Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint at home

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a disorder of the hyaline cartilage that surrounds the oval protrusions of the tibia and femur.This chronic disease develops slowly and constantly progresses, due to which the hyaline cartilage is gradually destroyed.In the later stages of the disease, the damage affects the joint and is transferred to a part of the bone located in the immediate vicinity.

If you have arthrosis of the knee joint, you can treat it at home, but before doing so, you should familiarize yourself with the basic principles.First of all, it is important to understand that therapy is a complex process.Treatment includes medication, diet, massage, exercise therapy and physical therapy.

Arthrosis of the knee joint is called gonarthrosis, osteoarthrosis, defarthrosis.These are all different names for the same disease.

What is knee arthrosis?

Gonarthrosis is a progressive disease of intra-articular cartilage in which the nutrition of the tissue surrounding the joint is impaired.Osteoarthritis mainly affects older people.Less commonly, professional athletes or people engaged in heavy physical labor are affected by this disease.

Symptoms

The main question of interest to people with signs of arthrosis is the symptoms and treatment of the disease at home.Before contacting a doctor, do not ignore the signals your body gives.The following symptoms indicate that you have gonarthrosis:

• pain that appears during running, intense walking or walking up stairs;
• swelling, which is expressed by slight swelling of the kneecap;
• accumulation of fluid in the joint, leading to an increase in its volume (the joint swells and becomes like a ball);
• a feeling of stiffness or tightness in the knees;
• pain that occurs during rising from a sitting position and the first steps taken after rising from a seat;
• heaviness in the knees;
• limited mobility;
• sharp pain with any attempt to bend the leg.

The severity of symptoms depends on the degree of gonarthrosis.In the early stages, pain appears rarely and disappears when the patient walks a certain distance.In later stages, signs of the disease appear constantly and do not subside even at night.

Degrees of arthrosis

Doctors distinguish 2 types of gonarthrosis: primary and secondary.Primary osteoarthritis occurs in elderly patients and is associated with age-related changes in their body.Secondary gonarthrosis is a consequence of injuries, pathologies and developmental disorders.This type of gonarthrosis can appear at any age.

There are 3 degrees (stages) of development of the disease:

1. Manifestations of gonarthrosis at the first stage are mild.Dull pain occurs irregularly.Most often this happens in cases where the joint is subjected to prolonged and heavy load.There is no deformation of the joint at the first stage of the disease, only slight swelling is possible.
2. At the second stage, symptoms of gonarthrosis appear at regular intervals.The nature of the pain changes: the discomfort becomes acute, intense and prolonged.Additional signs: the appearance of a crunch, stiffness and slight deformation of the joint.
3. The third stage of gonarthrosis: clinical manifestations intensify to the maximum.The pain becomes constant, gait is impaired, swelling increases, and the temperature in the joint area rises.

In severe cases, fragments of broken-off osteophytes—growths on the surface of bone tissue—appear.This leads to joint blockage, which is manifested by acute pain.Therefore, the patient cannot move independently.

Most often, patients wonder how to treat grade 2 arthrosis.At this stage, the vast majority of patients consult a doctor.However, you should not delay visiting a medical facility.The sooner you start treating gonarthrosis, the greater the chance that the treatment will give good results.

Reasons for the development of the disease

The occurrence of gonarthrosis is explained by a complex of factors.Doctors identify a number of causes of the disease:

1. Injuries: meniscus damage, tibia fractures, ligament damage.The pathology develops 3–5 years after the injury, but in some cases it occurs much earlier—after 3–4 months.
2. Increased load on the joint.Gonarthrosis often affects professional athletes and people engaged in heavy physical labor.The risk group includes people who started playing sports after 40 years of age.They do not take into account age-related changes, which is why they put an abnormal load on the joints.
3. Excess body weight.Excess weight causes increased axial load on joints.The latter leads to microtraumas, meniscal damage and ligament ruptures.The greater the patient's weight, the higher the risk of developing the disease.
4. Past diseases.Pathologies that can lead to gonarthrosis over time include psoriatic, rheumatoid or reactive arthritis, gout and ankylosing spondylitis.
5. Hereditary factor.The disease is caused by weakness of the ligamentous apparatus, which is genetically determined.

Doctors identify several more reasons: metabolic disorders, congenital anomalies, capillary fragility, circulatory pathologies, disorders of the hormonal and endocrine systems, old injuries that have not been treated.

Prevention

Prevention of arthrosis of the knee joints includes a set of the following measures:

• maintaining optimal body weight through proper nutrition and dosed physical activity;
• drinking 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day;
• exercise caution when playing sports;
• See a doctor immediately if you experience discomfort in the knee area.

Experts recommend creating a diet taking into account the individual needs of bone and cartilage tissue.It is strictly forbidden to follow diets that are based on the refusal of certain foods (for example, cereals).This can lead to metabolic disorders and subsequent pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.

How to treat arthrosis of the knee joint at home?

To get rid of gonarthrosis at home, you need to approach treatment comprehensively.Therapy includes taking medications, following a diet, and physiotherapeutic procedures.Carrying out a massage for arthrosis is an equally important point that should be entrusted to medical specialists.Self-medication can lead to worsening of the disease.

Drug treatment

Before treating knee osteoarthritis, you should understand how to relieve knee pain.Taking medications is the main part of treatment, aimed at eliminating pain and restoring cartilage tissue.

Drugs for arthrosis

To eliminate inflammation and associated discomfort, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are prescribed.This is a group of drugs that have a complex effect: relieve pain, soothe inflammation and reduce temperature.When treating gonarthrosis, they are prescribed intravenously or intramuscularly.

Another group of painkillers is COX-2 NSAIDs.This category of drugs has a similar therapeutic effect, but the side effects of these drugs are more gentle.Medicines in this group can be used to relieve pain for several months.

Painkillers help relieve pain, but do not affect the cause of the disease.To cure gonarthrosis, you need to take chondroprotectors, hyaluronic acid, ointments and other drugs prescribed by a specialist.

Chondroprotectors

Chondroprotectors are a group of drugs intended for the restoration of cartilage tissue and the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis.Preparations in this group are made from animal or plant raw materials, hyaluronic acid, collagen and chondroitin sulfate.The latest generation of drugs are a combination of the listed substances.They are also supplemented with polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins.

Chondroprotectors are available in the form of gels, ointments, tablets and injection solutions.

Ointments

Ointments, creams and gels are products suitable for rubbing.They have a number of effects:

• warm up the affected area;
• calm inflammation;
• activate local blood circulation and distract from pain.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid is a substance that is part of epithelial, nervous and connective tissues.Preparations based on this component act on the joint in the same way as natural joint lubrication, which is why they were given a second name - “liquid prostheses”.

It forms a film on the surface of damaged tissue that performs a protective function.This helps prevent further destruction of cartilage tissue and improve the gliding of surfaces that come into contact with each other during movement.

Compresses with drugs

To improve the effectiveness, ointments and solutions can be used in the form of compresses.Ointments, creams or gels are applied to the affected area using a napkin and secured with a bandage.A plastic film is placed on top, and cotton fabric is placed on it.You can keep this compress for no more than an hour.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine combined with traditional medicine gives excellent results.

Rubs and baths

Rubbing is a mixture of medicinal solutions that is rubbed into the skin in the affected area.The purpose is to improve blood flow, helping to warm up the sore spot and distract the patient from pain.It is recommended to use this method in combination with a sauna or hot bath.First you need to warm up the body with hot water or a steam room in a bathhouse, and then apply a mixture of medicinal solutions to the sore area.

Infusions and decoctions

Infusions and decoctions will help relieve pain and improve the patient’s condition in the initial stages of gonarthrosis.To relieve symptoms, the following folk remedies are used: black bean herb tea, infusion of lemon, garlic and nettle, and decoction of beef hooves.

Compresses

You can make compresses based on natural ingredients yourself.They are performed in the same way as wrapping with ointments and solutions.You can use natural honey, clay, camphor oil, and young dandelion leaves as a basis.This compress can be left overnight.

Exercise therapy and procedures

Therapeutic gymnastics

Doing exercises for knee arthrosis at home is one of the most effective ways to self-treat this disease.Physiotherapy exercises are not prescribed to patients with exacerbations of gonarthrosis.You can perform exercises only during periods when there is practically no pain and mobility is not limited.

Therapeutic massage

For gonarthrosis, experts allow self-massage of the knee joint.In order for the massage technique to give the expected result, it is important to do it correctly.The knee joint massage technique is as follows:

1. Sit on a chair, bend your knees at a right angle.To make it more comfortable, place a bench or small chair under your feet.
2. During the process, one hand should be behind the knee and the other in front.
3. There are several ways to massage the knee: rubbing with the edge of the palm, a hand bent into a fist, or soft circular stroking with the pads of the fingers are allowed.

Experts recommend massage of the knee for arthrosis at home up to 5 times a day.The total duration of the procedure is up to 15 minutes.Contraindications to massage: acute stage of the disease, bleeding, vascular thrombosis, elevated temperature, fever.

Thermal treatments

This is an effective treatment method that is used in conjunction with other methods.The procedure is performed after the acute stage of gonarthrosis has subsided.This treatment option is aimed at dilating blood vessels, activating metabolic processes, accelerating regeneration and increasing joint mobility.Elimination of pain is another bonus that thermal procedures provide.

Magnetic therapy device

There is a device that emits a magnetic field that comes into contact with charged particles in the body and accelerates metabolic processes.Thanks to this, the restoration of cartilage tissue is stimulated, the production of natural lubrication is increased, and metabolic processes are improved.

The device is often used in medical institutions and sanatoriums.Therapy with the device can also be carried out at home.The kit includes detailed operating instructions.

Nutrition

A patient with gonarthrosis needs to lose excess weight and also eliminate harmful foods from his diet.Below are two tables that will help you lose weight and eat foods that are healthy for your joints.

Useful and prohibited foods

When treating arthrosis, doctors recommend maintaining a normal weight and adhering to the following diet:

Healthy Products	Prohibited Products
lean meat; mineral water without gas; nuts; cereals; poultry and fish; fermented milk products; jellied meat made from bone broth; chicken eggs.	tomatoes; refined oils; mayonnaise; fast food; alcohol; coffee; flour and sweet products; fruits with high acid content; sausages; sausages; fatty meat; bell pepper; white cabbage.

You need to eat often and in small portions (up to 300 g).The last meal should be no later than 2-3 hours before going to bed.

Diet example

Sample menu:

Breakfast	Dinner	Afternoon snack	Dinner	Late dinner
buckwheat porridge with mushrooms – 150 g; piece of rye bread – 20 g.	jellied meat cooked on pork legs – 250 g.	a glass of kefir – 250 ml.	mashed potatoes – 100 g; baked pollock – 80 g.	chicken breast – 80 g.

You can add any permitted products to the menu.The main rule is not to overload the body with heavy food and eat on a schedule.