Arthrosis of the wrist joint. Symptoms of arthrosis of the wrist joint

The wrist joint is one of the most important elements of the musculoskeletal system of the human body. This fragile joint is located at the junction of the hands and forearm bones. Most often, this area is subject to injury; degenerative changes are much less common here. Arthrosis of the wrist joint

– the disease is quite rare and can greatly reduce a person’s quality of life.
Constant loads and injuries provoke degradation of cartilage tissue, which is subsequently accompanied by pain and difficulty moving. osteoarthritis of the wrist joint
develops , causing serious discomfort. The mobility of the joint is sometimes reduced by half, which brings severe discomfort in the process of performing everyday, habitual manipulations.

Symptoms of arthrosis and osteoarthritis

It is difficult to recognize these diseases in the initial stages. Patients often do not pay attention to mild pain, and when it becomes severe enough, the disease is already advanced.

• Pain when moving, causing discomfort and serious inconvenience in everyday activities. This is one of the most characteristic symptoms of arthrosis and osteoarthritis of the wrist joint.
• Pain when trying to lean on the palm, bending the hand, or carrying heavy objects.
• In some cases, edema occurs and swelling appears in the affected areas.
• Crunching of joints, feeling of limited movements.

How it manifests itself

Diseases of the wrist joint are indicated by:

• crunching sound when moving;
• pain in extreme positions of flexion and extension;
• pain at rest - after intense physical activity;
• reduction in joint mobility by 30-50%.

If the cause of the disease is a displaced fracture of the wrist bones, deformations of the wrist joint, visible to the naked eye, are possible. In all other cases, it remains practically unchanged, in contrast to the clinical picture of rheumatoid arthritis with severe edema.

The degree of arthrosis of the joints is diagnosed using x-rays

Types and degrees of diseases

• Arthrosis and osteoarthritis of the 1st degree have not very pronounced symptoms and manifest themselves as minor pain after exertion, especially monotonous ones. As soon as the joints return to a state of rest, the pain disappears.
• The development of stage 2 of the disease is accompanied by the appearance of more pronounced problems - pain and discomfort that do not go away for a long time. A crunch appears in the joints, swelling in the phalanges. The patient tries not to make painful movements.
• The third degree is manifested by increased deformities, the appearance of deforming osteoarthritis, pain at rest, and limitation of movements. At this stage, the cartilage layer is almost completely destroyed, and bone growths may appear along the edges of the joints. Due to a decrease in motor activity, the tone of the muscles of the entire arm decreases.

Forms of the disease

Doctors consider two forms of arthrosis. These include:

• nodular - characterized by the presence of two types of nodules - Bouchard and Heberden, there are seals near the joints;
• rhizarthrosis is diagnosed near the base of the thumb and wrist joints.

What is arthrosis-arthritis of the hand? If earlier it was possible to clearly state: arthritis is inflammation of the joints, arthrosis is their deformation, then in recent decades patients have suffered from arthrosis-arthritis, in which there is both inflammation of the joint and its deformation. Age distinctions between diseases have also become blurred.

Causes

Osteoarthritis can be primary - develop in a healthy joint, or secondary - develop in a joint that has already been affected by some disease. Factors that contribute to the occurrence of deforming osteoarthritis are the following:

• Gender – women are much more susceptible to developing arthrosis of the joints.
• Age - after 65 years, almost 90% of people have joint pathologies.
• Excess weight, endocrine disorders.
• Excessive load on the wrist joint. Physically hard work, professional sports.
• Advanced inflammatory processes in the joints.
• Heredity.

Who's at risk

Arthrosis of the hands occurs not only after injury. Often the disease becomes a consequence of professional overload and microtrauma, so the risk group includes:

• athletes;
• construction workers;
• those who deal with a jackhammer and a hammer drill (an additional provoking factor is vibration), etc.

Sometimes the cause of arthrosis of the hand is a congenital or genetic predisposition

Treatment

In each case, the approach to how to treat the disease may be different. It depends on the degree of the disease, the reasons that caused it, the condition of the patient, and whether the right or left wrist is affected. Among the main methods:

• Exercises, special therapeutic exercises.
• Physiotherapy.
• Treatment with medications.
• Maintaining proper nutrition and daily routine.
• Wearing chondroprotectors that help the process of cartilage tissue restoration.
• Taking medications and injections to help restore cartilage.

When the disease reaches an advanced stage, the patient can only be helped with surgery and prosthetics.

It is important to understand that this disease is chronic, which means that treatment procedures will have to be carried out constantly. However, the earlier osteoarthritis of the wrist joint is diagnosed, the more timely therapy will begin and the less destructive changes in cartilage tissue will be. This determines the importance of contacting an orthopedist at the slightest sign of pathology in the articular area.

What else is used to treat arthrosis of the hands?

Since the best results come from an integrated approach, in addition to taking medications, a person is prescribed physical therapy. Specific exercises are selected individually. They are designed to improve blood circulation and increase joint mobility. Physiotherapy gives good results, for example:

• paraffin hand wraps;
• mud therapy;
• massages and self-massages;
• penetrating compresses;
• hirudotherapy (application of leeches);
• acupuncture;
• laser therapy;
• magnetotherapy.

Patients with joint diseases have to reconsider their culinary preferences. Alcohol and smoking must be excluded, and the consumption of animal protein must be minimized. It is good for joints to eat foods and dishes that contain a lot of calcium and collagen. Accordingly, the diet should include various jellied meats and jellies. Gelatin, which helps these dishes harden, is an excellent tool for improving cartilage tissue. Food of plant origin, vegetable oils, and polyunsaturated omega-3 acids should predominate. A responsible attitude towards your health will allow you to keep your joints mobile for a long time.

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Recovery

Recovery is aimed at returning motor activity and joint functions. Rehabilitation mainly consists of performing gymnastics, therapeutic exercises, and also establishing a balanced nutrition system. Wearing fixing bandages and bandages to speed up the restoration of cartilage tissue also gives good results.

To prevent deforming osteoarthritis and other similar diseases - maintain normal body weight, avoid heavy loads, and be attentive to changes in health.

How to treat arthrosis of the hands at the initial stage

It is immediately worth noting that medicine is not yet able to completely cure the disease. However, if the patient asked for help at the initial stages of the development of the disease, then slowing down destructive processes, restoring cartilage tissue, improving a person’s quality of life and changing the way he or she eats is a feasible task. Comprehensive treatment aimed at strengthening the immune system, changing diet, losing weight, and healing cartilage and joints produces results.

The doctor prescribes non-steroidal (i.e. non-hormonal) drugs in various forms. These can be tablets, gels, ointments, and in difficult cases, injections. The stomach does not like them and cannot be taken for a long time, but they relieve inflammation, pain and swelling well. Relatively “young” medications are chondroprotectors. They help slow down the degeneration of cartilage tissue. Vasodilators improve metabolism, muscle relaxants reduce muscle spasms. Antibiotics may be needed. Most often this happens if a person has suffered serious infectious diseases that have come back to life through the joints. In severe cases, it is necessary to inject hyaluronic acid directly into the joint.

Drug therapy

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to treat arthrosis of the wrist joint. This group of products is aimed at eliminating inflammation in the area of ​​injury and providing mild pain relief. It includes Aspirin, Diclofenac, Indomethacin, Ibuprofen, Ketoprofen and others.

NSAIDs are considered relatively safe drugs for the body, but taking them for a long time is not recommended due to the possibility of adverse reactions. Medicines have contraindications: diseases of the stomach, heart, kidneys, liver. Long-term use of drugs from this group has a corrosive effect on the mucous membranes.

Corticosteroid drugs are powerful hormonal medications. In the treatment of dystrophic disorders of the osteochondral apparatus, this group of medications is very effective. Medicines are prescribed for severe pain when non-steroidal drugs do not give the desired result. According to the intensity of action, all corticosteroids are of several types:

• weak - Prednisolone, Hydrocortisone;
• moderate action - Fluorocort, Lorinden;
• strong - Ekolom, Advantan, Triderm;
• very strong - Klovate.

The stronger the remedy, the more caution it should be taken.

Treatment with corticosteroid drugs should only be prescribed by a doctor. Their spontaneous use is dangerous to health.

Medicines in this group also have contraindications. They should be used with caution in case of diabetes, hypertension, stomach ulcers, and mental disorders. It is better not to use potent drugs for treatment if there are bleeding disorders, infections, or severe forms of osteoporosis. Corticosteroids are ineffective if the patient has a transarticular fracture, with progressive destruction and deformation of the joint that is incurable with medication.

Adverse reactions include nervous excitability, irritability, muscle spasms, uncontrolled weight gain, growth retardation in children, and problems with puberty.

Chondroprotectors are drugs that improve the condition of cartilage and promote their restoration, nourishing and moisturizing joint structures. The first results are observed after a long time from the start of taking medications of this group, since regeneration processes proceed very slowly. Chondroprotectors are most effective in the treatment of arthrosis of the wrist joint in the early stages. If the process of deformation of the joint has begun, then it no longer makes sense to use these drugs.

The list of means for restoring cartilage structures is extensive. Chondroxide, Teraflex, Arthrodar, Alflutop and others are widely used in the medical practice of osteoligamentous pathologies. There are no absolute contraindications to their use. Relative ones include pregnancy, breastfeeding and allergies to individual components of the drug.

Physiotherapy

The goal of physiotherapeutic treatment is to stimulate metabolic processes, improve blood circulation, and strengthen cartilage tissue. The list of treatment procedures is quite wide. To eliminate inflammatory processes, mud therapy, electrophoresis, magnetic therapy, cryotherapy, massage using anti-inflammatory agents (gels, ointments, creams), wraps, and compresses are used.

Anton Epifanov about physiotherapy for joints:

• Mud therapy is a safe technique. Its influence on the course of the disease is not effective enough, but it allows you to remove unpleasant painful symptoms. Most often, mud therapy is combined with drug treatment and used as rehabilitation measures after surgical operations. It is better not to use it as an independent treatment. There are no contraindications, except for possible allergic reactions to the composition of the medicinal mixture;
• electrophoresis is the procedure of applying electric current to the affected area. It allows you to relieve a person from severe pain in the wrist. If treatment is carried out in combination with anti-inflammatory gels or ointments, a good therapeutic effect can be achieved;
• Magnetic therapy is aimed at reducing pain and slowing down the degenerative process that accompanies arthrosis of the wrist joint. It is advisable to integrate the technique with active physical exercises that help strengthen the muscles near the damaged area. Electrical stimulation can be used together with magnetic treatment to improve muscle strength without overloading the joint during the patient's rehabilitation period;
• cryotherapy is aimed at eliminating pain. The technique is a treatment with cold temperatures. Localized and continuous application of cold keeps the muscle fibers in contraction. These manipulations help control wrist pain and reduce the effects of injury. Most effective for mechanical damage to the joint, accompanied by swelling of the soft tissues and impaired blood circulation in them;
• massage should begin no earlier than 3-5 days after the end of the acute period of the disease. A good therapeutic effect is achieved by using topical anti-inflammatory drugs during sessions. The purpose of the massage is to increase blood circulation in the area of ​​damage and improve tissue nutrition. This will lead to the restoration of cartilage tissue, increase the regeneration of synovial fluid, reduce the manifestations of the inflammatory process and increase joint mobility.

The specificity of physiotherapeutic techniques is that they are prescribed only in a non-acute period. If this requirement is not taken into account, then the patient’s condition can be aggravated and harm the joint.

Preolecular bursitis of the elbow joint

This is such a painful lump on the olecranon process, directly on the part of the elbow on which we rest. The size resembles a quail egg or a small plum. The cause is most often long-term compression of the olecranon process as a result of leaning on a table or handrail. As a result of such pressure, the skin on the elbow can be punctured by crumbs of some material, which leads to inflammation. Overstrain of the extensor muscles that attach to the elbow can also lead to such inflammation.

Under the skin of the olecranon there is a sliding bursa - this is a bag with synovial fluid that allows the skin to glide over the bone to avoid injury when resting on the elbow. When it becomes involved in the process of inflammation, excess fluid production occurs in it, which leads to deformation and swelling. If the skin is damaged by a foreign body, the bursa becomes infected, and as a result, purulent inflammation of the sliding bursa occurs. This disease is called purulent bursitis.

Serous bursitis is treated by puncture and administration of glucocorticoids. The necessary goal of treatment is to stop excess inflammation with fluid production; single injections of hormonal drugs in this case are most preferable. There is still insufficient data on the use of PRP therapy in the treatment of preolecular bursitis. There are several questions here: the injection volume with prp is 6.5 ml, which will fill the bursa and neutralize the result of treatment - the bursa will remain the same size, synovitis is a contraindication for PRP therapy. But the question remains open; it is very likely that the use of small volumes of prp and infiltration of the peri-bursal space will have a beneficial effect on completing the inflammation process. In addition, practice shows that prp therapy “dries out the joint” and small amounts of synovitis are stopped. So in the process of practicing the treatment of preolecranial bursitis prp, the advantage of plasma therapy over the administration of glucocorticoids is manifested. As an addition to treatment, compresses based on dimexide with the addition of anesthetics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be used.

Purulent bursitis with arthrosis of the elbow joint requires a course of treatment with antibacterial drugs and washing the bursa cavity with antiseptics. If surrounding tissues - subcutaneous tissue and fascia - are involved in inflammation, the abscess is opened and bandaged until the wound heals. Against the background of elbow arthrosis, if treatment with conservative methods of chronic bursitis is unsuccessful, the preolecular bursa is excised in an orthopedic hospital. Other pathologies of the elbow joint, excluding injuries, are much less common, including arthrosis of the elbow joint.