Arthritis of the knee joint symptoms and treatment

Diseases of the joints are associated with age-related changes in the human body. In many cases this is the case, but diseases such as arthritis basically have no age-related changes, but inflammatory processes. Their nature can be different, from getting the infection into the joint fluid before the disruption of the immune system. Among all types of arthritis, according to statistics, 30% is arthritis of the knee joint.

• Symptoms and stages of the disease
• The first stage
• The second stage
• The third stage
• Causes
• Features of knee arthritis in children
• Treatment with folk remedies
• Potatoes in the treatment of arthritis
• Burdock
• Paraffin
• Traditional methods of treatment
• Medication
• Gymnastics
• About nutrition - diet

Symptoms and stages of the disease

If we talk about arthritis of the knee joint, then it should be noted that it has symptoms similar to many other diseases, which makes the diagnosis difficult. Symptoms of arthritis are similar to manifestations of such diseases as tumors of different dislocation and etymology, arthrosis.

Important!About arthritis of the fingers you can read in our article.

So, often patients take arthritis for arthrosis, which is fundamentally wrong. Osteoarthritis is the destruction of the cartilage of the joint, which can not be restored, and arthritis is an inflammatory process affecting the joint fluid, cartilage and bone. Arthritis affects not only the joint, but also affects the entire body as a whole. So a patient may have fever, fever.

Important!The treated arthritis will not have consequences.

If you try to identify the symptoms of the disease, they can be divided into three stages as they grow, which will depend on the type of disease.

Arthritis is characterized by rapid development of the disease.

The first stage

The first stage is very fleeting, takes up to 6 hours. At this time, there is only one sign - pain. The pain is usually very strong, it increases with walking, bending the knee, lifting the stairs almost in all cases of mechanical tension of ligaments and muscles. One of the distinguishing features of arthritis is that pain is stronger at the first steps, and then it passes (it is customary to say that a person broke up).

The second stage

The next stage is the height of the acute period. It is characterized by the following features:

1. Redness of the upper part of the knee, increase in its temperature, (knee red and hot). During this period, there may be fever, an increase in body temperature.
2. Appear swelling of the knee, it takes the form of a ball. The pain intensifies, becomes unbearable. It begins to harden the cartilaginous tissue of the knee joint
3. Further, the pathological growth of the bone is characteristic: the joint is visually noticeable.
4. If there is an infection in the joint fluid, there will be excess content (it is called effusion), which can be purulent. In the knee joint abscesses are formed, the capsule thickens. This will provoke very severe pain, sometimes not allowing the patient to bend his knee, walk.

The third stage

This stage is characterized by the transition of the disease into a chronic form, as evidenced by some remission of pain. Now there will be alternations of remissions and relapses. The process of destruction will continue.

1. The thinning of the cartilaginous tissue will continue, it collapses, and bone growths will take its place. Cones, convexes are more visually perceptible.
2. Bones appear in the bones, which fill with liquid.
3. The tissues, having lost elasticity and the ability to recover, are scarred, the consequence of this is a shortening, or lengthening of the leg.
4. Restoration of full leg mobility, motor abilities is lost, a person becomes disabled.
5. There is pain, which arises with a change in the weather.

Causes

Considering the causes of arthritis of the knee joint, you should pay attention to the fact that there are a lot of them. The main condition for the occurrence of this disease is the infection (viruses, bacteria or fungi) getting into the structure of the knee joint. It can be infection of fluid, cartilage or bone.

There are primary arthritis and secondary.

1. Primary arthritis occurs as an independent disease, unrelated to others. The cause of its occurrence is the infection directly into the cavity of the knee joint.
2. Secondary arthritis of the knee joint may be a concomitant disease or a consequence of others. The basis is the penetration of infection from other, already existing in the body foci or a decrease in immunity due to existing risk factors.

Among the causes of secondary arthritis is:

Infectious diseases, which are the main risk group, among them:

• tooth decay;
• venereal diseases;
• a variety of chronic focal infections, furunculosis;
• angina and chronic tonsillitis;
• chronic inflammation in the middle ear;
• scarlet fever;
• endocarditis of infectious etymology (this is an infection of the inner cardiac membrane);
• infectious pneumonia.

Diseases associated with a malfunction of the immune system:

• immunodeficiency states, diabetes mellitus;
• protein deficiency, anemia.

Problems of a social nature:

• overweight, smoking;
• drug use, alcoholism.

Other reasons, among which are:

• joint prostheses;
• extreme sports;
• weak muscular skeleton of the knee;
• congenital pathology;
• allergies.

Features of knee arthritis in children

Arthritis can occur in children of all ages.

Important!It appears mostly symmetrically: redness and swelling appear on both knee joints. Pain occurs when you move. Body temperature rises to 38 - 390 С.

The most difficult in diagnosis is arthritis in infants. Here, children often can not walk, therefore, the disease can be detected only by reducing the motor activity of children, crying with movement, and a decrease in appetite. In difficult cases, signs of "false paralysis" appear, when the baby stops moving due to pain.

In children of preschool age, the manifestation of arthritis is associated with a decrease in motor activity, loss of appetite, against swelling of the knee joint and an increase in body temperature.

Important!In younger schoolchildren and adolescents, the manifestation of the disease is similar to that in adults.

There are acute forms:

• rheumatic - provoked by streptococci after the transferred rheumatism (inflammation of the joints);
• reactive - caused by intestinal infections, or urinary tract infections. It is characterized by manifestation 15 to 30 days after the main infection;
• Septic (infectious) arthritis - occurs due to infection directly into the knee joint. This is the most dangerous form that can cause the death of a child.

Important!Acute forms require an urgent call to a doctor, a survey and immediate treatment. They respond well to treatment, with a correct and timely diagnosis made without a trace. You can read about how to cure rheumatoid arthritis here.

More complex are juvenile chronic inflammation of the joints, which have a prolonged course, and can not be cured completely.

These include:

• juvenile rheumatoid arthritis;
• juvenile ankylosing spondylitis;
• juvenile psoriatic arthritis (knee joints are extremely rare).

The causes of the appearance of severe types of the disease are unknown, some researchers of the DNA of children claim that their appearance is caused by the presence of a special complex of genes that cause them.

Treatment with folk remedies

Arthritis is a disease known from ancient times. In the people it is rightly attributed to joint diseases, treated in many ways similar to the treatment of arthrosis and rheumatism.

Attention!Folk methods can be a good addition in the treatment of exacerbation of the disease, help relieve pain, reduce swelling.

Potatoes in the treatment of arthritis

Potato is good because it is on hand all year round in fresh form. For treatment you need uncleaned tubers, which should be green. To do this, you can simply leave them for a few days in the room. Then the greenish tubers need to be washed well, rubbed on a small grater and a compress. It is better to carry out the procedure in the evening.

For the compress: rub the rubbed mass in warm water and heat to 380, put it in a layer of up to 2 cm on a clean cloth and make a knee compress on the affected knee. After 25 - 30 minutes, it will feel warm, if the compress does not start to heat, it is put incorrectly.

Potatoes relieve pain and reduce inflammation. The compress is applied until the pain disappears.

Burdock

A burdock or burdock is a two-year-old plant. Plants of the first year of life are juicy and bright, and in the second year the leaves are wrinkled, the stems are hollow. For treatment, it is better to collect the roots of the first year. The leaves are also better succulent, but here the burdock (inflorescence) will only be on the plants of the second year of life.

Harvesting of roots is carried out in August - September. The roots are excavated, washed and dried in the shade. They grind and use powder for ingestion, make lotions.

Recipe 1. Powder of roots take 1 tbsp. l. drinking 1 tbsp. cold water, for 30 minutes. before meals in the morning and evening.

Recipe 2. For compresses, use 1 tbsp. l. powder of roots, infused into 1 liter of hot water. Compress should warm well.

Recipe 3. Give juice from the roots of burdock (you can buy the extract in the pharmacy) and mix it with vegetable oil: 2 parts of juice and 1 part of butter. Get an ointment, which you need to lubricate the affected joint.

Paraffin

Arthritis, unless there is a purulent infiltrate, it is good to treat with heat. This is the basis for the treatment with paraffin, which relieves pain and promotes the flow of blood to the diseased knee. Heat calms the muscles and allows you to increase the amplitude of movements. At the same time, low melting point is inherent in paraffin, which allows it to be used for applications and at the same time it does not stick to the skin.

Recipe 1

For treatment, it is necessary to melt the paraffin to a temperature no higher than 510C (so as not to burn) then it is good to drop the knee 5-6 times in the paraffin tank for 1-2 minutes. After the knee carefully wrap with a cloth and cellophane, hold to a full cooling.

Recipe 2

Apply hot paraffin on dense cotton fabric, so that a layer of 1.5-2 cm is obtained. Then slightly cool it to a temperature not higher than 510С and wrap the diseased knee, top it with cellophane, then with a towel, leave until it cools down completely.

Traditional methods of treatment

Treatment of arthritis medically depends largely on the reasons they are caused. For their detection, a number of analyzes (general clinical, biochemical), an x-ray and possibly an MRI, other specific examinations will be prescribed.

Attention!You can find out in our article which doctor prescribes treatment for arthritis.

When secondary arthritis occurs, they are treated in combination with the underlying disease. There are a number of general prescriptions regardless of the type and type of arthritis.

Attention!Learn about the symptoms and treatment of foot arthritis in our article.

The traditional methods of treatment of acute and chronic forms include:

• drug treatment;
• ointments;
• Exercise therapy;
• gymnastics.

Medication

In acute forms of arthritis, treatment with anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs will be prescribed, which will be administered intramuscularly (injections), orally (tablets). Usually, one of the following drugs is prescribed: ibuprofen, indomethacin, diclofenac, meloxicam or their analogues.

1. In case of neglected cases, complex injections of steroid preparations into the joint are prescribed: hydrocortisone, trasylol, diprospan. What will help more quickly remove the inflammatory process.
2. When suppuration is used antibiotics, most often this is lincomycin.
3. As ointments on the patient joint use: painkillers finalgon, histalgon, apizartron.

Important!One of the components of the treatment are chondoprotectors: chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine. They help improve the nutrition of cartilage and joints, slow down the destruction of joints.

Gymnastics

Arthritis significantly restrict the mobility of the joints, which is indicated by strong pain sensations.

At exacerbations the patient's joint needs complete rest. After relieving the exacerbation it is necessary to perform exercise therapy that will allow to maintain muscle tone, and will not allow them to atrophy.

And in the future, therapeutic gymnastics is recommended. This allows to restore the mobility of the knee.

Attention!The main requirement of such exercises - there should be no load on the joint. The purpose of the training is to train the muscular corset. For this, all exercises are conducted sitting or lying.

Exercise 1. Sit on a chair, hold the pendulum motion with your foot. Slowly raise it to the level of a parallel floor line, but do not rush. Do up to 10 times in turn for each knee.

Exercise 2. Lie on your back, lift your legs and bend them in your lap, do the "bike" movements (as if you are pedaling). Do the exercise up to 10 times and slowly.

Exercise 3. In the position of lying on the back, raise the legs alternately bent at the knees and try to squeeze them to the stomach. The loin is pressed to the floor. You need to do 7-8 times for each leg.

Exercise 4. Turning over on the stomach, raise the legs alternately to the buttocks, bending at the knees. Keep the heels exactly, pull them to the buttocks. The exercise is done 5-7 times.

Important!If acute pain occurs, exercise should be discontinued, consult a doctor.

About nutrition - diet

Acute forms of arthritis require gentle nutrition, which eliminates the consumption of spicy foods, smoked foods, alcohol, it is necessary to limit the consumption of fried foods, fatty meats, and to exclude eggplants, tomatoes and bell peppers. Patients with gout can not eat: sorrel, mushrooms, all kinds of broths.

The basis of nutrition of patients on arthritis should be:

1. Bread, of all kinds.
2. Groats: buckwheat, oatmeal, millet.
3. Dairy products: cottage cheese, kefir, yoghurts.
4. Low-fat meat, poultry, fish, low-fat varieties.

For patients, an abundant drink is desirable, at least 2.5 liters per day. Useful broth of dogrose, fresh juices, alkaline mineral water, tea with lemon and sugar-free.

All these recommendations should also be correlated with other diseases in secondary arthritis.

Important!Treatment of arthritis is long, but most often successful. With the recommendations of the doctor and the desire to recover.