Arthritis of the foot is an unpleasant disease that is characterized by inflammation of the joint apparatus of the foot. Since the feet bear the greatest stress in everyday life, this disease is the most painful of all types of arthritis. Acute pain in the legs and difficulty in choosing shoes accompany the disease. Therefore, treatment of arthritis of the feet is an important aspect in the life of every person suffering from such an illness.
Problems with this part of the body are a common problem for many modern people. There can be many reasons for foot arthritis:
It is important to know! The disease appears at a fairly early age! It can appear before the age of 40. Therefore, care should be taken to avoid it.
Symptoms of this disease may be:
Monoarthritis can develop - damage to only one joint, as well as polyarthritis - inflammation of several joints. If the disease is diagnosed, its treatment should be started immediately for full life in the future.
Treatment of this disease is based on eliminating inflammation of the joints. For this purpose, such means are used.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics are used. They are aimed at reducing inflammation, relieving swelling, relieving fever, and pain. Examples of such medications:
If there is a large accumulation of fluid and pus in the joints, a puncture is prescribed to remove them. After which a medicine is injected into the joint to localize the inflammation.
Important to remember! When treating arthritis, you should follow a special diet! Exclude from the diet meat by-products, legumes, salted fish, lard, alcohol, and do not eat fatty foods. Dairy and fermented milk products, fresh vegetables and fruits, and cereal porridges can be useful in treating the disease. You can drink green tea and purified water without restrictions.
People experiencing this disease do not always know how to treat foot arthritis at home. When choosing this treatment method, you should know some traditional medicine. There are many simple recipes.
You will need 1 tbsp. l. dried nettles, which should be poured with boiling water. Leave for 1 hour, take 1 tbsp. l. decoction before eating.
Take 2 tbsp. l. crushed dry leaves of the plant, pour 0.5 liters of water and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Strain and take 3 times a day, 100 g.
Take the ingredients in equal proportions. You need to grind celery and lemon through a meat grinder, add honey to them. Mix thoroughly and put the mixture in the refrigerator. After 5 days, take 1 tbsp. l. half an hour before eating.
Place 100 g of bay leaf in a saucepan, add 300 ml of water and boil over low heat for 5 minutes. Let it brew for several hours, strain and take 1 glass before bed.
You will need 5 heads of peeled garlic, which should be chopped. Pour 0.5 liters of vodka or alcohol and leave for 10 days in a cool, dark place. You need to take this tincture 1 tsp. before eating. Garlic can also be used as a compress. To do this, moisten a piece of cloth with garlic juice and apply it to the affected areas, after lubricating the skin with a rich cream.
Grate one raw tuber and pour in 1 glass of kefir. Take 1 glass every day.
Take these ingredients in equal proportions. Mix thoroughly to a homogeneous consistency, apply the mixture to gauze and apply to the affected areas of the body, having previously fixed it with polyethylene.
Grate the radish and place the resulting pulp on a cloth. Apply to sore areas treated with cream. Place a layer of cotton wool on top and wrap it up. This compress should be kept for at least 3 hours.
Take 800 g of refined sunflower oil and 400 g of birch buds, mix. Leave in a warm place for 24 hours. Then scroll through a meat grinder and treat the affected areas before going to bed. Birch leaves can also help in the fight against the disease. To do this, you will need to place a small amount of leaves in a cloth bag and boil for about half an hour. Place the resulting decoction along with the bag in a bath of warm water. Take no more than 15 minutes. The course of treatment takes 1 month. Birch leaves can be replaced with pine needles.
Horse chestnut flowers should be infused in 0.5 liters of vodka or alcohol for 2 weeks. Take 1 tbsp. l. before eating at least 5 times a day.
Important to remember! Before starting treatment with folk remedies, you should consult a doctor! Self-medication can have a detrimental effect on the course of the disease.
In order to avoid illness, you should adhere to the following rules:
Arthritis of the feet is an irreversible disease! It should be constantly monitored under the supervision of a specialist to stop its development.
Arthritis of the foot, the symptoms of which are characteristic, and treatment requires attention, is the collective name for several pathologies of the musculoskeletal system of autoimmune, infectious, traumatic origin, affecting the anatomical structures of the foot (tarsus, metatarsus, toes). Behind such an elaborate, dry medical display hides the scourge of civilization in the 21st century: according to American statistics, every seventh person suffers from arthritis, every third patient becomes disabled.
This pathology is insidious: in the first stages, foot arthritis manifests itself with a minimum of symptoms, although at the beginning of the process treatment is more effective, photos eloquently testify to the danger of an advanced disease. A person loses his ability to work, is unable to move or care for himself. Physically and psychologically, this is a serious disease that cripples patients. The statistics on the disease are deplorable. To avoid becoming part of the merciless medical data, you should arm yourself with knowledge, patience, and show a little care. What should you learn about this dangerous disease?
Medical science identifies a number of causes for the development of ankle arthritis, the symptoms and treatment of which should not be neglected. It is noteworthy: this terrible disease never occurs on its own. In 99% of cases it is secondary and is formed against the background of another pathology. Doctors talk about five causes and five forms of foot damage:
Diseases of a systemic nature (psoriasis, lupus erythematosus) also lead to the development of specific types of disease.
Among people who do not have medical knowledge, the opinion about the “senile” nature of arthritis has taken root. This is a big mistake. If a person, having noticed the symptoms of arthritis of the foot, does not consult a doctor and does not begin treatment, he simplifies the problem of the disease; photos of such patients are distributed on the Internet and terrify anyone. You should not become part of a community that is so inattentive to itself. Some forms of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system are indeed characteristic of older people. Arthritis of the foot occurs in people of both sexes, regardless of age.
Important! At the first signs of discomfort, you should immediately consult a doctor.
There is a concept of a risk group. People at risk are more likely to develop foot arthritis. This includes people engaged in heavy physical labor, those whose work involves prolonged standing, athletes, and people with a history of infectious and autoimmune diseases.
Important! If the patient is part of a group, such a person is advised to be even more attentive to health and catch every signal from the body.
Symptoms of foot arthritis vary and depend on the type of pathology. Further diagnosis and treatment depend on specific manifestations. Manifestations should be considered only in a similar vein, without separation from the form of the disease.
An insidious type of arthritis, a “silent killer” of joints. In the early stages, symptoms are absent or so scarce that they do not attract attention. The first sign to suspect rheumatoid arthritis is aching pain that persists even at rest. Worsening of the pain syndrome is typical for the later stages: discomfort intensifies at night, the intensity of pain does not decrease until noon. The pain does not go away, so arthritis, even in the initial stages, has obvious manifestations for an attentive patient.
From the onset of the disease, the patient feels weak and exhausted. The condition is similar to that of ARVI. A rise in body temperature to 37.2-37.5 degrees is possible.
Later, typical signs of the disease appear: stiffness of movement (patients describe this condition as a tight boot), numbness of the skin over the surface of the joint (paresthesia). The notorious redness of the skin and swelling develop already at the moment when the disease has progressed far. Therefore, at the first sign of discomfort, it is recommended to consult a doctor. In the final stages of the process, unnatural deformation of the joint and surrounding structures is observed. The motor activity of the joint is reduced to zero. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most insidious and complex form of the disease: the symptoms are mild, and treatment is effective only in the early stages.
This type of arthritis is more common in the feet. Occurs in 40-50% of cases. There are no difficulties in identifying gouty arthritis. This type of disease is characterized by paroxysmal progression. Pain syndrome suddenly develops, the skin in the joint area becomes red and swollen. The intensity of pain is extremely high. Palpation of the affected area leads to increased pain. The attack lasts from 1 to 3 days. Discomfort increases at night and subsides in the morning. The development of a gout attack is provoked by eating fatty meat, alcohol and excessive physical activity.
Gouty arthritis of the foot has clear symptoms, so it is easier to treat; as can be seen from the photo, the gouty form does not lead to such severe deformities of the joint. Localization of the lesion: metatarsus (25%), fingers (70%), tarsus (5%). Chondrocalcinosis has similar manifestations.
Develops suddenly, after an infectious disease or injury. The clinical picture is clear, a set of symptoms appears at one moment:
Over time, the infectious pathogen affects the surrounding anatomical structures: Achilles tendon, muscles, etc. Without medical care, a person loses the ability to walk. Rehabilitation measures to restore at least minimal motor activity are complex and lengthy. This is why it is so important to see a doctor immediately.
Occurs in patients with psoriasis. Almost no different in symptoms from rheumatoid arthritis: progression occurs over many years.
Its manifestations are similar to infectious and often go hand in hand with it.
Typical symptoms of any form of arthritis include:
Diagnosing foot arthritis is not an easy task even for an experienced doctor. Needless to say, the chances of identifying the source of discomfort on your own are zero? The patient is advised to contact:
Such a solid list does not mean that the patient will have to methodically visit doctors from the list one after another. It all depends on the type of pathology. Over the years of medical practice, methods for differential diagnosis of various types of arthritis have been developed. The classic diagnostic scheme begins at the initial consultation. The doctor asks leading questions, clarifies the nature of the complaints and how long ago they were. Among doctors, this procedure is called taking an anamnesis. Next, the doctor examines the affected foot (and if we are talking about rheumatoid arthritis, which affects symmetrical limbs, then the feet), palpates the affected area.
Thus, the specialist draws up a primary picture of the probable disease. Then it’s up to laboratory and instrumental diagnostic methods. A general blood test, as well as biochemistry, can reveal signs of inflammation (leukocytosis, increased ESR levels, C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, etc.). In gouty arthritis of the foot, the symptoms of which are clear, urate salts are found in the biochemistry. To clarify the diagnosis, the doctor in this case prescribes a general urine test. If urates are also found in the urine, you can begin treatment with a clear conscience.
Chondrocalcinosis is diagnosed based on an increase in calcium concentration in a biochemical blood test. Some forms of arthritis, such as psoriatic, do not require additional research at all to establish the fact. But even in this case, instrumental studies cannot be avoided: it is important to assess the condition of the joint. In developed countries, tomography (MRI/CT) is recognized as an advanced method for diagnosing arthritis. With its help, the doctor receives detailed images of anatomical structures.
In the CIS countries, these studies remain inaccessible to the population. This is not a reason to despair. With the proper level of training of a radiologist, an X-ray examination is sufficient. If there is a suspicion of a traumatic or infectious origin of the lesion, puncture of the articular cavity cannot be avoided. The diagnostician takes fluid samples to test for infectious agents (reactive arthritis) or blood and fibrin fibers (traumatic arthritis). To visually assess the joints, they resort to endoscopic examination - arthroscopy.
A less informative study is ultrasound. However, it allows you to assess the internal condition of the joint in non-invasive ways.
With timely diagnosis, treatment is not a problem. In the treatment of foot arthritis, when symptoms are severe, two types of treatment are resorted to: conservative and surgical; the effect of timely treatment can be assessed by photo. Surgical intervention is prescribed strictly according to indications: in case of advanced arthritis with deformation (without alternatives, they resort to prosthetics), also in case of violation of the anatomical integrity of the joint (restorative operations). In other cases, conservative therapy is sufficient. The following triad comes to the aid of the patient: medications, orthopedic treatment, physical therapy.
Drug therapy is practiced using the following drugs:
Orthopedic treatment is necessary for injuries. Behind the vague name lies the well-known wearing of a plaster or elastic bandage. Physiotherapy is resorted to later, after a course of drug treatment. The type is selected by a physiotherapist.
It is important to note that for foot arthritis, home treatment is unacceptable if we are talking about self-medication. This is not a disease that can be overcome on your own. The only thing that is allowed is temporary (preferably one-time) use of analgesics or anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve pain. The smartest thing to do next is to visit a surgeon or orthopedist. Traditional treatment is a controversial and dubious method of therapy. It can be used after consultation with a specialist and only as an aid, simultaneously with a course of traditional treatment.
Arthritis of the foot is not a harmless disease. This is a group of pathologies that often lead to disability and complete loss of ability to work. Therefore, it is so important to react in time and consult a doctor at the first signs of discomfort in the foot area. Vigilance is the basis of maintaining health.
Arthritis of the foot is an unpleasant and problematic disease for humans. Frequent or constant pain in the legs, difficulties that arise when walking, due to which it is possible to wear only specialized shoes - all these are far from simple tests for a person’s spiritual and physical strength.
Arthritis of the foot joints is a very common phenomenon. Separately, it is worth saying that the occurrence of arthritis is not always associated with age-related changes. Both young people and elderly people are susceptible to this disease.
The causes of foot arthritis may vary from case to case.
As you can see, foot arthritis can be caused by many factors, and, of course, if this disease is detected, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible.
In order to understand whether it really is rheumatoid arthritis or whether it is a completely different disease, you need to immediately contact a specialist, who, in turn, will make the correct diagnosis.
In most cases, the doctor makes a diagnosis without much difficulty. For an accurate diagnosis, an analysis is performed, which will ultimately indicate the level of uric acid.
From all of the above, we can conclude that with arthritis of the foot joint, general symptoms are observed: swelling, redness, changes in gait, pain, etc.
If you notice symptoms of arthritis, you should immediately consult a doctor. It is worth saying that how to cure foot arthritis is known only to a small circle of specialists. That is why, before the doctor makes a diagnosis, appropriate tests are taken.
It doesn’t matter what form the arthritis has. In any case, you must follow all instructions prescribed by your doctor.
A diet for arthritis is an excellent solution, because treatment must be comprehensive.
Naturally, before starting treatment with folk remedies, you must first consult a doctor in order to benefit and not harm your health.
It is worth saying that treating foot arthritis with folk remedies is prohibited without consulting a specialist. Even if at some point it seems to you that this particular recipe will solve all your problems, nevertheless, first consult a doctor.
In fact, most people who suffer from this disease tend to be overweight. A fairly large part of their daily diet is sugar and starch. Consequently, a person consumes a sufficient amount of sweets, sugar, potatoes, etc. every day. These products lead to constant increased acidity in the body. With arthrosis-arthritis of the foot, you need to ensure that this very acidity is reduced to a minimum. Therefore, the daily diet of a person suffering from this disease should contain as many vegetables and fruits as possible. And in fact, it doesn’t matter at all whether he eats them fresh or cooks them. Separately, it is worth saying that you can eat apples, sorrel, plums, rowan, and sea buckthorn in unlimited quantities.
The diet for acute arthritis of the foot involves three meals a day. You can only eat raw vegetables and fruits. This system must be followed for at least 7 days. The diet can be repeated only after two months.
A rice diet is also recommended for arthritis patients. It is this nutritional system that helps remove salt deposits from ligaments and joints. The diet is actually simple. Soak one glass of rice before going to bed. When you wake up, drain the water and pour two new glasses of water into the rice. Next you need to boil the rice. The cereal must be washed so that not a trace of mucus remains. The resulting portion should be divided into 4 parts. You need to eat according to a certain pattern: drink a glass of plain water twenty minutes before eating rice, then start eating rice. You need to drink rosehip decoction all day. On the second day of the diet, it is recommended to eat half a kilo of cooked beets and two hundred grams of apples. This scheme can be repeated no earlier than four days later.
Of course, treatment for arthritis of the foot joints should be carried out in conjunction with physical exercise. Whether it’s deforming arthritis of the foot or, for example, gout, in any case you can’t do without gymnastics. Here are a few exercises that are recommended for this disease.
Be sure to remember that the sooner the cause of pain is identified, the better. Plus, if you recognize arthritis in the early stages and begin to treat it in a timely manner, the recovery process will go much faster. But, unfortunately, most patients are negligent about their pain and expect that everything will go away on its own soon. The consequence of this attitude is that the disease eventually becomes chronic.
Naturally, during diagnosis it is possible to accurately determine whether the patient has arthritis, and, if so, at what stage and what type it is. Based on the diagnosis received, the doctor will be able to prescribe appropriate treatment for the patient.
First, the doctor will ask about previous diseases, then prescribe blood and hormonal tests. X-rays also play an important role in diagnosing arthritis. It is through this that one can easily establish what exact form the disease has.
It should be said right away that each case of the disease requires its own individual treatment and approach. Currently, the therapeutic program is built based on the exact stage of the disease. In most cases, arthritis is treated using old methods. This means that the treatment proceeds without any surgical intervention. Old and proven methods of treating arthrosis-arthritis of the foot include:
When wondering how to treat foot arthritis, you need to understand that this disease, of course, should encourage a person to make changes in his lifestyle as a whole. It is necessary to give up bad habits and monitor your health as carefully as possible. You need to want to be cured and you need to put a lot of effort and patience into this.
It’s worth saying right away that people who lead an active lifestyle and are often on their feet, overloading them, often suffer from pain in the joints. If pain is not treated immediately, it can cause joint inflammation. If you notice redness on the skin of your legs or frequent pain in your limbs, then immediately consult a doctor who, in turn, will be able to make a diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment. Perhaps everything will work out with antibiotics. Don’t forget for a moment that your health depends only on you and no one else. Under no circumstances should you expect the pain to go away on its own. If pain begins to bother you, then there is definitely a reason for this.
Arthritis is a serious disease, and self-medication with folk remedies is not recommended; in any case, it will not be possible to recover completely this way, so spend time on your precious health and consult a specialist. It is worth recalling that in an advanced stage such a disease can even lead to disability. Don't waste time! Be healthy!
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Arthritis of the toes and feet is a common disease; pain begins to disturb a person at night, because it is at this time that the joints are relaxed. Painful sensations occur when the weather changes. When the pain intensifies, the person cannot bear it. Arthritis of the toes makes it difficult for a person to wear shoes; he can only wear special orthopedic shoes.
The joint includes bones that are connected at the top by bone and covered with cartilage tissue, which is used to provide shock absorption when a person moves.
When arthritis occurs, the cartilage becomes severely inflamed. This happens due to viral, bacterial and fungal infections. The infection enters the joints through the circulatory system, wounds, injuries, or after surgery.
1. Due to past diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, gonorrhea.
2. After a person has had an infection - acute respiratory viral infection, influenza and other diseases, because it is during this period that the body weakens greatly, blood circulates poorly, microorganisms settle in the joints, when the immune system wants to get rid of them, an inflammatory process occurs.
3. Arthritis of the toes and feet appears due to increased activity of the immune system, when a malfunction occurs in the body, antibodies are overproduced, which causes inflammation of the connective tissues. The disease can be treated with immunosuppressants, which can suppress the immune system.
4. Due to impaired metabolism, when uric acid crystals are deposited in the joints, when they accumulate, the connective tissue becomes inflamed, which is why the disease affects the toes.
5. The disease develops after injuries, due to frequent bruises.
When one joint is affected, monoarthritis occurs. If several joints are affected, we can talk about polyarthritis, while the toes and hand joints are affected simultaneously.
1. The skin turns very red.
2. Legs become swollen and swollen.
3. A person’s body temperature rises.
4. The patient has difficulty with various joint loads.
Only an experienced doctor can say exactly at what stage of development the disease is; many do not even realize that the pain that bothers them at night indicates the onset of arthritis.
In rheumatoid arthritis, the connective tissue of the whole body is affected, especially the joints of the foot, the disease is chronic, because of it the foot can become deformed, this leads to disability because the person cannot fully move. With this form of the disease, the patient quickly gets tired, an inflammatory process occurs in the joints, they swell very much, and the body temperature may rise slightly.
Due to arthrosis of the foot, osteoarthritis can develop, with which the foot not only changes its appearance, but also becomes severely inflamed. At the same time, it becomes very red, it hurts, the body temperature may rise, and the person’s gait changes.
After a person has had an intestinal or genitourinary infection, a reactive form of arthritis appears, with an inflammatory process occurring in the ligaments, tendons and tissues that surround it.
Often the disease affects the thumb, and the joint located near the fingers is damaged, making it difficult for a person to move due to constant pain. In this case, the foot does not function properly, a pathological process occurs in it, because of this, over time, arthritis develops into osteoarthritis.
Those with flat feet are at risk of developing this disease; hereditary causes and heavy physical activity also play an important role. Arthritis in the thumb can occur due to injury.
Immediately at the first symptoms, before the disease worsens, you need to contact your doctor, he will prescribe a full course of examination and tell you at what stage of development it is.
The doctor may prescribe the following medications:
1. Antibiotics if the patient has an infectious form of arthritis. They are prescribed individually, depending on gender, age, contraindications, and individual tolerance.
2. The doctor selects medications that will help stop the inflammatory process depending on how severe the disease is. With their help you can get rid of inflammation and pain. There are different forms of anti-inflammatory drugs - ointments, tablets, injections.
3. Chondroprotectors are prescribed after the inflammatory process has been stopped; they restore cartilage tissue and prevent it from being destroyed.
An important role in the treatment of arthritis of the toes and feet is played by physiotherapeutic procedures - massage, warming with the help of innovative drugs, baths with the addition of medicinal mixtures, mud therapy, physical therapy, and a special gymnastics complex. It is very important that the patient wears orthopedic shoes, starts his day with exercises, it is with the help of them that he can train his toes and protect them from the onset of inflammation and pain.
In very severe and advanced cases, surgery is required to replace the affected joint.
Thus, arthritis of the foot and toes is a very painful disease, which, if neglected and not treated in time, can lead to a wheelchair, replacement of the joint with an artificial one, so it is important to take measures in time and consult a doctor. Please note that factors such as lifestyle and what shoes you wear play an important role. Therefore, it is very important to lead a healthy lifestyle and wear high-quality, comfortable shoes. The disease is dangerous because it manifests itself abruptly, may not make itself known for a long time, and only after exposure to a certain factor begins to progress.
Today, diseases that were previously common among older people are actively becoming younger. One such pathological condition is arthritis of the foot joints. It occurs when the proportions of the load on the joint are disturbed. This condition gives impetus to the appearance of the inflammatory process. It is developing quite rapidly. And if treatment for arthritis of the feet is not undertaken in a timely manner, the patient may become temporarily unable to work, and then disability. That is why it is so important to know what factors can lead to the described deviations, what symptoms may indicate the appearance of a similar disease, and what treatment for ankle arthritis may be effective.
It is accompanied by changes in the quality of synovial fluid and its quantity. Each joint is surrounded by a bursa, which has a synovial membrane on the inside. It produces a special fluid that acts as a lubricant that prevents rough friction between the articulating bones. It is the synovial fluid that is responsible for the delivery of nutrients to the cartilage tissue, and it is the fluid that removes the products of metabolic processes from it.
Since cartilage tissue is devoid of blood vessels, any changes in the composition of the synovial fluid lead to the formation of destructive changes.
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When the joints of the foot and ankle become inflamed, the amount of synovial fluid produced increases, the excess accumulates around the diseased joint, which is why a clearly visible swelling appears around it on top. When such a scenario develops, not only cartilage tissue suffers, but also bones; ligaments and connective tissue are involved in the inflammatory process. Arthritis of the ankle develops.
Clinicians prefer to classify arthritis of the foot joints according to different criteria. It is important for them to first identify the cause of the pathology, its form and stage of development. The description of the symptoms of the disease largely depends on these factors.
In order to answer the question of how to treat foot arthritis, it is important to identify the cause of the disease. Various provocateurs can give impetus to its development; we list the most important of them:
Doctors note that joint problems are quite common today. And most often this manifests itself in the form of arthritis of the foot joints. This disease in the modern world occurs not only in older people, but also in the younger generation. There are many known causes of foot arthritis, but the most common are 5 pathologies:
Considering the intensity of the disease, doctors distinguish the acute phase of the disease and its chronic form. Acute ankle arthritis occurs in the presence of gout and infection, chronic - in the presence of an autoimmune disease and osteoarthritis. In the first case, the disease develops suddenly and intensively, in the second it proceeds more calmly and for a long time.
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Doctors conventionally distinguish three stages of ankle arthritis, the symptoms indicate the degree of development of the disease, treatment is prescribed taking into account the clinical manifestations.
The characteristic signs of arthritis are almost always accompanied by general symptoms of inflammation. The patient may complain of feeling unwell, a significant increase in temperature, and severe weakness . If arthritis of the small joints of the foot is not recognized in time, complete destruction of bone and cartilage tissue will occur. The result is disability. This is why it is so important to be able to identify the early symptoms of foot arthritis.
You should definitely contact a doctor if you experience even mild pain with the full amplitude of any movement of the foot, or if, when putting on your usual shoes, you feel a feeling of tightness (your foot cannot fit into worn-out shoes because the foot becomes swollen).
Doctors, talking about how to cure foot arthritis, draw attention to the need for early diagnosis of the disease. The sooner the patient seeks help, the more favorable the prognosis for recovery will be for him. Self-medication is unacceptable, since treatment tactics are developed taking into account the form of arthritis of the ankle joint; the identified symptoms help the doctor determine the range of diagnostic measures and decide whether the patient needs to be hospitalized or can be sent home, giving all the necessary recommendations.
In parallel with this, symptomatic therapy is carried out: painkillers relieve pain, antipyretics reduce the temperature.
If the patient's condition remains unsatisfactory, he is prescribed restorative tablets.
The chronic form of arthritis of the foot has a long, protracted nature, so treatment of this form should be comprehensive.
As you can see, arthritis of the foot joints can be successfully treated today; doctors have unique techniques that allow them to give positive prognoses even in the most advanced cases. But still, in order to ascertain positive trends in treatment, it is important to seek medical help as early as possible.
It is worth noting that all types of arthritis are characterized by a certain set of general symptoms, such as pain and redness, a local rise in temperature, the appearance of swelling and impaired functionality and motor activity of the inflamed area. A change in gait is quite acceptable. However, in addition to the general symptoms of arthritis characteristic of foot inflammation, there are also specific ones.
Thus, rheumatoid arthritis will certainly lead to the appearance of deformities, since it is chronic. As a result of this disease, the foot ceases to have supporting functions, which leads to the inability to move and, subsequently, to a wheelchair. Rheumatoid arthritis is nothing more than arthritis of the small joints of the foot and hand. The main symptoms are painful syndromes that appear during walking, fatigue, some stiffness in the joints after sleep, swelling of the affected area and its redness, and poor health. Most often, the last symptom resembles the condition of a flu patient.
This disease is also accompanied by general symptoms, but inflammation also affects adjacent areas. The same applies to other nonspecific inflammations, as a result of which the joints of the foot suffer.
Depending on the negative factors that provoked the development of the disease, the following types of arthritis are distinguished:
Arthritis of the toes worsens the condition of the first toe; inattention to the course of the pathological process provokes damage to neighboring areas. In advanced cases, the toes hurt even without load, small joints “twist” at rest.
Arthritis of the small joints of the foot at any stage requires identifying the cause of the inflammatory process, establishing the stage, and the nature of the pathology. If the underlying disease has become chronic, it is more difficult to treat joint problems and requires potent medications.
If there is swelling that increases in the evening, redness, or increased temperature over one or more fingers, consult a therapist. The doctor will prescribe a CT and MRI, rheumatic tests, a biochemical blood test, and an x-ray of painful areas.
Therapy will produce results with the assistance of several doctors.
In large clinics, a nutritionist sees you. Be sure to visit this doctor: for successful treatment, the patient must follow a diet. Without special knowledge, it is difficult to create the right diet, enriched with dishes and products to restore cartilage tissue, sparing the load on sore joints.
How to treat arthritis of the foot joints? Therapy is aimed at eliminating the causes of pathological changes in the joints and stopping the inflammatory process. The doctor’s task is to alleviate the suffering of a patient experiencing pain due to joint pain.
After the acute manifestations are relieved, the doctor will offer supportive therapy, recommend physiotherapy and traditional recipes for arthritis. At an early stage of the disease, the use of arch supports and orthopedic shoes has a good effect.
As part of complex therapy for the treatment of arthritis of the feet, certain groups of drugs are used:
The doctor will prescribe procedures with a noticeable therapeutic effect only after the pain has been relieved and the active inflammatory process has been eliminated. In the acute stage, the main emphasis is on NSAIDs and analgesics.
Popular physiotherapy methods:
Hundreds of thousands of patients suffer from arthritis. Many people tried a dozen methods until they found an effective remedy for pain relief. Consult with your doctor, find out which homemade formulations are effective for a certain form of damage to cartilage tissue, choose the appropriate recipe for treating foot arthritis at home.
Remember: making foot baths, heating, applying warm compresses or dry heat is prohibited during an exacerbation.
Popular recipes for treating arthritis with folk remedies:
Severe pain from arthritis of the foot will decrease if you perform simple procedures:
If you have severe pain, be sure to visit your doctor. The doctor will prescribe painkillers, dietary supplements, analgesic injections, ointments and creams. Medicines that remove excess uric acid help relieve severe gout pain. The drug Allopurinol is effective. While taking the pills, monthly monitoring of uric acid levels in the blood is required.
Healthy dishes and products:
They provoke attacks and worsen the condition of joints:
To prevent inflammation of the joints, take care of your feet from a young age, eat right, do not lift excessive weights, and treat infectious diseases promptly (and completely). Limit walking in high heels and protect your feet from injury.
Video - expert advice on the symptoms and treatment of foot arthritis:
Treatment of arthritis of the toes is not complete without exercise therapy. You can do the following exercises at home:
Physical procedures (magnet, diadynamic, amplipulse, paraffin treatment) are carried out in conjunction with physical therapy classes. These measures are carried out only in the remission (quiescence) phase of arthritis. Initially, the load on the foot is minimal and is carried out only in a lying position. Then the complexity of the exercises increases, and the patient is asked to walk with characteristic foot rolls from heel to toe and back.
For foot arthritis, prevention consists of the following simple rules:
At the same time, patients are recommended to regularly perform therapeutic exercises, reduce the load on the joints of the foot, make nutritional corrections, and, with the permission of the attending physician, use certain methods of traditional medicine.
For the treatment of foot arthritis, the prognosis depends on the degree of neglect of the disease, as well as the correctness of the chosen course of treatment. If it was possible to start treatment in a timely manner, the prognosis is generally favorable. If the joints are severely inflamed and a serious deformity of the feet has developed, then the treatment will be very painful and may not lead to the desired effect - there is a risk of lameness, gait disturbance and even disability.
Most techniques are easy to perform and provide relief if followed correctly.
To relieve pain, you need to give the diseased joint rest, and if this is not possible, you should immobilize it with a fixing bandage, and when walking, rely on a cane. But we must remember that this will only make the movements easier, but will not remove the inflammation.
It is also good to use orthopedic shoes that provide good support to the affected joint.
Surgical intervention must be resorted to in extreme cases with severe deformity, when surgery will help restore joint mobility.
The disease has an acute or chronic course:
During the acute stage, the joints often swell and increase in size.
Therefore, sometimes treatment is aimed primarily at relieving symptoms in the ankle joint in the form of poisoning of the body and at destroying the pathological autoimmune process (when antibodies are produced or killer cells multiply against healthy ones), manifested in fever and weakness.
In everyday life, outside the acute stage, symptoms are expressed in the form of pain when the joint is maximally flexed or extended, as well as a feeling of compression when wearing any shoes.
To be sure of the correct diagnosis, you need to do an ultrasound, radiography, and magnetic resonance imaging of the affected areas. Various blood tests will help determine which disease triggered the onset of arthritis.
Different causes of the disease, different types of lesions require different treatment methods
Treatment, even at home, cannot be done without antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs, which the doctor will prescribe after examining the tests.
Treatment consists of prescribing:
Arthritis of the feet can occur for many reasons.
The causes of foot arthritis can be classified into 4 groups.
Autoimmune processes are those phenomena when the body produces certain antibodies. These elements have a negative effect on certain tissues in the body. Such processes are observed in systemic lupus erythematosus and acute rheumatic fever. They can cause the development of arthritis.
Injury is a very common cause of arthritis. In addition, with them, inflammation tends to develop quickly and become acute. This is especially noticeable with fractures or serious bruises.
Separately, it is worth highlighting inflammation in the ankle joint. Formed by three bones, the ankle is the largest joint in the entire foot. If, in the event of an injury, the development of inflammation is not foreseen and preventive measures are not taken, the consequences can seriously limit motor ability.
Traumatic foot arthritis can also occur due to constant excessive stress. In this case, the disease becomes chronic.
Infections can cause inflammation if the virus manages to penetrate the joint itself. This phenomenon is often observed with tuberculosis, hepatitis and similar viruses.
Arthritis in the feet can also be caused by certain medical conditions. One of these provoking diseases is gout. Often it affects the development of inflammation in the first metatarsophalangeal joint. In addition, rheumatism can also influence the development of inflammation. Most of all, it affects the disease of small joints in the foot.
Any joint is located in a special environment - the articular capsule. This bag inside has the so-called synovial membrane. The membrane produces synovial fluid, which acts as a lubricant. Due to the functional nature of the joint and its constant movement, lubrication is necessary to ensure that the joint does not suffer from constant friction.
When the synovial membrane becomes inflamed, it releases more lubricant. However, the liquid changes in its structure and, even in increased volumes, is unable to reliably protect the joint from damage. In addition, metabolism is disrupted. The joint has no blood vessels, so this function is also assigned to the synovial fluid.
During autoimmune processes, the synovial membrane becomes covered with harmful elements. These elements are combined into one with the natural components of the shell. As a result, the body secretes special antibodies to destroy microbes. But these antibodies, in addition to microbes, also remove part of the synovial membrane. Such pathogenesis has, for example, rheumatoid arthritis of the foot, symptoms and treatment.
The most common symptoms:
Separately, it is worth noting rheumatoid arthritis of the foot symptoms and treatment. With this disease, a characteristic symptom is some stiffness in the legs in the morning. This feeling has little effect on restricting movement, but is an alarming sign that you should pay attention to your health.
Severe cases caused by infections or diseases such as rheumatic fever may be accompanied by wandering pain. So, a person may experience pain first in one joint, then in another. In this case, the affected area can be very different.
Deformation may occur due to tissue changes. This is a very eloquent sign indicating serious problems with the joints. The deformity affects the toes the most. The joints in this area are dangerous because most often the disease develops on several fingers at once. Deformity may also occur due to gout or swelling.
It is worth paying attention to the skin. Redness or rash in the area of the source of pain is a characteristic sign of inflammation of the joints. At the same time, there are a large number of reasons for the occurrence of skin syndromes in arthritis and it is difficult to independently establish it.
Impaired motor function can manifest itself in varying degrees. Inflammation makes it difficult to flex and straighten the affected joints. In this case, movements may be accompanied by various pain sensations. The patient with this symptom tries to reduce the number of movements.
Crunching or clicking sounds when moving are caused by a lack of lubrication in the joint capsule, which also indicates possible inflammation.
A symmetrical lesion means inflammation of the same joints on both legs.
The inflammatory process cannot develop locally. With the development of arthritis, the general condition of the body deteriorates, creating additional stress on the internal organs of a person.
For inflammation of the joints, primary diagnosis usually does not require additional tests. The symptoms of arthritis are too characteristic, so the doctor can easily determine that this is it. However, it is necessary to establish what kind of inflammation this is, what causes it and at what stage. This is necessary to establish an accurate diagnosis. After this, the doctor will advise how to treat foot arthritis. Depending on the cause of the inflammation, treatment options for foot arthritis vary.
First of all, an anamnesis is collected. As mentioned above, inflammation can be caused by various diseases. It is for this purpose that the doctor needs a medical history to suggest which of them could cause arthritis. The method of foot treatment depends on this.
After this, it is necessary to collect various tests. They include both general methods and specific ones. Blood and urine are examined. Rheumatoid factor is established. Citrullinated peptides or uric acid testing is an example of specific testing for arthritis.
For injuries or deformities, the doctor may refer the patient for an x-ray. Such a study will determine how damaged the joints are.
In general, diagnosis for this disease does not involve any complex or unusual studies (except laboratory ones, and even then not always). Within a short period of time, the doctor will be able to make an accurate diagnosis and choose the optimal treatment for arthritis of the feet.