxofemoral, knee and joints of a backbone.
Bone outgrowths. Quite usual complication of an osteoarthritis is emergence of the bone outgrowths (called nodes) in brush joints. They occur usually at women and sometimes arise at the age of 40 years.
Though these nodes can make brush joints painful, most of people continue to use the hands without restriction. Pain can be reduced by the corresponding treatment at early stages. Some people do not feel pain with these nodes, and many people with this type of an osteoarthrosis never have serious problems with other joints.
Osteoarthrosis reasons (Osteoarthrosis):
For many years thought that the osteoarthritis was result of natural wear of a joint throughout human life. But researchers recognize now that there is a number of the factors leading to its development:
- the age - a cartilage becomes with age less elastic and loses the resilience to loading;
- obesity - excess weight during a long span accelerates process;
- injury (traumatization) of a joint - the severe single-step injuries which are followed by a bruise, a fracture, dislocation, damage of the copular device of a joint, or the repeating joint microtraumas can promote development of arthritis. Workers of a number of professions and professional athletes are exposed to microtraumas. Development of arthritis of a knee joint in miners, football players can be an example; arthritis of elbow and shoulder joints at working with a jackhammer;
- family (hereditary) predisposition to an osteoarthrosis - some forms of an osteoarthritis are really inherited in families, but heredity not the main reason of development of an osteoarthritis.
The exact reasons and mechanisms leading to an osteoarthrosis are still unknown.
Treatment of the Osteoarthrosis (Osteoarthrosis):
Treatment cannot influence completely changes which already took place in joints, however treatment can slow down a course of a disease and control symptoms. As a rule, at the first address to the doctor these changes are insignificant, and, observing a certain motive mode, recommendations about rehabilitation, it is possible to prevent further progressing of arthritis. Neglect and delay - the worst enemies in fight against an osteoarthrosis.
The doctor will probably advise treatment which considers a stage of a disease and what joints are injured, expressiveness of symptoms, the accompanying chronic diseases, age, a profession and everyday activity.
Treatment includes:
- a certain rhythm of a physical activity that the periods of loading alternated with dormant periods during which the joint has to be unloaded;
- special physical exercises which allow to create a good muscular corset around a joint, to keep normal mobility and sufficient blood circulation in an extremity, strengthen a cartilage;
- weight reduction;
- physical therapy;
- control of pain or use of antiinflammatory drugs, or injections in a joint of steroids to reduce an inflammation or production of lubricant substance. Are appointed in the period of an exacerbation of a disease and are directed to removal of an inflammation in a joint or the fabrics surrounding a joint. It is not necessary to try to remove an aggravation independently. Experience shows that the best and more bystry results can achieve at the early address to the doctor, it is desirable to the specialist (to the rheumatologist or an artrolog). Antiinflammatory drugs have a huge number of undesirable side effects therefore the doctor will quicker pick up the most suitable.
- at the expressed long pain syndrome which is not passing at reception of traditional means and also at considerable dysfunctions of a joint surgery of coxofemoral or knee joints can bring real improvement and you should not be afraid of it.
