Gonarthrosis, or, as it is sometimes incorrectly called, gonoarthrosis (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 lose the ability to move freely. 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 suffer from this disease. In this article, we will consider the clinical signs and tactics of treating gonarthrosis.
The main clinical signs of gonarthrosis
As we have said, gonarthrosis has a gradually progressive course. Therefore, in the initial stages of the sick person, practically nothing bothers, but over time, the symptoms increase.
The main clinical sign is a slight pain in the knee that occurs during prolonged or heavy physical exercise. The patient shows some feeling of stiffness in the joints, the appearance of "onset" pain syndrome (occurs at the beginning of movement, after the person "disperses").
With this disease, there are no external changes in the knee. Sometimes people see some swelling.
As the disease progresses, the pain becomes more intense. Pain syndrome appears even with little physical activity, becoming more pronounced with prolonged load on the knee. During rest, the pain decreases, and then returns again with the continuation of movement.
In the future, the pain syndrome becomes constant, present during exercise and at rest. Movement in the joint is limited, when the knee is bent, a rough noise is heard. With significant pathological changes, the knee is deformed, which further limits movement.
How is knee osteoarthritis treated?
Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint consists of non-drug and drug methods, surgical intervention if necessary.
Patients with this disease are advised to avoid pressure on the knee, try to unload it as much as possible with the help of various orthopedic devices, crutches. The most important thing is weight loss. In 2017, scientists from the Medical University published a paper in which it was found that obesity increases the likelihood of getting gonarthrosis by 4-10 times and occurs in every third patient.
In addition, sick people are prescribed special therapeutic exercises, physiotherapy procedures, for example, UHF therapy.
With regard to drug treatment, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be recommended to reduce pain. With their ineffectiveness, intra-articular injections of glucocorticosteroids are carried out. Also, the treatment plan is supplemented with chondroprotectors, hyaluronic acid injections.
Note that any medication can only be used as prescribed by a doctor.
In the final stages of the disease, the main treatment method is surgical intervention, which implies the replacement of the articular surface with an artificial implant.