Gonarthrosis or, as it is sometimes incorrectly called, gonarthrosis (arthrosis of the knee joint) is a chronic disease that has a gradually progressive course, accompanied by degenerative changes in the cartilage tissue of the joint.
As the disease progresses, a person may completely lose the ability to move independently. Timely diagnosis and treatment of gonarthrosis makes it possible to stop the pathological process and save a person from pain.
Most often, this pathology is diagnosed in middle-aged and elderly people, but it can also occur in young people. Women are several times more likely than men to experience this disease. In this article, we will consider the clinical signs and tactics of gonarthrosis treatment.
The main clinical signs of gonarthrosis.
As we have already said, gonarthrosis has a gradually progressive course. Thus, in the initial stages of a sick person, practically nothing bothers, but over time, the symptoms intensify.
The main clinical sign is a slight pain in the knee that occurs during prolonged or intense physical exertion. The patient indicates a certain feeling of stiffness in the joint, the appearance of a "start" pain syndrome (which occurs at the beginning of the movement, passing after the person "disperses").
With this disease, there are no external changes in the knee. Sometimes people notice some swelling.
As the disease progresses, the pain becomes more intense. Pain syndrome appears even with little physical activity, it becomes more pronounced with prolonged load on the knee. During rest, the pain subsides and then returns again with resumption of movement.
In the future, the pain syndrome becomes constant, present both during exercise and at rest. Movements in the joint are limited, when the knee is bent, a rough crunch is heard. With pronounced pathological changes, the knee is deformed, which further limits movement.
How is knee osteoarthritis treated?
Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint consists of pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods, surgical intervention if necessary.
Patients with this disease are advised to avoid stress on the knee, try to unload it as much as possible with the help of various orthopedic devices, canes. The most important point is weight loss. In 2017, scientists from the University of Medicine published an article in which it was found that obesity increases the probability of developing gonarthrosis between 4 and 10 times and occurs in one in three patients.
Also, a sick person is prescribed special therapeutic exercises, physiotherapy procedures, for example, UHF therapy.
Regarding pharmacological treatment, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be recommended to reduce pain. With its ineffectiveness, intra-articular injections of glucocorticosteroids are performed. Likewise, the treatment plan is complemented with chondroprotectors, injections of hyaluronic acid.
Please note that any medication can only be used as prescribed by a doctor.
In the later stages of the disease, the main method of treatment is surgical intervention, which involves the replacement of joint surfaces with artificial implants.