Sauna for arthritis: is it possible to steam in a sauna (for rheumatoid arthritis)?

Massage with a broom in a bath for rheumatoid arthritis Contraindications to bath procedures for arthritis Hammam, bath and sauna for arthritis Beneficial properties of a bath for arthritis Visiting a bath for rheumatoid arthritis A bath for rheumatoid arthritis has a beneficial effect on the affected joints - relaxes ligaments, improves blood flow, temporarily relieving stiffness movements and returning a person to a full life. The healing effect of bath procedures has been known for a long time - many have been scientifically substantiated and taken as the basis for various physiotherapeutic methods. Many doctors will agree that during the initial manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis, a bathhouse is not inferior in effectiveness to treatment with medications, but at the height of the disease, visiting it is not recommended.

Important!
If the disease worsens, visiting the bathhouse is unacceptable - an increase in temperature can aggravate the inflammatory reaction.

Let's consider when you can and cannot visit the bathhouse and whether these procedures have any effect.

Visiting a sauna for arthritis

Visiting a bathhouse - benefit or harm?

Rheumatoid arthritis affects cartilage, causing inflammation and subsequent destruction. The disease is also characterized by systemic lesions of the skin, internal organs and the central nervous system. For this reason, a bathhouse and arthritis are not always compatible - strong temperature effects and changes in humidity have a detrimental effect on inflammation and can cause complications in internal organs.

The dangers of bath procedures for rheumatoid arthritis:

Bath steam promotes the expansion of blood vessels and increases their permeability - the same processes occur during inflammation, and if it is present. The result will be increased swelling and its spread to neighboring tissues;
Temperature changes negatively affect tissues affected by arthritis - their destruction increases, which can lead to pain with subsequent destruction of cartilage. If there are chronic foci of infection in the body, it may spread throughout the body and damage other organs;
The steam room has a lower oxygen concentration than in the usual environment. This can negatively affect some organs affected by rheumatoid arthritis - kidneys, lungs, heart.

Useful properties of the bath:

During the procedure, spasmodic muscles are relaxed - this effect is similar to taking muscle relaxants;
If rheumatoid arthritis is in remission, heating helps to temporarily improve joint mobility, “accelerating” blood flow. The result is the removal of mineral deposits, increased restoration of connective tissue;
The bath has a tonic and general strengthening effect on the body - it helps dilate blood vessels, increases the heart rate, increases metabolism, accelerates recovery processes throughout the body, increasing its resistance to various diseases.

Interesting!
In a Russian bath, the air temperature is approximately 50-70°, humidity is 50-70%.

Beneficial properties of a bath for arthritis

Therapeutic or harmful bath - it all depends on you

The amount of heat that is transferred to the joints depends on the person’s position. The heat rises from the floor to the ceiling. A protective air shell is formed there. For treatment, a person’s weight, blood supply to the joints, the level of their deformation, etc. are of great importance. There are many types of baths - Russian, Finnish, etc. That is, you can choose the best option, and preferably one that allows you to adjust the temperature.

It is not scorching heat that heals joints, but soft heat that gradually warms up diseased bones and cartilage. Sometimes contrasting temperatures (steam room - dousing with cold water) may be recommended. Due to this, metabolic processes in the body are enhanced and accelerated, and the vegetative system is restored. The level of growth hormones and histamine increases.

The bath is useful at any stage of gout, with osteochondrosis of the knee and hip joints. Heat helps eliminate muscle fatigue and improves muscle tone. Ligaments and joints become more flexible and mobile. They heal quickly if damaged and become stronger. Heat has a particularly beneficial effect on hyaline cartilage.

Eucalypot broom will enhance the healing effect

The body receives great benefits from the bath. Blood microcirculation increases, which contributes to the rapid delivery of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to the affected joints. To enhance the effect, coniferous and eucalyptus brooms are used. As a result of increased blood flow, cartilage receives oxygen and all nutrients in a short time.

At the same time, the heat tones the muscles, as a result of which they take on most of the load, and the joints begin to work in a gentle manner. Diseased bones, cartilage and tissues quickly get rid of decay products, toxins and accumulated uric acid salts.

Is it possible to steam and heat arthritis of the lower extremities?

When the ligaments are heated, they become more elastic, mobility returns to the damaged articular surfaces, as they are quickly saturated with oxygen and receive all the necessary nutrition with increased blood flow.

The bath is recommended for all types of arthrosis:

gonarthrosis;
osteoarthritis;
spondyloarthrosis;
coxarthrosis.

A visit to the steam room is recommended for rheumatism, except during periods of exacerbation of the disease. However, it must be taken into account that in case of illness, only careful deep heating of tissues is indicated. This is achieved by using a small amount of steam and gentle heat. The temperature in the bath should be no higher than 70 degrees. This also applies to the steam room.

The bath is also recommended for osteoporosis. Heat and steam containing medicinal herbs act as powerful stimulants, forcing the body to speed up metabolic processes. Blood microcirculation increases, which helps restore joints. At the same time, excess uric acid is eliminated.

About restrictions

You should not visit the bathhouse during exacerbations of joint diseases and during the progression of inflammatory processes. For example, with arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, it is contraindicated to visit the bathhouse and steam if the person additionally suffers from:

hypertension;
kidney diseases;
epilepsy;
infectious diseases;
sclerosis.

In the presence of these diseases, increased blood flow can provoke a serious complication, increased blood pressure, and increased inflammation. For rheumatism, contrast procedures (pouring ice water, swimming in a pond after a steam room) are prohibited. This can cause an exacerbation of the disease and deterioration of the patient's condition.

Even the most gentle steam room sessions are contraindicated for a number of other diseases. For example, in case of disruption of the cardiovascular system. Blood microcirculation increases sharply and this significantly increases the load on the heart and blood vessels.

It is prohibited to visit baths and steam rooms if you have any cancer or skin diseases, diabetes, or disorders of the central nervous system. Increased blood flow will negatively affect your health.

Visit to the hamam

An alternative to the Russian bath is the Turkish hammam. The main difference from the domestic steam room is the lower temperature, which does not exceed 45°, and the air humidity is high - about 80-90%. When temperatures change, a large amount of condensation forms, which settles on surrounding surfaces, including the human body.

When visiting a Turkish bath there is no warming effect on the joints, but in the presence of inflammation this is the most harmless option. Hamam has a general strengthening effect rather than a local one.

Visiting the sauna

The Finnish sauna is characterized by extremely high temperatures - about 90-100°, but the air humidity is low - no more than 15%. It is easier for a person to breathe in these conditions; due to the low humidity, such high temperatures are not felt. But if you have inflamed arthritis, visiting a Finnish bath is dangerous - in addition to an attack of pain, you can provoke the activation of foci of chronic infection.

Is it possible to steam and heat arthritis of the lower extremities?

Sauna and blood pressure

Staying in a bathhouse is a serious strain on the heart. Overheating leads to increased heart rate and increased blood pressure. This is dangerous for hypertensive patients. However, with first-degree hypertension (when the changes are still reversible), going to the bathhouse is not contraindicated.

It is better to choose a sauna: dry hot air, unlike humid air, does not interfere with sweating, and therefore thermoregulation.

Attention! In the second and third stages of the disease, when crises (pressure surges) become longer, sudden changes in temperature can trigger a heart attack or stroke. For “experienced” hypertensive patients, steaming in a bathhouse is dangerous.

Hypotonic people, on the contrary, benefit from the heat of the bath. But they shouldn’t linger in the steam room either. 3 minutes in the bathhouse and 5-6 in the sauna is enough; the temperature should not be too high.

The hosts of the “About the Most Important” program and practicing doctors talk about the rules of visiting the sauna and bathhouse, about joint health and other interesting things.

What's better

When choosing between a bathhouse, a sauna and a hammam, a healthy person makes a choice according to his own preferences. But in the presence of foci of inflammation, it is necessary to be guided by medical indications. Summarizing the characteristics of various steam rooms, we can draw the following conclusions:

The hammam has a low temperature, but high humidity;
The sauna is extremely hot, humidity is minimal;
Russian bathhouse has intermediate characteristics.

According to the indicators described above, the most optimal solution is to go to the bathhouse for arthritis, but only in the absence of pronounced signs of inflammation. As an alternative, you can consider a hammam, but the warming ability of joints in it is much lower than in a bathhouse.

Attention!
Visiting a sauna at the peak of rheumatoid arthritis is dangerous to your health.

Hammam, bath and sauna for arthritis

Effectiveness of temperature influence

When visiting a bathhouse, a person finds himself from a relatively optimal environment to a more dynamic one, where the temperature and humidity are approximately 2-3 times higher than usual. Such changes have both local and general effects on the body.

The effectiveness of bath procedures for rheumatoid lesions is as follows:

An increase in ambient temperature promotes the opening of sweat glands, with the secretion of which toxins and harmful substances are removed from the body;
Local and general blood circulation improves - healing processes are accelerated, overall well-being improves;
Metabolism increases - the regenerative properties of the body improve;
The formation of joint fluid increases, which lubricates the joint, improves its mobility, and also helps nourish the articular cartilage;
While in the bathhouse, a person’s neuropsychic relaxation occurs, which has a beneficial effect on the body’s resistance to rheumatoid arthritis.

Contraindications to visiting the bathhouse

There are contraindications for visiting a bathhouse with rheumatoid arthritis. Visiting the bathhouse is contraindicated:

Women during pregnancy;
If there is redness, swelling and pain in the joint, an increase in temperature will increase inflammation and can lead to impaired movement;
The presence of arthritis, the cause of which has not been established;
Infectious lesions of the joints or the presence of a chronic source of infection in the body - the likelihood of microbes spreading throughout the body increases;
If rheumatoid lesions are treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or hormonal drugs, the risk of side effects and complications increases;
If you have diseases of the cardiovascular system, kidney diseases or chronic systemic pathologies;
Visit the bathhouse with caution if you feel unwell, overworked, or for women during menstruation.

Attention!
It is highly undesirable to visit the bathhouse if you have deep wounds - the risk of infection increases.

Contraindications to bath procedures for arthritis

Features of the disease

Orthopedic pathology is a degenerative-dystrophic condition of the joints and is based on premature wear of the cartilage tissue in them. Characteristic symptoms of the disease include pain of varying degrees of intensity, inflammation, stiffness, swelling, limited mobility and joint deformity.

Among the main causes of the development of the disease are disturbances in hormonal metabolism associated with age-related changes in the body, injuries received while playing sports or performing work duties, or household chores. Another reason may be the lack of a balanced nutritional diet and sufficient physical activity.

If you neglect your health, do not want to carry out preventive measures, treatment and promptly seek the help of qualified specialists, there is a risk of loss of ability to work, disability at an early age, and a decrease in the quality of life.

Rules for staying in the bathhouse

Having found out whether it is possible to take a steam bath with arthritis, we will look at safety precautions.

Before visiting the bathhouse, you need to make sure that you have no contraindications. Experts strongly recommend excluding protein foods from the diet; drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited. It is not advisable to visit the bathhouse on an empty stomach, but it is also not recommended to overeat.

How can people with joint diseases benefit from taking a steam bath?

Basic rules for visiting a bathhouse for rheumatoid arthritis:

Staying in a bathhouse for more than 15 minutes at a time is undesirable - this can cause the disease to worsen;
After leaving the steam room, avoid hypothermia - pouring cold water on yourself is dangerous to your health;
The use of a broom massage should be carried out on healthy tissues, but on sore joints - it is prohibited or with caution;
After the procedures, rest for 40-60 minutes, covered with a towel or blanket. Little sleep is optimal;
For several hours, do not put any stress on the joints - this may be complicated by an exacerbation of rheumatoid processes.

An old folk recipe to help you

In ancient times, it was believed that a bath for joints was of great benefit. And it is true. The list of benefits of heat therapy includes:

cleansing the body of waste and toxins;
improved blood circulation;
reducing the severity of symptoms in joint diseases;
increasing the elasticity of ligaments and muscle fibers;
increased mobility;
improving the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the affected tissues of joints and cartilage;
normalization of metabolic processes;
accessibility to all segments of the population.

Such a beneficial, healing thermal effect allows the bath to be used in the treatment of joints.

Broom massage for rheumatoid arthritis

According to reviews from bathhouse lovers, a broom should be made from natural raw materials. For rheumatoid diseases, an oak, birch or nettle broom is preferable. An alder broom is perfect for relieving muscle spasms, and a rowan broom can be used for general strengthening purposes. Before starting the procedure, it is recommended to soak the broom in cold water.

The beginning of treatment with a broom begins with light and swift blows to the limbs, gradually moving towards the sore joint. As you get closer, you should reduce the strength of the spanks. Light massage strokes on the joints are allowed if rheumatoid inflammation is mild. It is advisable to alternate light spankings with stroking and rubbing. To improve blood flow, it is allowed to spray with cool water at regular intervals. The duration of broom therapy should not exceed 3-4 minutes.

Massage with a broom in a bathhouse for rheumatoid arthritis

Tips for arthrosis sufferers

For arthrosis, baths help relieve painful symptoms and get rid of the disease faster. It is best to allow heat to affect the body when the body is in a lying position. For arthrosis, it is useful to steam with a broom. Eucalyptus or coniferous help well. The steam room increases blood circulation and starts the process of tissue restoration.

How can people with joint diseases benefit from taking a steam bath?

You need to strictly monitor the temperature

You can simply lie down and alternately apply a hot broom and a broom soaked in cold water. This will enhance the healing effect. You can drop a little lavender oil on hot stones; it relieves muscle spasms well. A juniper broom relieves inflammation and pain. Pine essential oil helps accelerate tissue regeneration.

You must go to the bathhouse after washing in warm water. To prevent overheating, contrast showers are prohibited. You need to stay in the steam room for no more than 10 minutes. However, the time is calculated individually depending on the degree of development of the disease and the age of the person.

Cooling should be short-term – 3-12 minutes. This is followed by a rest for 20 minutes. For arthrosis, it is advisable to end the bath procedure with a massage. It can be done with honey, which is rubbed into the sore joint until it turns white. This means that the bee product has given up all its nutrients.

After the bath it is necessary to consolidate the warming effect. Sore joints are wrapped in a woolen scarf or handkerchief, then you need to drink warm tea from a mixture of elecampane, lingonberry, and horsetail. After the bath, medicinal ointment can be applied to sore knees, elbows, and shoulders, due to which the healing effect will be significantly enhanced.

With deforming arthrosis and if there are contraindications, visiting the bathhouse and steam room is prohibited.

What else can be used for bath treatment?

The following recipes are used to treat rheumatoid joint damage:

A decoction of rose hips, lingonberries and black currant leaves. After infusion, this product is sprayed onto a hot stove in a bathhouse to impart a characteristic aroma. Has a tonic effect;
You can moisten the stones with a decoction of rose hips, pine, nettle leaves and barberry fruits;
After the bath, ointment and compress are applied to the affected joints. The first is prepared on the basis of butter and alcohol - after mixing them, the contents are boiled until the alcohol evaporates. The cooled ointment is applied to the affected rheumatic areas. The second recipe is simple - honey is applied to the joint, wrapped in gauze and left overnight.

Rheumatoid arthritis cannot be completely cured, but stopping the progression of the disease is quite possible. The bath is an excellent addition to drug treatment if it is carried out during periods of remission. The temperature effect helps normalize blood flow in the joint, improves the production of joint fluid and accelerates the healing process. Before taking a bath treatment, consult your doctor.

Arthritis of the joints of the lower extremities is a difficult to treat disease, which brings significant discomfort to the patient, reduces the possibility of physical activity and quality of life.

An important element in the treatment of joint inflammation of the legs are all kinds of heating: paraffin, salt, ozokerite. Is it possible to warm the joints of the legs with arthritis by visiting a sauna and Russian bathhouse?

Bath for arthrosis and other joint diseases

The bathhouse is an integral part of Russian culture; our people are accustomed to visiting it from early childhood. In addition, it is believed that bath procedures are a natural cure for many diseases.

It is necessary to figure out whether it is possible to take a steam bath with arthritis, when going to the bathhouse will bring relief, and in what cases it is better not to go there. Studying the effect of steam rooms on arthritic joints will be the subject of this article.

Dry heat for joints with arthrosis and other methods of warming up

If the joint was warmed up correctly, the unwanted symptoms are gradually eliminated. However, blood circulation can be normalized and motor activity improved only if the patient does not “overdo it” with warming procedures. To activate metabolic processes and eliminate joint pain at night, heating should be moderate. It is much more important to preserve the heat received for a long time. That is why therapeutic knee pads for joints must be of high quality. If you carry out warming procedures with excessive and prolonged increases in temperature, you can worsen the course of the disease, and doctors always warn about the need to be careful.

A variety of methods can be used, but they must be chosen by a specialist: based on the research results, he will calculate the most necessary method in this particular case in order to affect the cartilage tissue and the knee joint itself, without causing harm to the rest of the body. A very good effect for deforming arthrosis of the joints is given by rubbing and ointments, from which a slight increase in temperature is observed, and not a sharp and excessive one. Of course, you will have to wait for the effect, but it will inevitably come. This is not a quick fix, but it is true. The doctor will find among the products offered by pharmaceutical companies exactly the one that a particular patient needs, which contains all the special components that bring a therapeutic effect.

Dry heat is widely used and recommended by doctors in the treatment of joint arthrosis at home. Preparing such heating pads is simple and not burdensome; they do not require any special components: you only need a bag made of thick cotton fabric and something loose - sand or salt. Some people take sea salt, but in these cases the effect is rather psychotherapeutic. The bulk component is heated in the oven or in a frying pan and poured into a bag, which must be placed on the joint affected by arthrosis or arthritis. You cannot keep such a heating pad for too long, and you also cannot leave it overnight. The doctor will clearly determine both the temperature of the bulk substance and the duration of the procedure itself.

The influence of bath procedures

Arthritis is a disease in which connective tissues are the first to be affected: cartilage, joint capsule, synovial fluid. The causes of the disease can be autoimmune processes, stress, hypothermia, eating disorders, addictions, and infectious diseases.

Depending on the etiology, the following types of arthritis are distinguished:

Gouty – caused by the deposition of salts in the joints in people over 50 years of age.
Rheumatoid is an autoimmune disease, when, against the background of metabolic failures, articular tissues begin to be rejected as foreign.
Post-traumatic - caused by fractures and severe bruises.
Psoriatic – diagnosed as a complication of psoriasis.
Reactive – occurring against the background of infection.
Polyarthritis – when numerous joints are inflamed.

If you do not take a steam bath during an exacerbation, a bath for arthritis of all of the above types can bring significant relief.

Vascular spasms of the knee, ankle and other joints are eliminated.
Connective tissues relax, elasticity returns, and blood circulation improves.
If you warm up the articular joint thoroughly, toxins and breakdown products are removed, and excess uric acid is eliminated.
As a result, the patient feels noticeable relief, mobility returns, pain goes away, and swelling decreases.

However, when answering the question of “is it possible to heat arthritis” to patients, doctors always clarify: you can visit the bathhouse and give the sore joints a good steam only when the period of exacerbation of the disease has passed and there is no discharge of pus in the joint capsule.

Otherwise, it is prohibited to steam your feet if you have arthritis; you should stop the acute period of the disease and only then enjoy beneficial bath procedures.

References

Ryabinin, S.V., Peleshenko, E.I., Ryabinina, E.I. and others. Study of the level of physicochemical parameters of synovial fluid in normal conditions and in gonoarthrosis. Applied information aspects in medicine, 2021. - No. 3. - pp. 90-96.
Matveeva, E.L., Gasanova, A.G., Spirkina, E.S. Prospects for the study of synovial fluid for clinical practice. Genius of Orthopedics, 2012. - No. 2. - P. 148-151.
Kiely, P., Lloyd, M. Ankle arthritis—an important signpost in rheumatologic practice. // Rheumatology (Oxford), 2021. - Vol. 60(1). — P. 23-33.

Possible contraindications

The answer to the question “is it possible to steam with arthritis” may be negative in the following cases:

General malaise, feeling of weakness, dizziness.
Hypertensive patients who have been diagnosed with stages 2 and 3 of the disease should not go to the bathhouse or steam their bodies.
Rehabilitation period after fractures, bruises, and other traumatic injuries.
For severe cardiovascular pathologies.
Immediately after physical exercise, it is prohibited to warm up joints, including knees and feet.
Acute period of the inflammatory process.
During the development of infection.
Menstrual period.
Pregnancy, especially the 1st trimester and the last 3-4 weeks. The rest of the time, it is possible and even beneficial for the expectant mother to wash, provided that the steam is not too intense and there are no other contraindications.
Infectious arthritis - mainly in the acute period. A bath for rheumatoid arthritis is allowed and even useful, except during periods of exacerbation.
Therapy with NSAIDs and corticosteroids.
Acute spondylitis - in this case, with arthritis, you can warm the joints using a hot compress based on a decoction of medicinal herbs.
Open skin lesions.
Shaking palsy - Parkinson's disease.
Upper respiratory tract diseases, pulmonary ailments.

In the absence of these contraindications, and also outside the period of exacerbation of the disease, it is possible and even necessary to soar your legs with arthritis. The effect of the steam room will be similar to that achieved from warming physiotherapeutic procedures.

Diagnosis of careumatoid arthritis

There is no single test that diagnoses rheumatoid arthritis. In the initial stages, it can be difficult to distinguish rheumatoid arthritis from other forms of connective tissue inflammation, such as gout, systemic lupus erythematosus, fibromyalgia and others. To diagnose rheumatoid arthritis, your doctor will usually do the following:

Complete medical history, including any family history of rheumatoid arthritis
Discussion of current symptoms
Physical assessment, for example: joints, skin, condition of internal organs
X-ray and/or MRI
Blood tests

Two types of blood tests are commonly used to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis:

Immunological tests.

These tests evaluate the levels of proteins and antibodies in the blood, including a protein called rheumatoid factor (RF), antinuclear antibodies (ANA), and sometimes other antibodies. Rheumatoid factor is present in 80% of people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Markers of inflammation

Blood tests may be done to assess erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Both markers are typically elevated in people with rheumatoid arthritis and can be a good indicator of the extent of the disease.

Useful tips

So, we have established that with arthritis you can take a steam bath at the initial stages of the disease, during remission or chronic course. To ensure a truly healthy effect (after all, we go to the bathhouse not only to take a steam bath, but also to heal), use these valuable tips.

If you are a passionate bath attendant and you have been diagnosed with arthritis, the medical examination should be especially thorough in order to exclude contraindications.
You should not eat heavily before the bath - this will not only cause you to sweat a lot, but also experience oxygen starvation. However, you can’t go steaming hungry either. A reasonable solution is a light snack before bathing procedures, for example, a sandwich, an apple, a glass of kefir.
The therapeutic effect of steam will be more effective if herbal infusions, decoctions, natural salts, and other natural remedies are used in the process.
You can warm your feet without harm to your health at moderate temperatures, but too intense heat will only harm your well-being.
A visit to the bathhouse will be truly healing if, after leaving the steam room, you perform a therapeutic massage in the area of the sore joint. After warming up, the tissues become soft and flexible, and massage will help activate blood supply and oxygen exchange.
The duration of a bath session for arthritis should be no more than one and a half hours.
Duration of stay in the steam room is 5-10 minutes, maximum 20 minutes. It is advisable not to enter the steam room alone, in order to avoid tragic situations.
If you have a choice between a traditional Russian bath or a Finnish sauna, choose the latter - it contains dry steam, which is especially useful for joint tissues.
It is very useful to steam joints with brooms made of birch, pine needles, currant leaves, and oak. It is useful to pour the water in which the broom was steamed onto the hot stones - and inhale the healing steam. This way the therapeutic effect will be ensured not only from the outside, but also from the inside.
Brooms can also be used to perform a special massage, which should last from 5 to 15 minutes. Patting too hard should be avoided.
After completing the bath procedures, it is useful to rub your feet with this homemade ointment. Take 0.5 sticks of butter and 100 grams of vodka. Melt the butter in a water bath and pour in the alcohol-containing liquid. Let it simmer until the mass becomes homogeneous. We use this ointment to heal joints after a bath or as a handy remedy for massage treatments.
After the bath, any compresses and rubbing will be especially effective for the treatment of joint diseases.

Where to buy a knee pad

Doctors insist that patients constantly protect the affected knee from any hypothermia, and therefore recommend buying a camel medical knee brace “LEONARDA”. It can be purchased in Russian pharmacies, and can also be ordered on the Apteka.ru website. In the latter case, delivery to any point in the country will be free, and the buyer will choose the nearest pharmacy, where he will purchase this product. Russian medicine has been using the products for many years and is absolutely convinced of their quality. Many patients do not listen to the doctor’s advice and buy medical knee pads either homemade - at the market or in other equally dubious places, not realizing that there is absolutely no one to ask for quality.

And the yarn and elastic fabric from which the products are made have a special patent (No. 2289643, No. 2319800, respectively), and therefore the products fully meet all specified technical characteristics and provide a real therapeutic and preventive effect, that is, they are medical, which is confirmed by the registration Roszdravnadzor certificate No. FSR 2010/08307. Without this document, selling products as medical products is prohibited by law. Most often, manufacturers do not want or cannot obtain permission from Roszdravnadzor, but still position their products as medicinal, thereby violating the legislation of the Russian Federation and deceiving the consumer.

But knee pads of poor quality can fail a patient at any time, and doctors are well aware of cases when this happens. Nowadays, it is quite difficult to distinguish natural wool from artificial wool; technological progress has come very far. A therapeutic knee pad must contain natural wool, which is not always the case. After warming procedures, it is necessary to retain heat in the muscles, and only a woolen product will help with this. Therefore, it is better to listen to recommendations: the doctor knows better than any patient where to buy a knee brace and not be deceived. A consumer product cannot be called medicinal, even if the manufacturer has received certificates for it from Rostest or SES, since these organizations do not have the ability to conduct all the necessary tests to determine the medicinal qualities of the product. This is the prerogative of Roszdravnadzor.

The effect of the sauna on patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The use of a Finnish sauna in patients with degenerative diseases of the musculoskeletal system improves cartilage trophism. Even with severe forms of coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis, the range of motion in the joints increases, which is assessed by the length of the double step, intercondylar and intrapatellar distance. However, such patients sometimes experience painful irritation, requiring immediate cancellation of the procedure.

Interesting information obtained as a result of research into the processes occurring in the skin when visiting a sauna or Russian steam room. According to experts (V.V. Vinogradov, 1988), immediately after a single overheating, the number of mast cells in the subcutaneous connective tissue increases, and the maximum increase occurs on the 7th day after the procedure, when their content exceeds the normal level by 5 times. After visiting the steam room again, the content of histiocytes increases. Their maximum numbers were found after 13 and 17 days.

Changes in the cellular composition of connective tissue that occur after general warming reflect the activation of an adaptive reaction aimed at maintaining homeostasis. Proteoglycan complexes of the main substance of connective tissue are a kind of sorbent that retains and therefore excludes under-oxidized metabolic products from circulation.

Naturally, saturation of the “sorbent” leads to the need for its renewal, which is carried out as a result of the interaction of histiocytes and fibroblasts. Histeocyte proteases destroy collagen-glycosaminoglycan complexes, and fibroblasts synthesize new ones. In this case, mast cells can play the role of regulators of intercellular cooperation. Histiocytes are also capable of performing detoxification by uptake and enzymatic lysis of toxic catabolites.

In organs and circulating blood, when visiting a bathhouse and after it, the content of lipid peroxidation products and catabolites that cause autointoxication may increase. In this case, the state of homeostasis is determined by the functional usefulness of the kidneys and liver and the power of the adaptation mechanisms developing in the skin.

Therefore, in people with hidden disorders of the excretory function of the kidneys and the detoxification function of the liver, a sauna can provoke complications.

You can simplify the body’s functioning after visiting the steam room by taking a liquid containing sodium or potassium chloride.

Initial arthrosis: is it possible to heat the joints?

Human knees constantly bear a huge load, this is not only half the body weight on each, but also half the load that a person lifts. With age, the cartilage tissue of the joints wears out and becomes deformed, which is why almost every person after fifty years experiences pain in the joint. This happens because any overload (and in normal life no person can avoid overload) threatens damage to cartilage tissue. Among the special risk groups are loaders, builders, athletes and people of similar professions. Almost everyone sooner or later faces the question of whether it is possible to heat joints when they hurt. Most women after fifty years old certainly face the same problem.

The fact is that the tendency to arthrosis of the knee joint is inherited through the maternal line, and therefore no matter how hard a woman tries to protect her joints from overload and hypothermia, heredity takes its toll. The habit since childhood of weekly warming bath procedures significantly delays the onset of deforming arthrosis of the joints. However, if the disease has already firmly established itself in the body, each method of its treatment must be agreed upon with a doctor after receiving the results of studies and laboratory tests, since with age a person accumulates various diseases, warming procedures for which bring difficult-to-treat complications.

Some people don’t even distinguish arthrosis and arthritis from each other, and they try to cure literally every ailment in the steam room. It is not surprising that final recovery does not occur. A bath can help relieve certain symptoms, but the destructive inflammatory process, for example, with arthritis, will continue. How to treat arthrosis correctly? Only doctors know this, since this disease manifests itself differently in different people and is accompanied by different complications and concomitant diseases. Specialists are especially careful regarding warming procedures, since there are very rarely any contraindications.

Deforming arthrosis of the joints is the gradual destruction of cartilage tissue, and therefore when pain appears, it is very rare - the initial stage. Unless an accidental injury “helps” to detect the disease earlier, when an x-ray is needed, which will show changes in the joint. This process is mechanical. But rheumatoid arthritis can appear at any age, and this disease is increasingly being diagnosed in children. This is an inflammatory process, and here heating is dangerous not only for the full functioning of the joint, but also for life in general. Therefore, patients cannot diagnose themselves and prescribe treatment for themselves. The symptoms of knee arthrosis are very similar to those of arthritis.

and many other diseases of the musculoskeletal system, but each disease has its own treatment.

Contraindications for using a sauna in the treatment of arthritis

The appointment of a sauna is usually carried out for patients with the 1st, maximum 2nd degree of activity of the pathological process, without visceral manifestations of diseases.

Experts recommend that even with minimal activity of rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, an unconditional contraindication to sauna therapy is secondary renal amyloidosis, especially in its nephrotic stage and symptoms of renal failure.

Rules for performing bath procedures during the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Experts advise prescribing a sauna for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with a moderate degree of activity of the inflammatory process and the absence of exudative phenomena in the joints. Sauna is an additional method of treating joints, so patients should take drug therapy that is adequate to the severity of the condition and the activity of the disease (including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and/or glucocorticoid hormones).

The procedure for visiting the steam room consists of two visits to the thermal chamber for 10 minutes each with a 5-minute break for rest and cooling under the shower with water temperature of individual thermal comfort. The air temperature in the steam room is 80-80°C, relative humidity is 15-20%. Visiting the sauna - 3 times a week, course of treatment - 10 procedures.

Results after using a sauna in patients with arthritis

30 minutes after the sauna, the range of motion in the affected joints increased by an average of 35%, hand strength increased by 20% of the initial value, and the severity of arthalgia decreased from 2.21 to 1.07 points.

When studying the psycho-emotional state of patients, there is an improvement in the categories of “well-being” and “activity”, a decrease in the category of “tension” and an increase in “vigor”, “strength”, “mobility”, “well-being”. The positive effect of the sauna on the listed indicators persists throughout the day; most patients feel the effect the next day.

Disease criteria such as joint mobility (from 6 hours or more) and severity of arthralgia (from 24 hours or more) underwent regression most quickly; improvement in psycho-emotional state persists for two or more days.

It should be especially emphasized that the established positive changes are more noticeable in patients receiving concurrent drug therapy.

Against this background, there is a positive dynamics of such laboratory parameters as ESR, the level of neuroamic acid, C-reactive protein and α2-globulin. A study of immunological parameters revealed a decrease in the levels of rheumatoid factor and immunoglobulin G in the blood.

The data obtained indicate the effectiveness of a course of sauna treatment in the complex therapy of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and the results are similar to the effect of radon baths.

No negative reactions were found after sauna therapy or in patients after small doses of prednisolone or its analogues.

Treating gout with a bath

Experts note an improvement in the results of treatment of gouty arthritis with the use of a Finnish sauna, which contributes to a more rapid relief of the microcrystalline inflammatory process in the joints.

The opposite opinion is held by doctors who pay attention to profuse sweating in the bathhouse and consider this to be one of the factors stimulating the exacerbation of the disease as a result of large loss of fluid and electrolytes, and therefore the retention of uric acid salts in the body.

Observations say that after a single visit to a steam room, the excretion of uric acid in sweat does not exceed normal values and is insignificant compared to the amount of urate excreted by the kidneys.

The effect of the bath on patients with gout

Treatment with a Finnish sauna (weekly for a month) causes an increase in hyperuricemia due to inhibition of renal excretion of urate. Xanthine oxidase did not change, which indirectly reflects a stable level of uric acid production.

It is necessary to pay special attention to the dynamics of oxypurinol and adenosine deaminase, the content of which in the blood by the end of sauna therapy clearly decreased. Changes in the concentration of adenosine deaminase most clearly reflect the internal processes occurring in purine metabolism during visits to the steam room in patients with gout.

It is important that despite the development of hyperuricemia during sauna therapy, exacerbation of arthritis is not observed, therefore no contraindications to this type of rehabilitation of patients have been established.

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Bath procedures are often used to treat joint diseases. In the early stages of the development of arthritis, arthrosis, rheumatism, osteochondrosis and other ailments, a bath can become a life-saving therapy against pain, inflammation and swelling. You can use any type of heating if there are no special contraindications or a doctor’s prohibition. At the stages of exacerbation, such a procedure is unacceptable.

How to treat arthrosis of the knee joint with medical cupping

It is better to carry out a vacuum massage procedure instead of diving into a snowdrift. For this you will need medical banks. What can this do for a diseased joint where deforming arthrosis has settled? The joints are located under a thick muscle layer, and therefore it seems that it is impossible to influence them with the help of medical cups. In fact, this is not true. The low pressure that is created under the cup significantly activates microcirculation deep in the layers of muscle tissue, thus influencing reflexogenic points. Symptoms of arthrosis of the knee joint are significantly reduced by treatment with this method. Swelling resolves, regeneration proceeds at a faster pace, the anti-inflammatory effect is very high. The main thing is that pain from arthrosis of the joints goes away. The periarticular area is lubricated with vegetable oil or Vaseline, after which a jar is placed in this place.

Vacuum massage can be performed both static and dynamic. In the first case, the jar is left stuck for fifteen, maximum twenty minutes. Before placing the can, the most painful place is determined by palpation, and that is where it should be placed. The doctor should tell and even show the patient how to treat arthrosis of the knee joint using dynamic vacuum massage. Two minutes after the start of suction, the jar is moved with slow circular movements, without lifting it from the skin. Where the pain is greatest, the joint is massaged especially carefully, leaving the jar in place longer.

As soon as the skin begins to turn red, the procedure must be stopped, and then be sure to wrap the affected area. To do this, before each warm-up, you need to prepare therapeutic knee pads for the joints in advance. You need to leave your legs alone for some time, give them a rest from the procedure for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Then you can return to your daily activities. The technique itself for performing this procedure depends on the type of medical cup. It can be either silicone or glass.

In the latter case, a burning wick is used, which in a couple of seconds burns out all the air in the can, and silicone cans can simply be squeezed, squeezing it out, then they absorb the skin and straighten out. A patient with arthrosis of the lower extremities should lie on his back, with a not too hard cushion under the knee. In many cases, cups are placed not only on the joint area, but also on the surface of the thigh, but in each case of using such procedures, precise recommendations from a doctor are necessary. Usually ten sessions of five minutes are prescribed, which are carried out every other day. It should be noted that cupping is not a thermal procedure, but the effect is very similar - the joint warms up.

Is it possible to go to the bathhouse with arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a complex disease of the musculoskeletal system that requires proper treatment. If you have inflammation of the knee, elbow, shoulder joint or other area, you should carefully consider your lifestyle, as incorrect actions can aggravate the disease and cause new pathologies. Some people believe that heating the body with arthritis can be harmful. This is incorrect information. In the early stages of the development of the disease, going to the sauna and warming up the inflamed joint is very useful. Wherein:

pain goes away;
inflammation decreases;
cleanses the body of toxins and salts;
tissue swelling decreases;
regeneration is accelerated;
relieves muscle spasms and relaxes;
joint tone and mobility returns;
immunity is strengthened.

Steaming during periods of exacerbation of joint disease is prohibited. This will make the problem worse.

In case of exacerbation, thermal procedures are contraindicated.
You can warm your joints in a bathhouse, sauna, or steam your feet at home if rheumatoid arthritis is still at an early stage. During a period of severe exacerbation, when dermatological diseases have become the root cause or consequence of arthritis, you should not take a steam bath. Each case is individual and requires the conclusions of the attending physician, who will allow or prohibit steam heating.

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Finnish sauna

The main advantage is the use of dry heat with minimal air humidity. Therefore, patients with slight swelling and a chronic form of the disease will also benefit from a Finnish sauna. It warms and cleanses the body, reducing joint pain. In this case, it is better to set a moderate temperature and wrap yourself up after the bath and sleep for an hour. If possible, the sauna should be visited at least 2 times every 7 days.

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Russian bath

During the procedure, it will be possible to warm up the joints well and speed up the treatment of arthritis. Indicators such as temperature, humidity and the time the patient spends in the steam room are determined by the doctor individually for each case. Enter moderately full, clean and unadorned. Natural ointments and creams against arthritis, which are rubbed in a circular motion during the procedure, will give greater effectiveness to the procedure. You should not give sudden changes in temperature (dousing, wiping with snow, cold showers) to patients with sore joints. After therapy, you need to wrap the injured area and drink herbal tea.

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Infrared sauna

Infrared heating is allowed for heart diseases.
Using infrared waves, the patient's body is warmed up, without the influence of water and air. This procedure is recommended for young children, elderly people or patients with diseases of the cardiovascular system. An ordinary bath or sauna is also not prohibited for them. Since a lot of water leaves the body during an infrared sauna, you should drink tea with herbs before and after the session. You must enter the booth clean and without metal jewelry.

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General rules and precautions

In order for a visit to a sauna or steam bath to bring maximum benefits, you should adhere to several rules.

It is allowed to visit the steam room only when symptoms subside or in remission of rheumatoid arthritis. You should not overuse the sauna; the optimal frequency of bath procedures is 1-2 times a week.
Before visiting the steam room for the first time, you should consult your doctor and exclude all possible contraindications.
If you feel unwell in the sauna, you need to interrupt the procedure and go out into the fresh air. Then you should drink a lot of water and take a sitting or lying position.
If after a steam session the joint is swollen and pain appears, you should go to the doctor as soon as possible. This is a dangerous symptom that may indicate purulent inflammation.
Temperature changes in sore joints are contraindicated. In this regard, contrast showers and jumping into ice water immediately after the steam room are prohibited.
It is important to monitor the body's water balance. Before using the sauna, you must drink enough water. After the steam room, herbal teas are recommended to quickly replenish water losses in the body.

After steaming, the pores open, this facilitates the penetration of the active ingredients of various ointments and creams directly to the sore joint. It is recommended to take medicinal arthritis cream with you to the sauna and apply it to the sore area immediately after completing the sauna procedures. In this case, you need to take a comfortable position and ensure peace for at least half an hour.

Contraindications

You should refrain from the procedure in the following conditions:

acute phase of the disease or exacerbation;
diseases of infectious nature;
acute heart failure;
acute thrombophlebitis and venous insufficiency;
oncological tumors;
atherosclerosis and epilepsy.

There may also be individual contraindications, since many diseases place restrictions on baths and saunas. Therefore, before treating joints with heat, you should consult a doctor.

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How to treat arthritis in a bath?

To get rid of the disease, high temperature should be used in combination with massage or blows with a broom. The overall temperature in the steam room should be comfortable. In case of severe pain, visits are made short but frequent. All contact agents are applied after warming up. Therapeutic massage against arthritis is performed before or after the sauna, during which it negatively affects the treatment. The best effect will be achieved with herbal infusions that are poured onto a hot stone.

Bibliography:

https://nogivnorme.ru/bolezni/artrit/lechenie-artritov/banya-pri-revmatoidnom-artrite.html
https://medicinanog.ru/zabolevaniya-sustavov/banya-pri-artrite.html
https://www.zdorow.dn.ua/bolezni/banya-lechenie-artrit.html
https://xn--h1aeegmc7b.xn--p1ai/zabolevaniya/mozhno-li-paritsya-v-bane-pri-artrite
https://osteokeen.ru/at/vazhno/mozhno-li-pri-artrite-hodit-v-banyu.html