Osteoarthritis of the knee joint.(gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis of the knee joint, deforming osteoarthritis of the knee joint) is a degenerative disease of the knee joint, characterized by the destruction of the cartilage of the articular surfaces, deformation of the joint and impairment of its function.
It is believed that the initial changes in osteoarthritis of the knee joint form in the cartilage tissue at the molecular level.Over time, these changes cause an alteration of the physicochemical properties of the cartilage.When examining cartilage preparations, it can be revealed that in some places it begins to become cloudy, thinned, peeling and cracked in different directions.
Ultimately, the pathological process ends with the complete disappearance of cartilage to a greater or lesser extent, leading to exposure of the underlying bone.Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is more common in people over 50 years of age.
More often women suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee joint.Osteoarthritis of the knee joint can be unilateral or bilateral.The most common forms of osteoarthritis are medial.
Causes of the development of osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
Science does not know the exact cause of osteoarthritis, but there are a series of factors that usually contribute to the appearance of this disease:
- Previous injuries to the knee joint increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis;
- Heredity: in some cases, in patients with osteoarthritis, a defect is detected in the gene responsible for the development of cartilage tissue, which leads to the fact that these people have a greater predisposition to the development of osteoarthritis, due to the low resistance of cartilage tissue to damage;
- Increased body weight - according to observations, osteoarthritis of the large joints of the lower extremities (knee, hip osteoarthritis) develops more often in patients with increased body weight and occurs due to excessive load on these joints.This can also lead to more rapid disease progression;
- Excessive load on the joint;
- Intra-articular crystal deposits: occur in some diseases associated with metabolic disorders, in particular uric acid, etc., which can lead to cartilage destruction.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
The symptoms of knee osteoarthritis are known to develop slowly over several years.
The most characteristic symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee joint are:
- Deep pain in the knee joint, which appears especially when moving and walking;
- Swelling of the knee joint;
- Morning stiffness in the morning, which disappears after some time of movement, patients notice that they need to "disperse", after which relief comes and movements in the knee joint improve;
- Crackling sounds (crepitations) in the joint during movement.
Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
Currently, it is not possible to completely cure osteoarthritis of the knee joint.However, by starting treatment in the early stages of the disease, it is possible to stop the progression of the destruction of articular cartilage tissue for a long time.
The treatment center offers modern treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee joint based on an integrated multilateral approach and includes:
- Wear knee pads to relieve the medial parts of the joint;
- Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which allow you to stop inflammation in the joint and reduce pain;
- Reducing excess body weight reliably leads to a slowdown in the progression of osteoarthritis;
- Therapeutic exercise, which eliminates axial loads on the joint, allows you to restore muscle tone, prevent muscle atrophy and restore the range of motion in the joint;
- Taking small doses of muscle relaxants causes a decrease in spasm of the periarticular muscles, which also significantly reduces pain;
- Physiotherapeutic treatment courses;
- Injection of hyaluronic acid preparations into the joint, which is a synovial fluid prosthesis;
- Taking medications from the group of chondroprotectors;
- Taking medications that improve blood rheology and blood supply to bones;
- In some cases, arthroscopy of the knee joint;
- Knee replacement: knee replacement when conservative treatment is ineffective.
Surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee joint is performed free of charge as part of the VMP.
If there are medical indications and there are referral fees, our center carries out operations with funds allocated within the framework of the program for the provision of high-tech medical care (HTMC).
Learn more about the high-tech healthcare program.
Treatment of knee osteoarthritis using the PRP method.
Along with the above-mentioned classical methods of conservative treatment of deforming osteoarthritis of the knee joint, our clinic has a unique opportunity to receive treatment using a unique technique based on the introduction into the affected joint of a biologically active substance isolated from the patient's own blood - enriched autologous platelet plasma (PRP therapy), which makes it possible to influence the key link in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis - the regeneration and restoration of cartilage tissue.
As a result of treatment with enriched autologous platelet plasma, the patient does not use "chemical" pharmaceuticals, does not require daily visits to the physiotherapist, etc.Therefore, the drugs have no effect on the body as a whole and the load on such important organs as the liver and kidneys is reduced.