1) actually infectious or septic, in which the infectious agent is located in the joint cavity, which determines the purulent nature of the synovial fluid;
2) parainfectious, or reactive, occurring in chronological connection with a specific infection, but in the absence of pathogens in the joint cavity, sometimes with the formation or deposition of corresponding immune complexes in the joints.
The latter include rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculous rheumatism (Poncet polyarthritis), arthritis due to dysentery, salmonellosis, yersiniosis, etc.
The main causes of septic arthritis are staphylococcal, streptococcal, gonococcal infections, as well as gram-negative microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Proteus), etc. Acute infectious arthritis can occur against the background of furunculosis, sore throat, pneumonia, after cystoscopy, operations on the abdominal organs and genitourinary system and etc. Diabetes mellitus, malignant neoplasms, RA and other diseases, and chronic alcoholism predispose to the development of infectious arthritis.
Joint damage (in 80% of cases - monoarthritis) develops against the background of other symptoms of sepsis. The knee and hip joints are most often affected, less commonly the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and ankle joints.
Typically acute onset of arthritis, with sharp pain, fever, chills. The infected joint is severely painful, red, hot and swollen, contains effusion, and mobility and function are severely limited due to pain. With an infection of the hip joint, the pain may radiate to the front of the thigh or knee; with an infection of the sacroiliac joint, the pain may radiate to the buttocks, lower back, or the area of the sciatic nerve. Multiple joint damage in septic arthritis is rare; SLE patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs are more prone to it.
When examining the synovial fluid, high cytosis is detected (20-104/ml) with a predominance (up to 90%) of neutrophils. The liquid is cloudy, its viscosity is reduced, the mucin clot is loose. X-rays reveal stretching of the capsule and swelling of the periarticular tissues; epiphyseal osteoporosis, narrowing of the joint space, subchondral erosions are detected very early, and with inadequate treatment, rapid destruction of cartilage and bone.
The outcome of the disease can be secondary deforming osteoarthritis or bone ankylosis of the joint.
The possibility of an infectious etiology of arthritis should be assumed in all cases of acute mono- and oligoarthritis. The diagnosis is confirmed by examining the synovial fluid - viewing Gram-stained smears and isolating a culture of microorganisms.
For septic arthritis, antimicrobial drugs are used and adequate drainage of the joint cavity is performed. The earlier treatment is started, the greater the chance of preserving joint function, so antibiotic therapy is started before the results of synovial fluid culture are available. Once the pathogen has been identified, treatment can be revised if necessary. Antibiotics that easily penetrate the joint from the blood are administered parenterally. Intra-articular antibiotics are not necessary and may cause irritation of the synovium. For streptococcal and staphylococcal infections, penicillin is used at 250,000 units/kg per day, on average for adults 12-20 million units intravenously, distributed over 4 doses, or zeporin at 60-100 mg/kg per day in 2-3 doses. Treatment is carried out for 3-6 weeks.
For gram-negative flora, a combination of an aminoglycoside (for example, gentamicin) with a broad-spectrum antibiotic (penicillin, cephalosporin) is recommended.
Daily or every other day drainage of the joint cavity is indicated, with aspiration of pus, which allows preserving articular cartilage. It is necessary to rest the limb until pain and inflammation decrease; sometimes it is immobilized with a splint. Passive exercises can be started a few days after the start of treatment, and active ones - after the inflammation has subsided; stress on the joint is prohibited until the symptoms of active inflammation have completely disappeared.
The course of treatment is 1 - 1.5 months.
If treatment is insufficiently effective, the disease takes a long course with the formation of persistent joint deformation and limited mobility.
In the development of gonococcal arthritis, 2 phases are distinguished - a short (2-4 days) “bacteremic”, characterized by fever, chills, migrating arthralgia, and a long “septic” with damage to one or two joints (usually the knee, ankle, elbow, wrist). Inflammation of the heel tendon is considered characteristic of gonococcal infection, as well as damage to the ankle joints with the development of the so-called “flat gonorrheal foot”. The latter is associated with the spread of infection from the ankle joint to the metatarsal and tarsal joints with simultaneous atrophy of the muscles of the foot and lower leg and the development of flat feet. The outcome of gonococcal arthritis, as a rule, is secondary deforming osteoarthritis.
The diagnosis of the disease is confirmed by a positive blood culture, detection of gonococcus in the synovial fluid, or specific skin manifestations of infection - papules with a red base, usually filled with purulent contents with necrosis in the center and localized on the back, distal limbs or around the joints.
Differential diagnosis of gonococcal arthritis should primarily be carried out with arthritis in Reiter's syndrome.
Massive doses of antibiotics are effective for gonococcal arthritis. The following combinations of drugs can be used: penicillin intravenously at 10 million units per day until the clinical manifestations of arthritis decrease, then ampicillin 2.0 g for 7-10 days or high doses of penicillin intravenously or intramuscularly for 3 days, then ampicillin 3.5 g daily day for 7 days. Repeated daily aspirations of synovial fluid and the administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are advisable.
Osteoarticular tuberculosis is one of the most common extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis. There are tuberculous arthritis, spinal tuberculosis (Pott's disease) and Poncet's polyarthritis.
As a rule, large joints are affected - knee, hip, ankle, wrist. The affected joint is swollen, warm to the touch, moderately painful, and movement in it is limited. In a number of patients, joint function is limited due to pain and reflex muscle contractures. Muscle atrophy may develop. When the wrist joint is affected, “carpal tunnel syndrome” often develops, clinically manifested by entrapment of the median nerve. Often, periarticular tissues are involved in the pathological process with the development of a “cold abscess,” i.e., an abscess without pronounced erythema and pain on palpation. In the synovial fluid, the number of leukocytes (mainly neutrophils) exceeds 10,000; in approximately 20% of patients, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is cultured from the synovial fluid. X-rays in the early stages of arthritis reveal diffuse osteoporosis, marginal bone defects, and rarely, a limited bone cavity with the presence of sequestration. In the late stage of arthritis, destruction of the articular ends of bones, their displacement and subluxation often occur.
To establish a diagnosis, it is important to sow a specific culture from the joint cavity, biopsy of the synovial membrane with the identification of characteristic tuberculous granulomas during its histological examination, detection of other tuberculous foci in the body, positive reactions to tuberculin in skin tests (Pirquet, Mantoux reactions).
Spinal tuberculosis (Pott's disease) occurs mainly in children and young people (under 30 years of age). In adults, the lower thoracic and upper lumbar regions are most often affected; in children, the thoracic spine is most often affected. Specific bone changes are localized at the edges of the vertebral bodies, affecting one or two adjacent vertebrae. As a rule, there is lysis and sclerosis of bone with destruction of articular cartilage, as indicated by narrowing of the joint space. As bones degrade, the front of adjacent vertebrae shrinks, causing a hump to form. The process often spreads to the intervertebral cartilage and paravertebral tissues, which is accompanied by the formation of paraspinal cold abscesses. Abscesses may spread along the spine or rib and reach the chest or sternum. When cranial nerves are involved in the pathological process, severe neurological symptoms up to paraplegia are often detected. Damage to the lumbar region is observed less frequently and is clinically manifested, as a rule, by unilateral sacroiliitis.
For the diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis, X-ray and computed tomography data are important. Likewise, in the diagnosis of tuberculous arthritis, the final diagnosis is based on data from a bacteriological examination of the contents of a cold abscess.
Differential diagnosis is carried out with lesions of the spine due to other infections, tumor metastases in the spine. Poncet polyarthritis is a reactive arthritis that develops against the background of visceral tuberculosis. Characteristic damage to small joints. Clinically, constant long-term joint pain and swelling are noted. There is no suppuration of the joints or formation of fistulas in them. There is a strict parallelism between the severity of the main process and the clinical manifestations of joint damage. When tuberculosis of the visceral organs subsides, changes in the joints completely disappear. Differential diagnosis is carried out with RA. For tuberculosis of the osteoarticular system, as well as tuberculosis of the visceral organs, long-term (usually at least 2 years) treatment is carried out with two bactericidal drugs, for example isoniazid (tubazid) in combination with streptomycin, PAS or rifampicin or other anti-tuberculosis drugs. Additionally, it is necessary to widely use special orthopedic treatment methods.
In acute brucellosis, arthralgia and myalgia are short-term, quickly disappear when antimicrobial therapy is prescribed, and can resolve on their own. Most often, spondylitis and sacroiliitis develop with brucellosis, especially in elderly people with severe disease. Sacroiliitis develops in the 1st month of the disease. It can be unilateral or bilateral. The lumbar spine is usually affected. Often the intravertebral disc is involved in the process, which is manifested by narrowing of the intervertebral spaces; destruction of the vertebral bodies and calcification of the longitudinal ligaments at the level of the affected discs (ossifying ligamentitis) are observed. Vertebral osteoporosis, periosteal thickenings, and paravertebral abscesses can be detected. Damage to intervertebral joints is not typical.
The diagnosis is difficult. To establish it, an epidemiological history and specific tests for brucellosis are required - Wright's test with a titer of more than 1:200, a skin test with brucellosis antigen (positive Burnet reaction).
Differential diagnosis is carried out with ankylosing spondylitis, tuberculous spondylitis, osteomyelitis.
The most effective is the combined use of antibiotics: tetracycline 500 mg 4 times a day for 6 weeks and streptomycin 1 g intramuscularly per day for 2 weeks.
The main clinical sign is erythema migrans, most often on the thighs, inguinal and axillary areas. Fever, chills, headache, myalgia, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly are observed.
Sometimes neurological disorders are detected - neuritis, especially with damage to the cranial nerves, and paresis of the facial nerves is often observed. In severe cases, a clinical picture of serous meningitis and encephalitis is noted. Heart damage develops in 4-8% of patients, the most common is disturbance of atrioventricular conduction, up to the development of complete transverse block. Myocarditis with left ventricular failure and pancarditis may be observed.
Joint damage develops in 60% of patients within a few months to 2 years from the onset of the disease. Usually one or more large joints are affected (knees, elbows, shoulders, etc.), and symmetrical polyarthritis is often encountered. Arthritis goes away on its own within 1-2 weeks, but can recur over a number of years. Some patients develop chronic arthritis with erosions of cartilage and bones; joint ankylosis is extremely rare.
The diagnosis is established in the presence of a characteristic skin lesion - tick-borne erythema. It is necessary to take into account the epidemiological factor: the disease occurs in areas where there are carriers - ixodid ticks. The presence of typical clinical manifestations of the disease - neurological, cardiac and joint lesions - allows us to confirm the diagnosis. If cutaneous erythema is absent, the diagnosis should be based on the results of a serological test. Abroad, a sensitive and highly specific enzymological immunosorbent method (ELISA) is used to confirm the diagnosis.
Differential diagnosis at the first stage of the disease during the period of erythema is carried out with skin lesions of a different nature, with complications from the nervous system - primarily with tick-borne encephalitis, which is also transmitted by ticks and is found in central Russia.
In the early stages of the disease, tetracycline 250 mg 4 times a day, penicillin, erythromycin are effective. Treatment of arthritis is carried out with vibramycium (doxycillin hydrochloride) 100 mg 2 times a day, penicillin 20 million units (fractionally) per day for 14 days.
In acute viral hepatitis, arthralgia often develops, and less commonly, migratory arthritis. Both small and large joints are involved in the process. Arthralgia or arthritis may appear in the prodromal period, disappearing at the height of jaundice. Arthritis can be combined with hives and headaches. Sometimes articular syndrome persists for several months, simulating the picture of RA. Cases of the development of classical RA in patients with viral hepatitis have also been described.
With rubella, arthritis is often observed, mainly in women, as well as in children and adults after vaccination with a live vaccine. Symptoms of arthritis may be detected at the same time as the rash appears or appear slightly later. The most common lesion is the small joints of the hands. The duration of arthritis is on average 2-3 weeks. Residual effects are usually absent, although the role of the rubella virus in the development of RA cannot be ruled out.
With mumps, arthritis is rarely observed (in 0.5% of patients), more often in people over 20 years of age. It appears on the 8-21st day from the onset of the disease, in some patients simultaneously with the development of mumps or even before the appearance of swelling of the parotid glands. Typically, the joints are affected in patients with bilateral damage to the parotid glands, often along with other complications (orchitis, pancreatitis). The appearance of arthritis is accompanied by a new wave of increased body temperature. Swelling of the joints develops, movements become painful. Large joints are most commonly affected, but small joints of the hands and feet can also be involved. The duration of arthritis is from two to several months. He ends with a complete recovery.
Paraneoplastic arthropathy . Nonspecific osteoarticular changes observed in malignant tumors of various localizations, as part of the paraneoplastic syndrome, can long precede the appearance of other tumor symptoms (“joint masks” of tumors), developing simultaneously with them or later.
The clinical manifestations of the disease are varied. The most common are Marie-Bamberger syndrome (hypertrophic osteopathy), amyloid, dysmetabolic (gouty) arthropathy, nonspecific mono- and polyarthritis, arthralgia, tendovaginitis, myalgia.
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The word “arthritis” is translated from Latin as aching joints, which well characterizes the disease, one of the symptoms of which is pain. This term is usually used to refer to any diseases associated with joints. Arthritis is quite common. For example, in the United States of America, up to 42 million people suffer from this disease and the diagnosis ranks first on the list of causes of disability. This is as damaging to the economy as a moderate recession, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Every year the number of patients increases, including in Africa and Asia, although the disease itself does not spread as much there as in Europe and North America. It is predicted that by 2030, 67 million people will suffer from arthritis in the shoulder, elbow, fingers and other parts of the body.
One of the main reasons is the natural wear and tear of joints due to age. Provoking factors are also:
A disease, for example, psoriatic arthritis, can also be provoked by poor environmental conditions, and polyarthritis of the fingers can be caused by an incorrect diet, extra pounds, or heredity.
According to statistics, almost half of adults with this diagnosis suffer from at least one other concomitant disease.
Depending on the cause, the following types of arthritis are distinguished:
The main symptom of arthritis is pain. There are complaints of stiffness in the joint, possible swelling, limited mobility, and increased temperature in that area. If the disease occurs against the background of another pathology, changes in laboratory parameters may also be observed.
As already noted, African Americans and Asians are less likely to get sick, but their pain syndrome is stronger than that of Europeans, and their level of activity is much lower.
At the first signs of illness, you should seek medical help.
The largest audience of patients is observed in the age category after 40 years. However, the disease is increasingly affecting young people. They may develop foot or glenohumeral arthritis. Even infants are diagnosed with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
It has been noted that the disease is more often diagnosed in women than in men - 26% versus 18%. Representatives of the weak half of humanity are far ahead of the opposite sex in some pathologies. For example, this applies to rheumatoid arthritis.
People with arthritis lead a sedentary lifestyle, as a result of which their health suffers even more. At the same time, moderate exercise helps to overcome pain and improve the overall condition.
23 million patients cannot perform simple movements and actions such as bending, standing, walking on a straight road and stairs. This happens, for example, when arthritis of the knee, hip, or ankle has developed.
As doctors have found, over the age of 45, a third of patients with this diagnosis experience depression or panic attacks.
The disease affects employment. Thus, people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, including the fingers, lose a total of 172 million working days in one year. This is more than for workers with other diseases.
Healing requires an integrated approach that involves eliminating pain and inflammation. For this, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants that relieve muscle spasms, chondroprotectors to improve the condition of cartilage, and vitamins are prescribed. Recovery is facilitated by diet, physical therapy and manual therapy. As an aid, they resort to traditional medicine recipes.
In 2009, Donald Unger, a doctor from the United States, made a discovery for which he received the Ig Nobel Prize (a parody of the Nobel Prize).
It is believed that clicking joints causes arthritis. Unger studied this theory from his own experience for sixty years and proved its inconsistency. During these decades, he only cracked the knuckles of his left hand. It turned out that such actions did no harm.
For a long time, Neanderthals were depicted in textbooks as hunched over and gorilla-like. This description was compiled by a paleontologist from France, Marcellin Boule, who took the remains found in 1908 as a basis. As it turned out later, the Neanderthal who owned the bones suffered from arthritis during his lifetime.
Read more about the disease, its types and treatment methods in the “Arthritis” section.
Read more information about diseases of the musculoskeletal system in other sections of the All About Joints website. Subscribe to our page on social networks so as not to miss updates and new materials! Share the information with your friends - perhaps they also encountered this problem!
Author: admin · Published 04/26/2017 · Updated 12/21/2017
Arthritis is very common among people, especially when they go beyond 50 years of age. It is essentially associated with varying degrees of pain, inflammation, dysfunction and deformity in almost any joint in the body, although the arms, hips, knees and spine are the most common locations. There are more than 100 different forms of arthritis, with the most common types being osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and psoriatic arthritis (PSA). Recognizing the symptoms of arthritis is important in order to receive appropriate treatment and reduce the risk of permanent disability. In this article we will look at how to treat arthritis.
Although the disease process for all forms of arthritis differs from person to person and from disease to disease, all types of arthritis share certain characteristics that sometimes make accurate diagnosis difficult. Regardless of the type of arthritis, it is important to get diagnosed as early as possible so that proper treatment can begin.
Treatment goals for arthritis include:
There are several types of how to treat arthritis disease. They include:
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, your doctor may prescribe steroid hormones or antirheumatic drugs, which suppress your immune system.
Surgery to replace the joint with an artificial one may be an option. It is most often performed to replace hips and knees.
If your arthritis is most severe in your fingers or wrists, your doctor may perform a joint fusion. In this procedure, the ends of your bones are joined together until they heal and become one piece (arthrodesis).
Physical therapy, which includes exercises that help strengthen the muscles around the affected joint, is a major component of how to treat arthritis.
Stay active. Staying active is critical to managing arthritis.
Simple exercises you can do at home include:
Watch your weight. Maintaining a healthy diet is important for your overall health and your waistline.
Don't forget to stretch. To help combat joint stiffness, be sure to incorporate stretching into your daily routine. Slow, gentle movements are beneficial for improving flexibility and stiffness and reducing pain.
To do downward dog, start at your hands and knees, resting your hands slightly past your shoulders on the floor. In a push-up, lift your knees off the floor and lift your tailbone up toward the ceiling.
One area you can incorporate into your daily routine is cat stretching. This stretch is easy to do at home and will help improve your flexibility. Get on your knees with your hands on the floor in front of you, shoulder-width apart. Arch your spine up and hold, then arch your spine down and lift your head.
There is no one answer to the question “what causes arthritis?”, as there are many different forms of arthritis.
Most types of arthritis are caused by a number of factors working together. You may be naturally more likely to develop certain disorders as a result of your genetics. A variety of external factors can increase your risk of further development if you are susceptible to the condition. These include environmental factors - for example:
For many conditions there is also a large element of randomness.
Genetics and family predisposition.
Many forms of arthritis run in families to some extent, and some conditions have a stronger tendency to be passed on through genetics. Being related makes your body (based on the genes passed on from your parents) more or less likely to develop a certain condition.
Because there are many types of arthritis, there is also a wide range of symptoms.
With inflammatory arthritis, there is likely to be more joint swelling and more changes in pain (which cannot be explained simply by level of physical activity). Other common symptoms include:
But remember that these symptoms are not typical for arthritis and can be caused by other diseases.
Diagnosing arthritis begins with a doctor performing a physical examination. During a physical exam, your doctor checks for fluid around the joints, limited range of motion, and redness of the skin and temperature of the joint (for example, compared to a healthy joint). Taking a sample and analyzing the level of inflammation in your blood and joint fluids can help your doctor determine what type of arthritis you have.
Doctors typically use imaging scans such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, and CT scans to obtain images of bones and cartilage. This is because they can rule out other causes of your symptoms, such as bone spurs (growths that form on top of normal bone). If absolutely necessary, a small amount of tissue is removed for microscopic examination (biopsy).
There is no cure for arthritis yet. However, treating the disease arthritis correctly can significantly reduce your symptoms. In addition to the treatments recommended by your doctor, you can make a number of lifestyle changes that may help you manage your arthritis. Regular exercise will keep your joints flexible.
Swimming is often a good form of exercise for people with arthritis because it doesn't put pressure on your joints like running or walking. Staying active is important, but remember to rest when you need it and avoid overexerting yourself.
Losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight reduces your risk of developing osteoarthritis and can reduce symptoms if you have them. Eating healthy will greatly help you lose weight. Eating foods high in antioxidants can help reduce inflammation, such as cranberries, blueberries, black plums, rowan berries, blackberries, grapes, and vegetables such as cabbage, spinach, peppers, Brussels sprouts, and cloves, cinnamon, etc.
The term arthritis does not raise any questions for anyone. Even a person far from medicine will tell you with confidence that arthritis is a disease of the joints and it occurs in older people. Our imagination briefly draws us an image of an elderly man walking with a stick - a sort of classic version of a patient with arthritis. Can the disease be considered a companion of old age and can it be avoided? How to prevent arthritis of the joints from complicating your life? How to recognize the onset of the disease? To answer these questions, we will analyze in detail what arthritis is and what treatment is required for this pathology.
Arthritis is the general name for a large group of inflammatory joint diseases caused by a wide variety of causes. As a rule, degenerative destruction of the cartilage tissue of the joint itself is not observed in arthritis; this is more typical of arthrosis. Thus, if treatment for arthritis is started in a timely manner and carried out correctly, the disease can be managed.
Depending on single or multiple joint damage, the following are distinguished:
Based on the nature of the course, the following types of pathology are distinguished:
Arthritis often occurs in professional athletes
In 1958, the International Association of Rheumatology proposed its classification of arthritis:
It is clear that the rheumatological classification of arthritis is based on the causes of the disease. Let's take a closer look at them.
Rapidly progressive arthritis has four degrees of activity - from zero to third and 4 radiological stages. In X-ray stages 1–2, the patient’s ability to work is preserved; stage 3 is characterized by decreased ability to work. A patient with stage 4 arthritis loses his ability to work.
Reactive arthritis of the knee joints in a child
In order for arthritis treatment to be started in a timely manner, it is very important to recognize the first symptoms of the disease in time.
Acute arthritis is characterized by a rapid onset - the patient's body temperature rises significantly, the joints swell and are very painful. The skin over the inflamed joint becomes red, and in some cases, with extensive swelling, it may have a pale, “marbled” color. An important symptom is limited mobility in the joint - a patient with acute arthritis complains of stiffness of movement, difficulties arise when walking, when flexing and extending the limbs.
A distinctive sign of arthritis is morning stiffness throughout the body. It takes a person a lot of time to get out of bed and “disperse” properly. Arthritis pain can occur suddenly, but most often it appears at night, in the early morning hours.
If such symptoms are familiar to you, be sure to seek medical help, otherwise acute arthritis will become chronic and can lead to a wheelchair.
Modern X-ray room. This is where arthritis is diagnosed
When you contact the clinic, you will be prescribed the following examinations:
In some cases, patients are prescribed an ultrasound of the joints. If there is a suspicion of osteoporosis, densitometry is performed - a study that allows you to determine the density of bone tissue. If the doctor suspects arthritic inflammation in the spine, the patient is prescribed an MRI.
Based on the examination, patient complaints and laboratory data obtained, arthritis is diagnosed.
As for drug treatment, it is prescribed only by a doctor. Categorically forbid yourself from taking medications without a prescription, because both the dosage and course should be selected strictly individually, taking into account the characteristics of your body and the unwanted side effects of the medications.
Your responsibility is to correctly carry out the specialist’s instructions. Arthritis is a difficult disease; it will not tolerate inattention to one’s own person. If you decide to treat arthritis with traditional methods - please! But only in combination with drug treatment and after consulting a doctor.
Prevention of arthritis should begin in early childhood. It is we, adults, who must teach our children active recreation and develop healthy lifestyle skills in them. To minimize the likelihood of developing arthritis, you should:
Video about causes and treatments:
We think we have introduced you to arthritis in sufficient detail and convinced you that it is better not to have it as a life partner. Re-read the advice on disease prevention again and think about it: is it really difficult to fulfill the listed points? Not difficult. And you shouldn’t refer to a lack of time - if you want to have healthy joints, you will definitely find time for yourself. For example, when you come home from work, do not press the treasured button on your computer or TV remote, but go for an evening walk with your children. And then, lo and behold, you’ll come across a swimming pool along the way! Good luck to you!
Joint diseases can cause a certain discomfort to a sick person, and also lead to cosmetic problems.
We are talking about arthrosis of the toes, the symptoms of which are manifested in the growth of a lump on the leg on the inside of the foot.
Osteoarthritis refers to degenerative changes in joints and bones. The disease is diagnosed in more than 15% of the world's inhabitants in various forms of its manifestation.
And the described leg disease affects almost every person after 65 years of age. Statistics on diagnosing the disease in men or women are not carried out, since it is impossible to reasonably talk about the risk of the disease based on gender.
The disease mentioned above (foot bones) is one of the forms of manifestation of arthrosis of the legs.
The disease is an inflammation of the soft tissue around the affected joint with further destruction of cartilage.
Arthrosis in most cases occurs in older citizens, as it is associated with metabolic disorders in cartilage tissue and its subsequent degeneration. Due to fashion trends, the disease has become somewhat younger.
Young girls with the described disease are becoming increasingly common as a result of prolonged wearing of uncomfortable high-heeled shoes.
We cannot talk about the incurability of the disease. Through a timely examination and comprehensive traditional therapy, a person can return to their previous life and move their legs without pain in the finger joints.
The above-mentioned causes of arthrosis of the toes are far from the only ones.
Scientists have already conducted all the necessary research to study the presented disease and have listed the most common reasons for diagnosing the disease.
These include:
The disease is divided into three stages, each of which has its own symptoms.
As for the damage to the fingers, during the development of the disease all joints (all fingers) are affected at once.
The only difference may be a pronounced manifestation of pain in one specific joint. This usually occurs as a result of a previous injury or bruise.
The stages of arthrosis of the toe joints have the following symptoms:
In the photo there is a bone - arthrosis of the big toe
The big toe suffers the most from excessive stress; as a result, we can talk about arthrosis - a characteristic protrusion of the lateral bone, which causes pain and suffering to the owner.
A similar disease occurs from frequent wearing of high heels or narrow shoes, which forces the big toe to move inward, protruding its base outward.
Here we can also talk about all the reasons listed above that provoke the development of the disease. It should be clarified that disease of one toe is quite rare and the most common is post-traumatic arthrosis of the big toe.
The disease is easily diagnosed through a general examination by a specialist and X-ray examination.
An x-ray will help identify the affected joints and determine the degree of development of the disease. Additional research is usually not required.
If you consult a doctor in a timely manner, when arthrosis of the toes is at an early stage, proper treatment will help not only stop the process of destruction of cartilage tissue, but also restore it.
Symptoms of a growth on the thumb indicate a transition to the next more severe stages, which will lead to the need for complex treatment.
In especially advanced cases, it is necessary to resort to surgical techniques. Sometimes surgical intervention is carried out for cosmetic purposes - to remove the growth of the lateral bone.
Initially and subsequently for treatment, the following rules must be observed:
Traditional medicine is also effective in treating the disease.
Here you can use methods such as:
Complications of the disease include loss of joint function and partial or complete immobility of the foot.
In this case, it is possible to perform an operation to remove the articular surfaces and artificially form them again. Such actions lead to long-term recovery, and as a result, to the requirement for constant prevention.
As for preventive procedures, it all comes down to the right choice of shoes, paying attention to your health and undergoing regular examinations to timely detect the development of the disease and quickly eliminate it.
Treatment of arthrosis of the toes largely depends on the patient himself and his attitude towards his health.
If you diagnose the disease in the initial stages, you can quickly return to your previous comfort due to the restoration of cartilage tissue to its original state.
Pain in the knee joint can be “natural” (also called functional) in nature, and, which is much more common, it can be a manifestation of some kind of disease. The so-called functional pain in origin is akin to that which occurs in muscles after overloading them with physical work in the country or in the gym, and goes away quite quickly. However, if there are signs of inflammation, or arthritis, of the knee joint, this is a signal for urgent consultation with a doctor.
The knee joint consists of bones, intra-articular structures (for example, menisci, articular cartilage), ligaments that hold this structure in a certain position, and the internal lining of the joint (synovium). There is normally a small amount of fluid inside the joint, which acts as a lubricant and “nutrient solution”.
Classic signs of inflammation are dull, arching pain, an increase in the volume of the joint and smoothing of its contours (edema), redness of the skin over the surface of the joint (optional sign), increased temperature in the knee area, the inability to fully support the leg, or increased pain when trying to bend or straighten your leg at the knee.
Specialists in the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system have to deal with the following causes of arthritis:
- “inflammatory” or autoimmune rheumatological disease (rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, systemic lupus erythematosus and some others). In these cases, inflammation inside the joint is caused by a “breakdown” in the immune system, in which the body’s own defender cells begin to attack its own cells of the internal lining of the joint.
- osteoarthritis in case of exacerbation . Osteoarthritis is a disease of the musculoskeletal system, which is not very aptly called “degenerative”. It occurs in people who work physically, in those who often walk a lot, especially on stairs, as well as in athletes (often regardless of the sport - heavyweight weightlifters get sick just as often as track and field athletes and runners). Men and women become “victims” of osteoarthritis with equal frequency. The development of this disease is also facilitated by flat feet not corrected in time, wearing uncomfortable shoes, including high heels, in short - any inadequate load on the legs in general and on the knee joint in particular. “Natural” load—a person’s body weight that exceeds the norm—is itself a fairly serious risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis, the first sign of which may be inflammation of the knee joint.
(if there was a blunt injury to the joint, sprain or rupture of ligaments or intra-articular structures, which often happens, for example, when falling from skiing).
- the Baker’s cyst stands apart - an intra-articular fluid formation that periodically fills with synovial (articular) fluid. Such a “bag” can cause a lot of trouble if it grows to large sizes (sometimes up to several tens of centimeters) or festers.
- infection . Several dozen microorganisms and viruses have been described that can cause inflammation of the knee joint. These are chlamydia, and ureaplasma, and streptococci, and the herpes virus, and the hepatitis virus... If it is possible to identify the pathogen and select the appropriate drug, arthritis disappears without a trace.
-inflammation against the background of a general disease. Unfortunately, such severe conditions for the body as cancer, HIV infection, tuberculosis, sarcoidosis and some others can occur with symptoms of arthritis. Such diseases do not occur very often, and are usually accompanied by weight loss, loss of appetite, weakness, shortness of breath during exercise, pallor, and heavy sweating. An experienced therapist, summing up all the data obtained, will without much difficulty identify the true “culprit” of arthritis, and, with successful treatment, joint pain disappears just as it appeared.
Why does the joint swell, increase in volume and hurt?
The main reason is the accumulation of a large amount of fluid inside the knee joint. The “expanding”, “dull”, “pressing” nature of the pain is explained in this case by purely mechanical reasons. The fluid presses from the inside on the walls of the joint, and, finding no way out, causes pain. In addition, the fluid formed in the knee joint during inflammation contains a huge amount of substances that irritate the intra-articular structures. These substances additionally cause the production of fluid - and a vicious circle is obtained. The third cause of inflammation and pain is the settling of uric acid crystals (popularly called “sand”) in the joint. These crystals are tiny needles that cause microdamage to intra-articular structures, the synovial (articular) membrane, contributing to the development of arthritis.
What worries the patient when it comes to the knee joint? As a rule, there is a dull bursting pain, the inability to bend or straighten the leg, and less often, “jamming” of the joint. Often, a crunching or clicking sound occurs when bending or extending the leg in one or both knee joints. It is very important to clearly formulate when it hurts, at what time of day, and under what load.
What do you hear? Conversation with the patient.
The very history of the appearance of pain in the knee joints can already prompt the doctor to make a diagnosis.
What can be seen during the examination?
During examination, the presence of skin defects - bruises, scratches, injections - will strengthen the doctor’s opinion that he is dealing with a patient with post-traumatic arthritis. It also happens that the injury only “triggered” the autoimmune process, but this happens much less frequently. The doctor records the presence of signs of inflammation (we discussed them in detail at the beginning of the article) and signs of arthrosis. The latter are determined by the presence or absence of pain when pressing certain “painful” points and tests with “passive” movements.
To clarify the diagnosis, in addition to laboratory methods, so-called instrumental methods are widely used. It’s good when we have the entire arsenal of diagnostic procedures at our disposal, we can choose the most informative ones that best suit the clinical situation.
— Radiography . The cheapest, but insufficiently informative method. It will allow you to evaluate the structure of the bone: whether there are gross bone destructions or excessive bone growth (this is called “proliferation” and is similar to the formation of growths or spines). In some cases, the gap between large bones will be narrowed, in other cases it will be widened. All these are indirect signs by which an experienced radiologist can assume, for example, the presence of osteoarthritis.
— Ultrasound (ultrasound examination) . This research method is highly respected by surgeons, since, unlike radiography, ultrasound allows us to understand what happens to the soft structures of the joint - ligaments, tendons, menisci - which suffer, first of all, from injuries. Using this method, it is possible to identify joint “sacs” filled with fluid (Baker’s cyst), due to which the joint can “lock up”. Many machines now have the ability to see deposits of uric acid crystals, which in the vast majority of cases confirms the diagnosis of gout.
— MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) . An expensive, quite informative method that serves to identify a small amount of fluid, initial signs of bone tissue destruction, meniscus tears - in general, those changes that are not visible either on an x-ray or ultrasound.
— Arthroscopy . The only method that allows you to “live” see the joint from the inside. Through special punctures, a video camera is inserted into the joint on a flexible conductor, allowing the doctor to assess the situation as accurately as possible. The disadvantages of this procedure are the need for anesthesia, a rehabilitation period of several days, possible complications (including suppuration of the joint).
— Laboratory methods . Using a blood test, you can determine whether the occurrence of arthritis is a sign of an autoimmune disease, or whether it is a manifestation of inflammation purely in the joint area, not spreading throughout the body. The second situation is much more comforting for both the doctor and the patient.
Signs of general, or as rheumatologists say, systemic inflammation include:
A biochemical blood test will be useful, first of all, to determine the level of uric acid in the blood (this is, first of all, a sign of gout), as well as to determine possible contraindications to the prescription of medications (increased liver enzymes).
Immunological tests are the most expensive, but also the most informative studies. Without going into too much detail, let's just say that one immunological test may be enough to make a diagnosis.
What if all the test results are negative, there is no inflammation, but the phenomenon of arthritis is pain and swelling?
In this case, complex treatment of osteoarthritis or post-traumatic phenomena is prescribed (the diagnosis is clarified using instrumental research methods).
The main thing that worries a patient with knee arthritis is how to relieve pain. Those who are faced with this problem for the first time begin to uncontrollably take tableted non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or, even worse, inject them intramuscularly. These drugs are randomly sold in the pharmacy chain, like vitamins or cosmetics! But every medicine, in addition to its indications (pain, inflammation), also has its own contraindications. Pharmacists usually do not know about this, or do not consider it necessary to remind.
For example, that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should not be taken for gastritis and ulcers of the stomach and intestines, as well as for hemorrhoids and coronary heart disease.
Treatment of autoimmune diseases is carried out only by a rheumatologist under strict supervision.
Special drugs are used that suppress “raging” immune cells exactly where it is needed.
1. Nutrition. For diseases of the musculoskeletal system, no special diet is required, with the exception of gout. If gout is detected, this imposes certain restrictions on the patient: it is necessary to exclude “red” meat (beef, veal, lamb), tomatoes, smoked meats, spices, fresh leafy greens, and alcohol from the diet.
2. Treatment of the underlying disease, the manifestation of which is arthritis of the knee joint. It is worth setting yourself up for a fairly long-term, perhaps several months or even years, treatment with repeated courses. But the easy walk is worth it, isn't it?
3. The fight against excess weight is the cornerstone for most patients with osteoarthritis. We must remember that human joints are “designed” by nature for a certain weight, and not the one we like.
4. Physical therapy, swimming, cycling. Sufficient physical activity is vital for those who are faced with the problem of osteoarthritis.
5. When walking, it is strongly recommended not to go up and down stairs; this increases the “wear and tear” of the knee joints.
6. You should not skimp and purchase good quality, orthopedic shoes if possible, or order orthopedic insoles based on an individual impression. Like physical education, swimming pool classes or taking prescribed medications, this is a financial investment in your own body, which will reciprocate in response to care!