Arthritis of the jaw joint (TMJ): causes, symptoms and treatment features

Arthritis of the knee joint has another more common name among medical professionals - drives. The disease can be defined by a typical clinical picture, quite pronounced symptoms of damage to the musculoskeletal system. The inflammatory process in the tissues that form the joint has different causes, so sometimes treating knee arthritis can be a simultaneous task for several related doctors.

“ArthroMedCenter” is the first Russian spine clinic, where all the attention of doctors is focused on ensuring that patients get rid of problems and disorders. We offer treatment for knee arthritis using an innovative method - MBST therapy.

Causes of arthritis

Many people mistakenly believe that this disease is age dependent and only affects older people. But every year the statistics are terrifying - more and more young people suffer from this disease. Most often this happens due to heavy load on the joints, poor nutrition, impaired metabolism, smoking and constant sedentary work. All this affects the wear of the articular surfaces. In addition to the above reasons, the following factors may influence the development of arthritis:

• injuries, mechanical damage to joints;
• infectious agents;
• diseases of internal organs;
• helminthic infestations;
• joint pathologies;
• septic conditions;
• other diseases that cause complications on connective tissues.

Causes of post-traumatic arthritis

Before considering the symptoms of post-traumatic arthritis, it is important to understand the causes of its occurrence and development.

Key reason

post-traumatic arthritis - damage to joint tissues (muscle, connective, bone), as well as the vessels and nerves inside them. Cartilage tissue rarely suffers from injury, however, inflammatory foci located near it provoke an acceleration of its wear.

Damage to joint tissues can occur due to reasons such as:

• injuries received at home, at work or during sports training;
• damage received as a result of an accident and other unusual situations;
• surgeries and other medical events.

In addition, the causes of post-traumatic arthritis are not always serious injuries. Pathology can develop due to lack of treatment for even mild bruises.

Types of arthritic inflammation

This inflammatory disease has two degrees of involvement, according to which it can be systematized: monoarthritis (develops in one joint) and polyarthritis (affects several joints at the same time). According to the rheumatological classification, arthritis is divided into types, some of which can only be determined through tests. Therefore, if you have regular joint pain, do not self-medicate. We recommend contacting the Innovative Medical Center, where experienced specialists, after examination, will give you an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the necessary treatment.

There are these types of arthritis:

• reactive;
• rheumatoid;
• infectious;
• gouty;
• psoriatic;
• osteoarthritis;
• traumatic.

• Knee-joint
• Elbow joint
• Shoulder joint
• Finger joints
• Joints of the hands

What is arthritis and why is it important to know?

Every year since 1996, on the initiative of the World Health Organization and the ARI Association (Arthritis Rheumatism International), October 12 is celebrated as World Arthritis Day.
Arthritis refers to a large group of joint diseases, which includes more than 100 diagnoses. Among them are diseases that affect tens of millions of people around the world, for example, arthrosis, as well as rheumatoid arthritis (according to medical statistics in the Russian Federation, 284.3 thousand patients suffer from rheumatoid arthritis).

Arthritis can affect children, even newborns, and the elderly. Most often these are patients of working age – between 40 and 50 years. Women suffer from these diseases 2 – 2.5 times more often than men.

“In terms of life expectancy and its decline, the first place is occupied by cardiovascular diseases and cancer, and in terms of quality of life, the most severe are diseases of the joints. They lead to severe disability. About a third of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis are indeed very severely disabled, as are patients with osteoarthritis, which requires joint replacement,” says the founder of the Canon clinic, orthopedic traumatologist, candidate of medical sciences Vitaly Dryagin.

With early detection of the disease, timely treatment and availability of high-tech medical care, the quality of life of patients suffering from severe forms of rheumatic diseases can be significantly improved. And you can reduce the risk of developing these diseases by following a few simple tips: spend more time in the fresh air, don’t smoke, and lead a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, humanity has not come up with anything else. This can reduce the risk by several percent.

A little history

Arthritis is one of the oldest diseases on earth. Archaeologists have found the remains of primitive people, from the fragments of which one could guess the existence of this disease. In the La Chapelle cave (France), researchers found the skeleton of a male paleoanthropist who died at the age of 40-45. He was diagnosed with a hip fracture and deforming arthritis of the spine and lower jaw. Also in the Shanidar-1 cave, they found the skeleton bones of a man who lived about 45 thousand years ago, with severe arthritis of the feet. Moreover, traces of joint disease were recorded during the study of the skeletons of ancient lizards - brontosaurs.

Nowadays, according to WHO, every tenth inhabitant of the planet suffers from arthritis!

In America alone, there are 42 million people suffering from this disease. The working population aged thirty to fifty suffers most often. A large percentage of those affected are children, in whom this disease can lead to disability. Often this disease affects internal organs, which can even lead to the death of the patient. Scientists have not reached a consensus on why some people get arthritis and others do not. General causes that are characteristic of most diseases are usually called. However, it has been observed that smokers have an increased risk of getting sick.

There are several types of arthritis. The knee joint hurts for a long time after a fall or bruise - this means traumatic arthritis. If a connection between arthritis and allergies is noticed, then we have allergic arthritis, inflamed joints in children - juvenile arthritis (20 thousand children in Russia are affected by it). The attack happened after a cold, which means the arthritis is infectious. There are also psoriatic, gouty, rheumatoid and other types of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most severe and is considered an independent disease.

Joint disease can be acute or chronic. Acute pain “twists” a person for several days. Chronic symptoms do not manifest themselves so violently and can drag on for years with periods of remission.

Patients' underestimation of the importance of the problem of pain in the joints and spine leads to late presentation and, as a result, reduces the patients' chances of achieving remission, a favorable course of the disease, and increases the risk of disability.

Smoking, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity in some cases are triggers in the development and progression of rheumatic diseases.

Nowadays, rheumatological diseases are one of the reasons for the increasing number of cases and disability. This disease can affect not only the elderly, but also young people and even children.

Restriction in movement, pain, kidney failure, disability - this is what arthritis can bring with it. Joint diseases require long-term and constant medical supervision and treatment. Patients need rehabilitation and social adaptation. But rheumatoid arthritis most often affects working people aged 30 to 50 years. Women suffer from this disease five times more often than men. Five years after the onset of the disease, half of the patients become disabled and lose their ability to work.

Arthritis symptoms

1. Pain and stiffness

The first symptom that makes you see a doctor is pain in the joint. Patients often say that it is “aching” and not clearly localized. The intensity of pain can vary depending on the stage of the disease - from severe, limiting joint mobility, to moderate, occurring only with certain movements. Joint pain tends to intensify with exercise and decrease after rest. As osteoarthritis progresses, pain begins to occur with minimal activity and, in advanced cases, it can even wake the patient in the middle of the night.

Stiffness or “starting” pain usually occurs after a period of rest, especially in the morning, and after a period of low activity, when it is difficult to start moving, and soon disappears against the background of physical activity. Joint stiffness due to osteoarthritis is short-lived, usually lasting no longer than 15 minutes.

2. Increase in volume of the joint (swelling)

This occurs when irritation of the synovium causes extra lubricating fluid to leak into the joint, just as your eye produces tears in response to any irritation. But in a joint, the extra lubricating fluid cannot flow out as easily, and thus it causes swelling of the joint. This most often occurs in large joints: the hips, knees and spine.

3. Bone outgrowths

A fairly common complication of osteoarthritis is the appearance of bone spurs (called nodules) in the joints of the hand. They usually occur in women and sometimes occur as early as the age of 40.

Although these knots can make the hand joints painful, most people continue to use their hands without restriction. Pain can be reduced with appropriate treatment in the early stages. Some people feel no pain with these joints, and many people with this type of osteoarthritis never have serious problems in other joints.

Diagnosis of arthritis.

If arthritis is suspected, the doctor conducts a detailed questioning and examination of the patient, after which he prescribes additional research methods, such as a general and biochemical blood test, determination of the content of rheumatoid factor in the blood, radiography of the affected joints, etc. With arthritis, signs of inflammation are detected in the blood - increases ESR, leukocyte count, rheumatoid factor level. X-ray examination helps make the diagnosis.

Among additional research methods, thermographic (thermal imaging) and ultrasound (ultrasound) examination of joints can help to detect inflammation in the joints or surrounding tissues, which cannot be seen on an x-ray.

Arthritis treatment

Treatment of arthritis is a rather complex process aimed at:

· reduction of manifestations of the disease, restoration of metabolism in the joint and the maximum possible preservation of the function of damaged joints;

· eliminating the main cause of arthritis;

· treatment of the disease that causes arthritis.

Treatment options

Pharmacological:

· local therapy (use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory creams, ointments or gels);

· intra-articular or periarticular administration of glucocorticosteroids.

Non-pharmacological:

· selection of orthopedic shoes with soft soles and fixed heels; wearing instep supports, knee pads, and canes when walking;

· physiotherapy;

Reducing the load on joints (loss of body weight);

· physiotherapeutic treatment (massage, thermal procedures, magnetic therapy, laser therapy, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, ultrasound, electrical pulse stimulation of muscles);

· getting rid of bad habits (quitting smoking, excessive consumption of coffee drinks).

Surgical:

For many, a successful operation or a plaster cast removed after many months of suffering means that the treatment is over. But final recovery, without relapses and complications, is unthinkable without a subsequent course of restorative procedures.

The effectiveness of treatment depends on how quickly a person goes to the clinic when pain symptoms appear, as well as on the stage and degree of development of the disease and on the discipline of the patient.

Use of orthopedic products for arthritis

Orthopedic products can be used to prevent arthritis. They help maintain quality of life, speed up recovery and avoid relapses:

· knee pads and knee orthoses – fix the joint, have a micromassage and thermal effect;

· fixators, correctors, ankle orthoses – used both during periods of exacerbation and for the prevention of arthritis;

· Elbow braces, elbow pads – used both during exacerbation and for the prevention of arthritis;

· wrist fixators, splints, splints – for arthrosis-arthritis of the wrist joint;

· orthopedic insoles, orthopedic shoes.

"School of Healthy Joints"

You can get complete information on the prevention and treatment of arthrosis by attending classes at the “School of Healthy Joints” at the “Canon” clinic.

Lesson topics:

1. What is important to know about osteoarthritis? Risk factors for the development of osteoarthritis. Diagnosis and clinical picture.

2. What is important to know about joint diseases? Risk factors for the development of joint diseases.

3. Healthy eating. What a patient needs to know about nutrition. The concept of overweight and obesity.

4. Physical activity and osteoarthritis. How to live with osteoarthritis?

Symptoms of developing arthritis

Each of these types has its own distinctive characteristics. With reactive arthritis, in addition to pain, joint swelling occurs and their mobility is limited. Also a symptom of reactive arthritis in women is irritation of the mucous membrane of the eye, which can cause conjunctivitis and burning eyes. Treatment for reactive arthritis lasts on average from six months to a year.

Rheumatoid inflammation of tissue joints is characterized by symmetrical damage to the joints, the appearance of dense nodes at the bend. At first, the disease practically does not show itself: the patient feels slight discomfort only in the morning. If you do not pay proper attention to this type of arthritis, a person’s condition can worsen significantly. With exacerbations of rheumatoid arthritis, symptoms of fever, numbness of the limbs, and inflammation of the lymph nodes occur. Often the patient experiences pain when inhaling. Effective treatment of rheumatoid arthritis occurs in the first months of the disease.

With an infectious form of arthritis, body temperature rises, body weakness and headaches occur, and periarticular tissues swell. This type of inflammation can only be determined after a complete examination.

Gouty arthritis is a little easier to identify because it usually appears in the first joint of the big toe. The disease can also develop on both the knee and elbow joints. The inflamed area becomes red and swollen. Treatment for gouty arthritis is much easier than for others.

Psoriatic arthritis destroys the small joints of the limbs and has asymmetrical lesions, which distinguishes this type of arthritis from rheumatoid arthritis. Symptoms of psoriatic type are purplish-blue swelling of the joint joints.

Osteoarthritis is characterized by the slow destruction of cartilage joints and adjacent tissues. The disease affects both the limbs and the spine, and is accompanied by a crunching sound when bending or moving.

Traumatic arthritis has the same symptoms as osteoarthritis.

Symptoms of knee arthritis

In most clinical cases, an acute course of gonarthritis is detected. The disease most often occurs suddenly. In the case of essential arthritis, nothing precedes the appearance of inflammation. In other cases, a connection is established with injury, sports activity or concomitant diseases.

The course of the disease is characterized by the following symptom complex:

• Swelling of the soft tissues around, as well as an increase in its size (asymmetry may appear);
• Severe pain syndrome (pain can be bothersome both at rest and when moving the limb);
• Local hyperthermia of the skin above the knee (due to congestion of blood vessels at the site of inflammation);
• Restricted knee mobility due to pain and swelling (after a course of therapy for knee arthritis, mobility is fully restored);
• Violation of normal gait (due to the inability to fully bend the leg);
• Intoxication of the body (fever, weakness, headaches).

Cost of arthritis treatment

Contact us

Call now

8 (495) 803-27-45

Make an appointment through our service

Make an appointment

Diagnosis of the disease

If a patient has symptoms of knee damage, the traumatologist first of all conducts an objective examination. After examination, palpation and auscultation of the joint, the doctor makes a preliminary diagnosis and determines what additional research methods may be needed.

To exclude the presence of fluid or blood in the joint cavity, an ultrasound examination is prescribed. X-rays may be needed to assess the condition of the adjacent bones. In this case, a fracture, dislocation, narrowing of the intercartilaginous gap or the presence of osteophytes (bone outgrowths) may be detected. If a more thorough assessment of the condition of bone tissue is necessary, computed tomography is prescribed.

For differential diagnosis of damage to the meniscus and ligamentous apparatus, magnetic resonance imaging is prescribed, which allows for good visualization of soft tissue formations.

Sometimes doctors perform joint punctures (if there is exudate in its cavity). The extracted synovial fluid is sent for laboratory testing (microscopic, bacteriological, and biochemical studies are carried out). In addition, during manipulation it is possible to administer medications directly into the joint cavity. Without using all diagnostic methods, treatment of knee arthritis will be ineffective.

What happens if arthritis is left untreated?

Most of the population of the CIS countries lives by the principle “if a person doesn’t have any pain, then he is already dead,” thereby continuing to endure pain every day. Some adhere to the views of traditional medicine, but, as practice has shown, such procedures are practically useless in the fight against serious diseases. So what awaits a person who refuses treatment for arthritis?

1. Uncontrolled development of the disease.

Without proper attention, inflammation will grow and develop, which means that arthritis sufferers will experience increased pain and swelling. In addition, the disease will affect new healthy cells, completely affecting the entire body.

2. Arthrosis of the joints.

Due to the lack of treatment, the disease can develop into the process of destruction of the joint - arthrosis, which can lead to disability.

Therefore, treatment for arthritis must begin as early as possible.

Treatment of post-traumatic arthritis

The process of treating post-traumatic arthritis involves a combination of a number of methods, including:

• pharmacological;
• physiotherapy;
• non-medicinal.

Timely initiation of treatment allows for remission to be achieved.

Properly structured treatment of post-traumatic arthritis provides the opportunity to:

• preventing the progression of pathology;
• pain relief and inflammation reduction;
• the ability to maintain joint mobility;
• maintaining the same standard of living.

The course, its duration and the list of additional, supportive therapy are determined exclusively by the attending physician, on an individual basis, taking into account the degree of development of the pathological process, the age and state of health of the patient.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapeutic treatment is an effective method of restoring the functional capabilities of the human body for various types of diseases and pathologies.

The most effective are:

Drugs used in the treatment of post-traumatic arthritis

Drug treatment involves the implementation of several stages:

• removal of acute inflammatory process;
• the appointment of maintenance therapy, which involves the regeneration of articular tissues and the normalization of metabolic processes.

In the treatment of joint injury, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are used, one of the most effective of which is Artradol.

. Drugs in this group play a critical role in the success of treatment.

Depending on the nature of the lesion, other groups of drugs may be prescribed, which usually include:

• painkillers;
• corticosteroids;
• chondroprotectors.

All prescribed medications can be available in various forms.

Therapeutic physical education (PT) as a method of complex treatment of post-traumatic arthritis

Therapeutic physical education (PT) is an effective component of drug treatment, the use of which is especially important during the remission stage.

Performing a set of exercises, developed in accordance with the existing symptomatic picture and the general health of the patient, helps maintain the motor activity of the joint, as well as strengthen the muscular system.

It is recommended to perform gymnastic exercises in various positions (sitting/lying/in water), under the supervision of a physical therapy instructor.

Surgical intervention

The presence of an advanced stage of development of the pathological process or the lack of effectiveness of drug and physiotherapeutic treatment may lead to the need for radical treatment methods

, among which is surgical intervention.

There are two types of operations:

• open;
• closed.

The surgical intervention is performed by a traumatologist-surgeon, after a carefully conducted comprehensive examination, mainly under general anesthesia.

Affected joints may undergo manipulations such as:

• joint replacement with an endoprosthesis;
• osteotomy (elimination of deformity);
• osteosynthesis (fixation of bone fragments) using screws, nails, knitting needles and other medical structures;
• plastic correction of the ligamentous apparatus.

The patient is discharged after surgery, as a rule, after the sutures are removed.

Complications

The most severe consequences occur if treatment for post-traumatic arthritis is not started in time. Complications are:

• impaired mobility, which is often thought to be due to injury rather than arthritis;
• lameness;
• articular joint deformity;
• subluxations;
• contractures;
• periarthritis (inflammation of periarticular tissues);
• deforming arthrosis;
• bursitis.

In the later stages, it is difficult to restore motor activity and get rid of complications.

The most dangerous consequence of post-traumatic arthritis is purulent infection and sepsis.

Stages of gonarthritis

There are three stages of the disease in total:

1. Initial. Characterized by inflammation of the inner surface of the synovial membrane. The initial stage does not last long, since the inflammatory process quickly spreads to other structures.
2. Early gonarthritis. Inflammation affects the synovial membrane and cartilage tissue. The joint capsule thickens and becomes swollen. If the disease is infectious, purulent exudate may accumulate in the joint cavity; if it is reactive, transudate may accumulate.
3. Advanced gonarthritis. At the third stage, destructive changes appear in the synovium and cartilage. Later, the pathological process spreads to bone and periarticular tissues. The patient has impaired mobility of the knee and, as a result, of the entire lower limb.

Stages of knee arthritis on x-ray.

The development of some types of arthritis can be stopped if treatment is started in time. Often the disease can be completely cured without allowing the second stage to progress to the third. Most infectious, reactive and early post-traumatic gonarthritis respond well to treatment, provided that the therapy is timely and adequate. As for rheumatoid, psoriatic and advanced post-traumatic arthritis, they have a chronic progressive course. This means that even effective and timely treatment cannot stop their development. Therefore, a large number of patients sooner or later have to undergo surgery. According to statistics, every eighth patient with rheumatoid arthritis and every fifth patient with severe knee injuries require knee replacement.

Joint replacement surgery for knee arthritis

Knee replacement is required in the later stages of arthritis, when degenerative changes in the joints make it difficult to lead a normal lifestyle. In such cases, endoprosthetics is the only effective method of surgical treatment. The operation is performed to get rid of pain and restore normal mobility of the limb.

Indications for total endoprosthetics:

• all types of arthritis accompanied by loss of motor function of the knee;
• Bekhterev's disease with damage to the knee joint;
• severe consequences of injuries (deforming osteoarthritis, intra-articular fractures, improperly healed fractures of the femoral and tibial condyles).

Surgery is necessary if the patient has at least one of these symptoms:

• chronic pain syndrome that cannot be treated;
• hallux valgus deformity of 20 degrees or more;
• varus deformity of 15 degrees or more;
• flexion contracture of 15 degrees or more;
• the presence of complex instability in the affected joint.

Not only people with arthritis and their consequences may need knee replacement. One of the common indications for surgery is deforming osteoarthritis (DOA). The disease develops in old age and is accompanied by degenerative and destructive changes in cartilage and bone tissue. Many patients have concomitant osteoporosis.

Symptoms and causes of TMJ arthritis, classification

The main symptoms of temporomandibular joint arthritis are:

• pain in the affected area, it is excruciating, acute, aggravated by exercise and movement;
• jaw mobility is limited, opening or closing the mouth is problematic;
• swelling appears around the sore spot;
• pronounced hyperemia.

The pain intensifies when opening the mouth, talking, chewing and other stress. Typically, greater discomfort is felt in the first half of the day, and by evening the pain subsides. But stiffness and difficulty opening the mouth remain. One of the characteristic signs is distortion when trying to open the mouth wide.

As the situation worsens, pulsation appears in the affected area. Acute arthritis of the temporomandibular joint is characterized by symptoms such as redness and swelling, fever, and suppuration. General health worsens, fatigue appears, and appetite decreases.

The main causes of the disease are:

• otitis media;
• flu;
• tonsillitis;
• infectious lesion of the temporal bone tissue;
• angina;
• osteomyelitis of the jaw;
• phlegmon of fatty tissue of the parotid-masticatory zone;
• mastoiditis of bone and mucous tissue.

The causes of the reactive form are rubella, chlamydia, enteritis, and viral hepatitis. Often the problem develops against the background of meningococcal infection. However, pathogenic microorganisms do not penetrate into the cavity; they only cause inflammation.

Prospects for recovery after surgery

Endoprosthesis replacement is the most effective method of treating pathological changes in the knee joint. It allows you to get rid of chronic pain, completely restore the mobility of the knee and return the person to the ability to move. In the absence of complications and a favorable course of the recovery period, a person can return to a full life within a few months.

However, no prosthesis can completely replace the “native” joint. Therefore, after the operation you will have to take some precautions. You will not be allowed to kneel, engage in certain sports, jump, fall, make sudden movements, etc.

As for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, after surgery they will have to continue to take basic anti-inflammatory and genetically engineered drugs. Drug therapy is necessary to reduce the activity of the disease, avoid further destruction of large joints and another operation.