Knee arthrosis(gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis of the knee joint, deforming arthrosis of the knee joint) is a degenerative disease of the knee joint, characterized by the destruction of the cartilage of the articular surfaces, joint deformation and impairment of its function.
It is believed that the initial changes in arthrosis of the knee are formed in the cartilage tissue at the molecular level. Over time, these changes lead to a violation of the physicochemical properties of the cartilage. When examining cartilage preparations, it can be revealed that in places it begins to grow cloudy, thinner, exfoliate and crack in various directions.
In the end, the pathological process ends with the complete disappearance of the cartilage at a lesser or greater extent, which leads to the exposure of the underlying bone. Knee arthrosis is most common in people over 50.
More often women suffer from arthrosis of the knee joint. Arthrosis of the knee joint can be unilateral and bilateral. The most common forms of arthrosis are medial.
Reasons for the development of arthrosis of the knee joint
The exact cause of arthrosis is unknown to science, but there are a number of factors that usually contribute to the onset of this disease:
- Previous injuries of the knee joint - increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis;
- Heredity - in some cases, in patients with arthrosis, a defect in the gene responsible for the development of cartilage tissue is detected, which leads to the fact that these people have an increased predisposition to the development of arthrosis, due to the low resistance of the cartilage tissue to damage;
- Increased body weight - according to observations, most often arthrosis of large joints of the lower extremities (knee, arthrosis of the hip joint) develops in patients with increased body weight and occurs as a result of excessive load on these joints. It can also lead to a more rapid progression of the disease;
- Excessive stress on the joint;
- Intra-articular deposition of crystals - occurs in some diseases associated with metabolic disorders, in particular uric acid, etc. which can lead to the destruction of cartilage.
Knee arthrosis symptoms
The symptoms of knee arthrosis are known to develop slowly over a number of years.
The most common symptoms of knee arthrosis are:
- Pain in the depths of the knee joint, which appears especially when moving and walking;
- Knee swelling;
- Morning stiffness in the morning, passing after a while during movements, patients note that they need to "disperse", after which relief comes and the movements in the knee joint improve;
- Crunch (crepitus) in the joint during movement.
Knee arthrosis treatment
Currently, it is not possible to completely cure arthrosis of the knee joint. However, by starting treatment in the early stages of the disease, it is possible to stop the progression of destruction of the cartilage tissue of the joint for a long time.
The treatment center provides modern treatment for arthrosis of the knee joint based on a comprehensive multilateral approach and includes:
- The use of knee braces to relieve the medial parts of the joint;
- Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which allows you to stop inflammation in the joint and reduce pain;
- Decrease in increased body weight - reliably leads to a slowdown in the progression of arthrosis;
- Physiotherapy exercises, excluding axial loads on the joint, allows you to restore muscle tone, prevent their wasting and restore the range of motion in the joint;
- Reception of small doses of muscle relaxants - leads to a decrease in spasm of the periarticular muscles, which also significantly reduces pain syndrome;
- Physiotherapy courses;
- Introduction of hyaluronic acid preparations into the joint - which is a synovial fluid prosthesis;
- Taking drugs of the chondroprotective group;
- Taking medications that improve blood rheology and blood supply to bones;
- In some cases, knee arthroscopy;
- Knee replacement - knee arthroplasty in case of ineffectiveness of conservative treatment.
The operation for arthrosis of the knee joint is carried out free of charge within the framework of the VMP.
In case of medical indications and the presence of quotas for the referral, our center performs operations at the expense of funds allocated under the program for the provision of high-tech medical care (HMP).
Details about the high-tech medical care program.
Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint with the PRP method
Along with the classical above-mentioned methods of conservative treatment of deforming arthrosis 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 allows you to influence the key link in the pathogenesis of arthrosis - regeneration - restoration of cartilage tissue.
As a result of treatment with the use of enriched autologous platelet plasma, the patient does not use "chemical" pharmaceuticals, does not require a daily visit to a physiotherapist, etc. Thus, there is no effect of drugs on the body as a whole, the load on such important organs as the liver and kidneys is reduced.