Any diseases of the legs, including the feet, are very unpleasant for a person and significantly complicate life. Arthrosis of the small joints of the foot is a rather slow-onset disease that can develop over several years. At the same time, significant changes occur in the phalangeal joints of the foot, deformation of the fingers and other parts of the foot, up to complete destruction of the joints.
Arthrosis of the small joints of the foot always requires timely diagnosis and treatment. Any delay can lead to impaired foot function, severe pain and even disability.
According to statistics, the majority of people with this disease are women who wear uncomfortable high-heeled shoes. The development of the disease, as a rule, begins at 40-50 years of age, but with risk factors it can develop earlier. In men, arthrosis of the small joints of the foot is extremely rare.
There are many reasons that can lead to the development of arthrosis of the feet. Many women know about the reasons for the development of this disease, but due to the lack of prevention and timely consultation with a doctor, the disease can begin to progress and be difficult to respond to conservative treatment.
Arthrosis of the small joints of the feet is primarily associated with uncomfortable shoes. A high heel in combination with a narrow toe and a rather uncomfortable last provokes severe tension and increased load on the feet and joints of the phalanges of the toes. In this case, arthrosis of small joints can develop much earlier, at a young age.
In addition, when wearing uncomfortable, constricting shoes, blood circulation in the legs is disrupted, which means that the joints lose part of their nutrition and begin to weaken and break down.
Other reasons for the development of arthrosis of the feet:
There are risk factors that may not be the cause, but cause arthrosis of the bones of the foot and are prerequisites for the occurrence of the disease:
In rare cases, arthrosis of the foot bones can begin without cause.
There are three main clinical degrees of arthrosis development. They differ according to the symptomatic manifestation of the disease.
First degree. At this stage of the disease, there are usually no serious symptoms other than pain in the forefoot. The pain intensifies with physical activity. The leg gets tired quickly.
Second degree. At this stage, the pain increases. Arthrosis of the interphalangeal joints of the foot gradually begins to appear visually. The front toe joint enlarges and begins to protrude. Movement may be limited.
Third degree. Severe deformation of the metatarsophalangeal joint begins. It becomes very noticeable, the bone protrudes greatly, and the patient may find it uncomfortable to put on shoes and even walk. Severe pain appears, and the joint practically loses its mobility. The thumb is greatly displaced and may move under the other fingers or lie on top of them.
Signs of arthrosis of the legs can be different.
They differ depending on the cause and extent of the disease. They may be as follows:
Arthrosis is a slowly progressive disease of a chronic nature. If a person does not start treatment on time, the symptoms of arthrosis of the small joints of the foot gradually increase.
Treatment of the disease includes complex therapy. The earlier treatment begins, the higher the chances of getting a positive result.
Treatment of arthrosis should begin not only with visiting a doctor and diagnosing the disease, but also with changing your life. Before treating arthrosis of the foot joints, it is necessary to get rid of risk factors.
An unhealthy lifestyle, bad habits and poor nutrition are their components. Excess weight is quite dangerous for joint diseases. It significantly increases the load on the joints of the feet and leads to the rapid development of the disease.
For arthrosis of the small joints of the feet, it is recommended to adhere to a diet. Fatty and floury foods are excluded from the diet, everything that negatively affects joint health and leads to weight gain. Instead, it is necessary to increase the consumption of dairy products, fresh vegetables and fruits.
For any vascular diseases, it is recommended to increase the consumption of foods that contain pectin. This substance helps joints return to normal faster. A large amount of pectin is found in jelly and any jelly-like products, as well as in starch.
Drug treatment consists of taking chondoprotectors. Taking these drugs is quite long. Depending on the degree of development of arthrosis, small joints must be treated for one or two years.
Chondoprotectors help restore the joint and fight its destruction, slowing down arthrosis. Joint pathologies are reduced, which reduces pain and allows the motor activity of the joints to be restored.
Main actions of chondoprotectors:
With arthrosis, small joints are quite susceptible to pain. Tolerable pain can be relieved by taking analgesic tablets. But at a late stage of development of foot arthrosis, tablets may not cope with the pain, and then a blockade is used for foot arthrosis. During this procedure, powerful injections with an anesthetic effect are used.
Drugs used for pain relief have a wide range of contraindications and possible side effects, so they are used in cases of extreme necessity.
Surgeries for arthrosis of small joints of the foot are performed when conservative treatment has not led to positive results. Most often this happens in advanced cases of arthrosis or when the disease develops very quickly. Surgical intervention is also carried out in cases where a person begins to have serious problems with gait and selection of shoes.
Before resorting to surgery, it is recommended to use manual therapy and physical therapy.
They include the following components:
All of the above described methods of therapy are also used during the rehabilitation of a patient after surgery. They are carried out with the aim of restoring the diseased joint and preventing future arthrosis.
In severe cases of the disease, a special plate is implanted into the joint cavity. It fixes the joint and prevents it from changing. The bones of the phalanges of the fingers fall into place. The disadvantage of this operation is that the joint remains immobile for life.
Quite rarely, an operation to replace the joint of the phalanges of the fingers with an artificial analogue can be performed. Currently, this operation is quite unpopular.
There are several methods by which you can defeat arthrosis of the small joints of the foot; treatment with traditional methods is one of them. This is a good supportive and stimulating therapy for the joints of the feet.
In case of severe pain, it is recommended to do special wraps with clay or therapeutic mud. They contain quite a lot of useful microelements that nourish the joints and help them recover.
Regular clay wraps relieve pain and reduce inflammation. To do this, you need to coat your foot with a slightly heated clay or mud mass, wrap your foot with cling film, a towel and leave for several days.
To nourish the joint with microelements, you can use baths with bischofite. It is a mineral that mainly consists of magnesium salt and is used in agriculture. As a therapeutic agent, bischofite is added not only to baths, but also to special applications and compresses. Warm pads with bischofite will help cope with pain and inflammation due to arthrosis.
If you have arthrosis, it is not recommended to consume salt or any salty foods. But salt baths will only do you good. Sea salt is especially welcome. If you don’t have it, you can add a few tablespoons of natural honey and decoctions of medicinal herbs to regular table salt.
An ointment with bee venom can help cope with the pain syndrome. It warms well and relieves pain. In addition, with regular use of this ointment, joint mobility begins to be restored.
For this disease, compresses based on decoctions of medicinal herbs are widely used. They can be marsh cinquefoil, mullein, aloe leaves with the addition of eucalyptus essential oil.
If you add a teaspoon of eucalyptus oil to half a glass of vodka and soak a cotton swab in it, you can wipe the affected joint area several times a day. This oil is also widely used to prepare creams and oils for foot massage.
Hirudotherapy can be an additional treatment method for foot arthrosis.
Arthrosis is a disease of the joints of the fingers and toes, which is characterized by damage to cartilage. This disease is a common cause of disability. A person who has been diagnosed with arthrosis suffers from severe pain in the joints. And limited limb movements and impaired fine motor skills create many problems. This disease cannot always be cured completely, but, taking into account the capabilities of modern medicine, it is possible not only to relieve some symptoms, but also to slow down the development of the disease, while preventing deformation of the fingers and toes.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW! The only remedy for JOINT PAIN, arthritis, arthrosis, osteochondrosis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system, recommended by doctors! Read more.
Any form of arthrosis (polyosteoarthrosis, osteoarthritis) begins with the fact that blood flow is disrupted in the subcartilaginous layers of the periosteum of the foot or fingers. This leads to poor nutrition of cartilage tissue. As a result, the cartilage becomes thin and less elastic, and its surface becomes covered with cracks. The volume of synovial fluid decreases, and strong friction of the bones leads to inflammation of the affected joints of the feet and fingers. If treatment is not started in time, the disease begins to progress.
Progressive arthrosis (osteoarthrosis or polyosteoarthrosis) is a rather dangerous disease. If treatment is not started at the first signs, then the feet and phalanges of the fingers acquire an ugly shape and lose mobility.
The disease often appears during menopause. The hormonal background of women changes, due to which the amount of hormone produced - estrogen - decreases. There is a loss of moisture, which makes the cartilage of the feet and toes fragile.
Depending on where arthrosis is localized (polyosteoarthrosis and osteoarthritis), the disease is divided into two groups:
Polyosteoarthrosis, arthrosis and osteoarthritis of the hands are diseases that are often found in secretaries, computer typing operators, pianists, accordion players, etc.
The disease primarily affects the small joints between the phalanges of the fingers. Tissues affected by the disease lose moisture and become covered with many small cracks. Women over 40 years of age are at risk.
To develop an optimal treatment regimen for the disease, Dr. A Myasnikov recommends first identifying the source of arthrosis abnormalities in the fingers and toes.
Arthrosis, osteoarthrosis and polyosteoarthrosis usually occur for the following reasons:
Dr. A Myasnikov considers wearing uncomfortable shoes to be one of the reasons for the occurrence of arthrosis of the feet. In addition, hypothermia of the feet, regular and long-term walking over long distances and increased load on the feet due to excess weight can also trigger the development of diseases such as arthrosis, osteoarthritis and polyosteoarthrosis.
It is not difficult to completely restore JOINTS! The most important thing is to rub this into the sore spot 2-3 times a day.
In one of his works, A. Myasnikov emphasized that arthrosis has the following three stages of development:
Bouchard and Heberden nodes appear on the affected joints, accompanied by pain and burning. After some time, the swelling and redness of the skin goes away, and the nodules harden.
Treatment of arthrosis of small joints of the hands must be carried out in accordance with generally accepted principles of therapy for this disease. Treatment should be aimed at relieving inflammation, restoring cartilage tissue and restoring mobility of the affected joints.
Treatment of the disease directly depends on the stage of the disease. If the disease worsens and the symptoms become pronounced, then therapy should be aimed at relieving pain and reducing inflammation.
In this case, experts recommend not lifting heavy objects, and also reducing the load on the joints. Drug therapy is based on drugs that relieve swelling and pain (for example, Diclofenac). To relieve symptoms, phonophoresis with Hydrocortisone is used. Hormone injections into the joint may also be used.
Therapy outside of exacerbation should be aimed at restoring cartilage and joint mobility. For this purpose, chondroprotective drugs (for example, Chondroxide) can be used.
It should be noted that treatment with these drugs lasts a long time, and the maximum effect is achieved only at an early stage, when the symptoms are not yet clear and deformation processes have not begun.
Physiotherapy is necessary to restore blood flow and improve metabolic processes in cartilage. Most often, laser and magnetic therapy is used for this.
It is also recommended to do a gentle massage of the joints. This mainly involves tapping the hands or lightly rubbing the fingers. Exercise therapy exercises include playing with small soft toys, rhythmic light blows on the table surface and fingering beads (rosaries). Before starting exercises, you need to take warming baths.
After consultation with specialists, you can also be treated with folk remedies.
Along with the treatment prescribed by specialists, you can also use folk remedies. For example, make warming baths with larkspur, string, coltsfoot, as well as compresses with honey and salt. Most often, they should be done before starting physical therapy exercises. This helps relieve pain and swelling of the affected joints. In addition, you can use recipes for internal use that improve metabolism and blood circulation.
Arthrosis of the fingers is much less common than similar pathology in the knee, shoulder or hip joints.
This disease can be found in those who have worked hard all their lives, often overcooled their hands, and subjected their hands to constant dynamic loads.:
Another reason is genetic predisposition:
Deformations in the joint occur unmotivated. Inside, some pathological process simply turns on, depleting the structure of the cartilage tissue of the joint and leading to its gradual destruction.
Trauma can also lead to arthrosis, especially damage to the wrist joint.
Many people mistakenly call arthrosis arthritis, although arthritis is a much more serious disease.
Both pathologies begin with the small joints of the hands or feet, and then the larger ones are affected.
A mixed form is very often observed - arthrosis-arthritis, when joint deformation is accompanied by inflammation..
In any case, if the joints of the hands suddenly begin to change without reason, this may serve as an indicator that serious pathological processes have begun in the skeletal system.
Arthrosis of the wrist joint is more often diagnosed, mainly of traumatic origin.
From the picture below you can understand how complex the structure of the hand is, and how many joints are in it.
Arthrosis of the hand can be nodular:
Separately, rhizarthrosis is distinguished - damage to the metacarpophalangeal and metacarpal joints of the thumb.
Before treatment, it is especially important to differentiate the disease, that is, to weed out the worst option - arthritis.
Arthrosis of the wrist joint, which has arisen seemingly for no reason, can lead to such a suspicion: the patient cannot remember either falling on the hand or any load on it.
Your doctor will likely order a rheumatoid test, an immunological blood test that can detect C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, and a marker called antistreptolysin. The presence of these elements in the blood confirms rheumatoid arthritis.
X-ray diagnosis of the hand can reveal arthrosis by:
The disease rarely requires pain medication.
The main condition for treatment is to eliminate the cause that provoked the disease itself.:
In the first stages, metabolism in the joint can be improved with the help of chondroprotectors - artificial substitutes necessary for the connective tissues of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine
But overestimating the capabilities of these drugs - prescribing them in the last stages or incorrect short-term use - leads to unreasonable disappointment of the patient with these really good, albeit expensive, drugs
At the last stage, already with a deficiency of synovial fluid, intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid are effective
You can use self-massage:
Osteoarthritis of the foot is a degenerative joint disease.
It manifests itself as inflammatory processes in soft tissues and has a destructive effect on cartilage tissue.
This disease is accompanied by metabolic and blood circulation disorders.
This disease is associated with premature wear of intra-articular cartilage.
The most commonly affected areas are the knee, hip and foot areas.
The clinical picture of symptoms may vary.
It depends on the degree of inflammatory-destructive processes and the stage of the disease.
The symptoms are similar to those of arthritis. Therefore, you need to know the common signs of foot disease so that you can take the right steps.
Osteoarthritis of the big toe is popularly referred to as “bunions.”
Common symptoms include:
The disease often occurs due to longitudinal or transverse flatfoot and is progressive.
Osteoarthritis of the small joints of the foot affects the joints of the feet and hands.
The most dangerous sign is damage to the joints of the first fingers.
Arthrosis of the metatarsal bones can affect any joint.
Arthrosis of the phalanges of the fingers is a common problem of our time.
The disease can affect men and women equally.
As a rule, it affects not one, but several joints (interphalangeal and spot-phalangeal joints at the same time).
Arthrosis of the phalanges of the fingers is characterized by:
Patients with arthrosis of the midfoot complain of certain symptoms of varying intensity:
Degenerative joint changes can be influenced by several factors, which are often caused by the modern rhythm of life or impaired blood supply to the affected organ.
The most common causes of foot arthrosis:
Sometimes arthrosis of the foot occurs due to biomechanical disturbances in the movement of the foot.
The high size of the arch is caused by rigidity and joint immobility, as a result of which the articular bones are pressed tightly against each other, and arthrosis of the foot can develop.
Risk factors include:
Often, arthrosis of the foot develops during pregnancy, as a result of weight gain, swelling of the legs and inflammation of the joints.
In children, foot problems can appear at an early age when they are learning to take their first steps.
The child's legs experience a lot of stress when trying to take a step. As a result, deformation and curvature of the ankle joint may occur.
With flat feet, curvature of the spine can occur.
There are several stages of the disease.
Osteoarthritis of the foot primarily affects the cartilage of the joints, which directly protect the bones.
Because of this, cartilage becomes inelastic, gradually begins to collapse and does not absorb external shocks, causing the surface of the bones to experience increased stress.
Overloading the bones of the foot leads to disturbances in blood microcirculation and the appearance of bone and cartilaginous growths.
The disease is aggravated by deformation of the fingers and their fixation in a crooked position - such a deviation is difficult to treat in the future.
Osteoarthritis of the foot can cause more serious diseases:
An advanced and severe form of the disease leads to immobility of the foot, which is difficult to treat.
An experienced doctor, during the initial examination of the patient, can discern the symptoms of foot deformation and identify restrictions in the movements of the joints.
First, the doctor establishes the true cause of the disease in order to exclude the possibility of other diseases.
Certain research methods are used for diagnosis:
When choosing treatment for foot arthrosis, the stage of the disease is taken into account.
The main goal of treatment is to provide conditions for normal walking.
Among the treatment methods used are the following:
The earlier the diagnosis is made, the faster and more effective the treatment process is.
Exercises must be properly selected, then they will help eliminate the disease and become an excellent prevention of the occurrence of the disease in the future.
The exercises are aimed at:
Arthrosis can be cured using traditional medicine recipes.
The best effect will be achieved if folk remedies are used in combination with traditional ones.
Folk remedies include:
Nutrition for arthrosis of the foot should be complete.
This is the main condition from which treatment of the disease at home begins.
It is necessary to include calcium, vitamin E and B-vitamins in the diet.
They are found in almonds, sprouted wheat, breads, and pasta.
You can purchase these vitamins at the pharmacy in tablet form.
With this disease, it is recommended to consume less salt.
At home, you can make herbal baths for injured feet.
They will help relieve pain syndromes and relieve heaviness in the legs.
Baths made of honey and salt are very effective for arthrosis.
Bischofite baths are also very effective for arthrosis of the feet.
Bishofite is a storehouse of microelements, and therefore this remedy has a beneficial effect on the general muscular condition of the legs and helps heal the feet.
You can use bischofite compresses, which are best done before bed.
Clay treatment is effective for various forms of arthrosis.
Clay baths and rubbing help relieve pain and inflammation.
Clay cakes are applied to the affected foot and left for two hours.
After this, the feet are provided with warmth.
The diet is aimed at eliminating the causes and factors that provoke inflammatory processes in the joints and destroy cartilage tissue.
The main enemy of joints is excess weight.
If you have arthrosis of the foot, it is recommended to avoid:
It is necessary to consume more vegetables, fruits, dairy products rich in B2 - vitamin and calcium, and low-fat fish.
Before starting a diet, you should consult a doctor who can advise you on the optimal diet.
With this disease, there is a violation of blood microcirculation.
Massage therapy sessions can help restore this process.
The foot massage begins from the tips of the toes and continues along the back area to the ankle joints.
Movements when massaging the foot should be continuous.
The massage will be more effective if it is accompanied by rubbing and ends with a warming session using paraffin and ozokerite.
Orthopedic insoles are equipped with a certain relief, which has a therapeutic effect.
Such insoles are used for flat feet of various shapes, painful feet and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
Orthopedic insoles are recommended for use by patients who have flat feet or arthrosis of the feet.
They prevent future foot deformation and restore the shock-absorbing function of the foot.
Properly made insoles help cure arthrosis of the foot and relieve the victim from pain syndromes.
Surgical treatment methods are used when medication and physiotherapeutic methods are ineffective.
There are several surgical treatment methods:
The main goal of drug treatment is to stop progressive inflammation in the joint and improve the cartilage layer.
Sometimes medications are injected into the area of the deteriorating joint.
In everyday practice, doctors often use certain vitamin preparations that help with foot arthrosis:
Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and warming ointments are suitable for treatment:
Physiotherapeutic procedures are aimed at warming up the affected foot.
The group of physiotherapeutic treatment methods includes:
Ultraviolet light affects the affected area and reduces the sensitivity of the nerves.
As a result, the nerve fibers send fewer pain signals to the brain, and the patient begins to feel relief.
For foot treatment, the power of such irradiation is 5 biodoses, which increase slightly after a few days.
Laser therapy is effective in relieving inflammation in the affected foot.
Laser waves have a calming effect and eliminate pain.
The main course of laser therapy is 15 procedures.
UHF therapy increases blood circulation and prevents the formation of free-form radicals that are harmful to the joint.
Such procedures are carried out daily for 12 days.
Physiotherapeutic procedures such as magnetotherapy, electrophoresis, and phonoresis are successful.
For people suffering from arthrosis of the foot, the main condition is loose and comfortable shoes that will not restrict the movement of the leg.
To prevent arthrosis of the foot, you must follow certain rules:
Arthrosis of the foot should not be neglected, since treatment of the disease in severe forms is impossible.
The mobility of bone joints is ensured by smooth cartilage and washing fluid, which acts as a lubricant. This type of tissue is a shock absorber, smoothing out loads and preventing bone tissue from destruction. The porous structure of cartilage contains a kind of secretion - a “matrix”, which, under increased pressure, is released and “lubricates” the parts of this mechanism, which is in almost constant motion. Cartilage fibers that are destroyed during life are restored naturally, if there are no other factors that disturb the balance between the number of lost and growing capsules. Treatment of arthrosis of the foot consists of normalizing these processes, creating conditions for the full functioning of the entire apparatus of the foot.
Subtypes of arthrosis of small joints of the foot correspond to the name of the individual bones affected by the pathology:
The most common of the subtypes and the most visually noticeable is arthrosis of the big toe joint: treatment of this deformity, which deprives the foot not only of visual appeal and the ability to wear many types of shoes, is required for 70% of women over 50 years of age.
The characterization of arthrosis as a degree of bone wear clearly suggests the main causes of the disease:
Despite the fact that the named causes of osteoarthritis depend little on the person himself, doctors warn: the fault, as a rule, lies with the patient himself. Wrong choice of shoes, bad habits, careless attitude towards your body and untimely preventive measures are the real causes of this disease. Even statistics confirm this: women, who are more inclined to sacrifice the comfort and quality of shoes for the sake of aesthetics, suffer from the disease in the first place, and ultimately lose this very beauty. The advice of experts is uniform: at the first suspicion of arthrosis of the foot joints, treatment and preventive measures should be followed immediately.
Pain and difficulty moving are the first signs of arthrosis. A decrease in the smoothness of articular cartilage as a result of destruction causes precisely these symptoms, but these are just the first “bells”, often mistaken for banal fatigue after a hard day at work. Quite clearly expressed symptoms will help to recognize foot arthrosis.
The primary diagnosis is made based on complaints and examination of the area causing the greatest concern. Even minor violations are the basis for ordering an x-ray, which becomes the main evidence of degeneration of individual tissues. Additionally, ultrasound and thermography can be prescribed to identify diseases occurring in parallel and caused by osteoarthritis itself: inflammatory processes, blood circulation disorders. An analysis of the blood itself is taken to clarify the causes of the problem. The condition of bone and cartilage tissue, visible on an x-ray, is the basis for assigning a degree and medical prescription to the disease.
Changes that occur in inert tissues as a result of wear and tear cannot be restored. Statements about the successful cure of one degree or another of the disease are an advertising ploy for clinics. All measures are intended only to stop the developing arthrosis of the foot: treatment at home, as well as medication prescriptions, perform the same task. The exception is surgical intervention, but even the result of surgery cannot be called a complete cure for the disease. Removing growths from the bone of the thumb is only a temporary solution to the problem
The key to success in the treatment of arthrosis is an integrated approach. Excluding advanced stages requiring surgical intervention, the patient is prescribed:
Among pharmaceutical preparations, depending on the patient’s condition, analgesics and vitamin and mineral complexes that promote the restoration of bone tissue, as well as chondoprotectors, are prescribed. Additionally, anti-inflammatory drugs may be prescribed. Steroid drugs are prescribed only when the problem is advanced.
There are many remedies that supposedly help with arthrosis, but given the irreparable consequences of the disease, they can only be used after consultation with a doctor.
Most often, arthrosis of small joints develops in women over 40 years of age. In this case, arthrosis of the joints of the hands develops in teachers, dentists, secretaries, and pianists. This is due to excessive stress on these joints over many years. With arthrosis of the joints of the hand, the wrist and metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints are most often affected.
Arthrosis of the foot joints is often observed in ballerinas and gymnasts. This is also explained by physical activity.
Over time, the cartilage tissue wears out and begins to break down, which leads to the appearance of characteristic symptoms of the disease. Heredity and metabolic disorders play an important role in the development of arthrosis.
Symptoms vary depending on the stage of the process. The first stage is characterized by aching pain that occurs periodically. They become most pronounced at night and in the morning. Movement in the joints is not difficult, but there is slight swelling and local muscle tension in the affected area;
In the second stage, the pain becomes constant and intensifies with physical activity. The joints increase in volume, and movements in them are limited. Muscle atrophy occurs;
At the third stage, a sharp restriction of mobility appears in the affected joints, and subcutaneous nodules form at the site of destruction of cartilage tissue. There is redness of the joints, pain and a burning sensation in them;
If the first symptoms of the disease occur, you should consult a doctor, because the progression of arthrosis of small joints leads to their deformation and inability to perform their functions.
Osteoarthritis of small joints is diagnosed using radiography. On the x-ray you can see characteristic signs of the disease: narrowing of the joint space and marginal growths of bone tissue - osteophytes. In addition to radiography, CT and CT can be used. These methods are rarely used; in most cases, a conventional radiograph is sufficient.
Pain, limitation of movement, deformation, swelling of small joints can be signs of various diseases. Therefore, you should consult a doctor so that he can correctly diagnose and prescribe adequate treatment.
to differentiate arthrosis of small joints from gout and rheumatoid arthritis. To establish an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to conduct an x-ray, a biochemical blood test and a rheumatic complex. With gout, there is an increase in the level of uric acid in the blood, and with rheumatoid arthritis, an increase in rheumatoid factor. Although all of these diseases are accompanied by pain in small joints, the causes, and, accordingly, the treatment are very different.
Arthrosis of small joints must begin to be treated as early as possible, while the cartilage tissue is not yet severely destroyed. An integrated approach is always used in treatment.
Chondroprotectors are used to regenerate cartilage tissue. These include drugs based on chondroitin sulfate and glycosaminoglycans. Periodically, it is necessary to carry out courses of treatment with these drugs to treat arthrosis and prevent relapses of the disease.
Since arthrosis of small joints is accompanied by pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to relieve it. For the musculoskeletal system, it is best to use diclofenac sodium. In addition, it has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Non-drug treatment methods include physiotherapeutic procedures. For the treatment of arthrosis of small joints the following is used:
Surgical treatment is rarely used. It requires large material costs, because creating a small joint prosthesis is very difficult. This requires expensive materials and jewelry work.