Physiotherapeutic procedures for joint diseases: arthrosis

Arthrosis deformans is currently a fairly common joint disease for a variety of reasons. For example, people who constantly engage in strength sports, regularly go to the gym, often receive injuries to the shoulder joint, elbow, and knee. Untimely treatment when combined with premature loading leads to the formation of a chronic inflammatory process. This disease also often manifests itself in people over the age of 50, especially if they have worked physically all their lives.

Today, there are many methods for treating joint diseases, ranging from tablets to the introduction of drugs into the joint. Surgical methods are also used, but in order not to resort to such radical measures, it is advisable to carry out careful conservative treatment. And physiotherapy in the treatment of joints always gives a very good effect, reinforcing the effects of drug therapy.

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Physiotherapy

In complex treatment, the patient should pay attention to performing active movements, after consulting with a physical therapy specialist. A set of exercises for deforming arthrosis includes:

1. Rotate the foot alternately in one direction, then in the other. This exercise helps improve the elasticity of the ligaments.
2. While lying on your back, turn your feet towards you, then away from you.
3. While lying down, bend and straighten your knees. When extending, your legs should be parallel to the floor.
4. Starting position: sitting on a chair. Make movements with your feet, imitating walking.

Exercises should be performed constantly, for a long time, gradually increasing the load. The purpose of such exercises is to prevent the development of muscle atrophy, strengthen ligaments and restore mobility in the joint. Physical activity when performing exercises on the ankle joint should be safe, dosed, but effective. Its volume is determined by the doctor individually based on the stage of the disease.

Main symptoms

• The following signs signal the disease: Acute pain. Unpleasant sensations intensify with physical activity. Periodically, the pain syndrome may disappear, but returns with exacerbation.
• Accumulation of fluid around the affected joint. If left untreated, you may develop a Baker's cyst, which can only be removed through surgery.
• Crunching sound when moving. The joint becomes excessively mobile. The patient experiences discomfort.
• Deterioration of motor functions of the joint. He stops bending and unbending. There is pain when walking.
• Elevated temperature is the body’s protective reaction to the inflammatory process.
• Knee deformity. Untreated arthrosis provokes displacement of cartilage.

At stage 1 of the disease, joint mobility decreases slightly. A small number of osteophytes form at the edges of the bone plates. With II degree damage, pain is observed, crunching and clicking sounds are heard. The joint space narrows noticeably.

At stage 3, the knee joint becomes deformed. Mobility is severely limited. The joint space is partially or completely fused. A large number of bone growths are formed.

Degrees (stages) of development of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis of the joints (arthrosis) is a complex disease that is difficult to diagnose in the initial stages of development. Slow processes of cartilage tissue degeneration become noticeable only when the surfaces of the joints become unprotected and experience friction, causing pain.

Today in medicine it is customary to distinguish 3 stages (degrees) of disease development:

• 1st degree – characterized by immediate pain in the joint, without causing anxiety in the patient. It is almost impossible to independently diagnose the disease at this stage of development, since the rhythm of a person’s life does not change, and hidden disorders do not affect comfort.

  X-ray examination can help determine grade 1 osteoarthritis of the joint;

• Grade 2 – severe pain and limitation of movement force the patient to seek qualified help. Painful manifestations become more frequent and begin to disturb not only during movement, but also at rest.

  At this stage, the affected limb loses up to 50% of its usual mobility, which is associated with swelling of the muscle tissue. The lifestyle changes slightly, all actions are doable with minor difficulties.

  The main method for diagnosing stage 2 osteoarthritis of the joint is x-ray examination;

• Grade 3 - easily detected based on the occurrence of a serious problem with the joints. The cartilage tissue is completely destroyed, the joint space is absent. Negative lesions have spread to the joint tissue, which makes it impossible to treat the disease with medication.

  As a result of the lack of treatment for arthrosis, a complete loss of the ability to move the limb and, as a result, disability is likely.

How does physiotherapy work?

Due to the inflammatory process in the musculoskeletal tissue, metabolism is disrupted. Physiotherapy for arthrosis can solve many problems, having a positive effect on the body as a whole.

Procedure:

• Promotes rapid absorption of active drug components by cartilage tissues. Thanks to this, it is possible to reduce the dosage of drugs, which reduces the drug load on the body.
• Facilitates the body's task in people with chronic diseases. Allows drug components to work more effectively on the affected area.
• Improves the patient's physical condition. It has a beneficial effect on the immune system, so recovery occurs faster.

Treatment of arthrosis with physiotherapy has a positive effect on the effectiveness of prescribed drugs.

TOP 5 physiotherapeutic procedures for arthrosis

1. Therapeutic massage.

The mechanical effect helps to warm up the tissues, as a result of which their blood supply improves and muscle spasms are eliminated. Proper massage relieves pain and also accelerates the synthesis of synovial fluid. For this purpose, specialists practice kneading, stroking, rubbing and effleurage. To soften the effect, massage ointments or oils are good.

2. Laser therapy.

Penetrating through the skin, light affects the affected tissues and stimulates regeneration. The laser has a pronounced analgesic effect - it reduces the sensitivity of nerve endings and also improves blood circulation.

Laser therapy is indicated mainly for patients with arthrosis of the spine - cervical and lumbar regions

3. Magnetic therapy.

The method is based on vortex magnetic flows, which reduce stagnation and swelling of tissue at a fairly large depth - 5-10 cm. Magnetotherapy also promotes regeneration, accelerates the resorption of edema in the periarticular tissues, improves metabolism and has a beneficial effect on inflammation.

Improvements after magnetic therapy are noted by up to 90% of patients

4. Applications of ozokerite.

Ozokerite, a substance of petroleum origin, contains mineral oils, resins and paraffins. That is why it is often used as the basis of heat treatment, in the form of applications and compresses on the affected joint. Thanks to the warming effect, blood microcirculation improves and pain decreases.

5. Electrophoresis.

Medicines, such as painkillers and anti-inflammatory novocaine, dimexide, are administered using electric current through intact skin. This relieves the patient of side effects that are possible with conventional administration. In addition, the drugs act locally - directly on the joint. The active substance accumulates in the layers of the skin after several procedures. The current strength is minimal and is not felt by humans.

The therapeutic effect of a course of electrophoresis lasts up to three weeks

Indications and contraindications

Physical therapy for arthrosis of the knee joint is prescribed for damage of degrees I, II and III, but during a period of remission. Pain appears in stage 2 of the disease. She forces the patient to spare the joint. He tries to reduce the load when walking. Because of this, physical inactivity occurs. Not only the musculoskeletal system suffers, but also the circulatory system, muscles, and digestive organs. As a result, ligament weakness and muscle girdle atrophy appear. When the disease worsens, doctors recommend limiting movement. As the condition improves, massage is prescribed for grade 2 arthrosis of the knee joint and other procedures to increase muscle strength and endurance. Carrying out the procedure during an exacerbation will only aggravate the situation: there is a possibility of accumulation of purulent or interarticular fluid in the affected area.

Other contraindications to physiotherapy:

• low-quality tumors of any area;
• active tuberculosis;
• epilepsy;
• late stage liver cirrhosis;
• chronic renal failure in a critical stage;
• chronic cardiovascular diseases in the decompilation stage;
• increased body temperature;
• psychoneurological diseases.

Physiotherapy is prescribed only by a doctor, after thoroughly examining the patient.

Are there any contraindications to physiotherapy for arthrosis?

You cannot take physiotherapy courses:

• during late pregnancy;
• if an active inflammatory process occurs in the joint;
• for mental illnesses (epilepsy, psychomotor agitation and other pathologies with a tendency to agitation);
• for malignant tumors of any location;
• with active forms of tuberculosis;
• for severe diseases of the heart and blood vessels, for example, stage 2-3 heart failure or stage 3 hypertension;
• severe atherosclerosis;
• with extreme exhaustion of the body and severe weight loss;
• with bleeding tendencies.

Each type of physiotherapy has its own contraindications

Diagnostics

To exclude arthritis, tendonitis, tendovaginitis, in which symptoms are similar to arthrosis, differential diagnosis is carried out. Using an instrumental examination, the condition of the knee joint and its functional activity are determined. An X-ray is performed. The image shows all the changes: osteophytes, narrowing of the joint space, deformation of bone structures.

You can learn more about the level of cartilage damage after CT, ultrasound, and MRI. Research will help to find out about the location of inflammation in soft tissues, muscles, ligaments and tendons.

Massotherapy

It is better to take physiotherapeutic procedures in combination with therapeutic massage. Massage after a radon or hydrogen sulfide bath, as well as mud therapy procedures, are prescribed for arthritis beyond the acute stage. Baths and ultraviolet irradiation are best taken every other day. One day - massage, the next day - bath or irradiation.

Massage for deforming arthrosis helps restore joint mobility and relieve pain when moving. In combination with physical therapy, it prevents the development of atrophy of the affected joint.

During a massage session, additional gymnastic exercises can be performed aimed at developing muscles and joints. The massage therapist performs passive movements on the patient to resist, stretch and relax the muscles of the affected area. The movements are performed smoothly, slowly, without jerking, with maximum relaxation of the patient’s muscles.

Passive movements are aimed at preventing shortening of muscles and ligaments, increasing muscle tone, and improving joint mobility. They help to quickly remove accumulated synovial fluid.

Types of procedures

To improve the patient's condition and relieve inflammation, various methods are used. The list includes:

• UVT for arthrosis of the knee joint - activates the processes of regeneration of cartilage tissue. A decrease in pain and an increase in microcirculation of blood vessels is noted after the first procedure.

• HIVAMAT therapy is a special type of vibration massage. Electrostatic impulses have a complex effect: relieve pain and swelling, relieve inflammation.

• Massage for arthrosis of the knee joint - prescribed to relieve pain and gradually restore motor functions of the joint.

• Acupuncture. The method activates neurons that suppress pain in the affected area. Acupuncture improves metabolic processes in the joint. The affected areas of cartilage are restored.

• Kinesitherapy is a variant of exercise therapy for restoring joint mobility, based on decompression simulators. They minimize the load on joints and vertebrae during exercise, eliminating the risk of cartilage abrasion. A set of exercises was developed by specialists and is aimed at strengthening muscles by developing adjacent tissues. You can also complete some of the tasks at home for a speedy recovery.

• Manual therapy and osteopathy help to work with the reasons that caused changes in the human body that led to the disease

All the methods described are effective ways to quickly recover from illness. But for a quick recovery without long-term use of medications, it is necessary to promptly contact an orthopedic traumatologist for help. In our center, we have selected a team of experienced specialists who, working together, will create an effective recovery program. You can verify this by reading the video reviews of our patients on our website or with reviews on other sites on the Internet, of which we have already accumulated quite a few during the work of our clinic.

Causes of arthrosis

• Destruction of the joint due to natural wear and tear (aging of the body).
• Hormonal disorders (menopause, endocrine diseases).
• Congenital defects of the musculoskeletal system.
• Injuries, surgery on the knee joint.
• Professional sports.
• Monotonous physical work with increased load on the knee joints.
• Excess body weight.
• Genetic predisposition.
• Autoimmune diseases.

Surgical methods of treatment

1. Arthroscopy . The essence of this surgical procedure is as follows: using a special device, an arthroscope, the doctor removes pieces of destroyed cartilage, bone growths and other elements that lead to pain from the joint cavity.
2. Arthrodesis is an operation in which cartilage is removed and articular bones are fused. The surgery results in loss of ankle mobility, but some foot mobility is retained.
3. Endoprosthesis replacement is a progressive operation in the final stages of the disease, during which the articular surfaces are replaced with prostheses. After the operation, movement in the joint is completely restored.

To avoid having to resort to surgery, seek help from a doctor in the early stages of the disease and do not self-medicate.