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 make 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 to get this disease. In this article, we will consider the clinical signs and treatment tactics of gonarthrosis.
Main clinical signs of gonarthrosis
As we have already said, gonarthrosis has a gradually progressive course. So, in the initial stages of the sick person, practically nothing bothers them, but over time the symptoms intensify.
The primary clinical sign is mild knee pain that occurs during prolonged or heavy physical exertion. The patient indicates some feeling of stiffness in the joint, the appearance of "initial" pain syndrome (it occurs at the beginning of the movement, passes after the person "separates").
In this disease, there are no external changes on the knee. Sometimes people notice swelling.
As the disease progresses, the pain becomes more intense. The pain syndrome occurs even with little physical activity, it becomes more pronounced with long-term loading of the knee. During rest, the pain subsides and then returns with continued 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. In severe pathological changes, knee deformation occurs, which further limits movement.
How is knee osteoarthritis treated?
Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint consists of non-medicated and medicated methods, and if necessary, surgical intervention.
Patients with this disease are advised to avoid stress on the knee, try to relieve it as much as possible with the help of various orthopedic aids, sticks. The most important thing is weight loss. In 2017, scientists from the Medical University published a paper in which it was determined that obesity increases the likelihood of developing gonarthrosis by 4-10 times and occurs in every third patient.
In addition, the sick person is prescribed special therapeutic exercises, physiotherapy procedures, for example, UHF therapy.
As for 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 was supplemented with chondroprotectors and hyaluronic acid injections.
Keep in mind that any medicine can be used only on the recommendation of a doctor.
In the later stages of the disease, the main method of treatment is surgical intervention, which involves replacing the joint surfaces with artificial implants.