Osteoarthritis of the knee, or gonarthrosis, is a chronic and progressively progressive disease that often causes disability. At the moment, gonarthrosis occupies one of the main positions in terms of frequency of occurrence among all osteoarthritis. Most often, this pathological process is encountered by middle-aged and elderly people, mainly female representatives.
General information and classification
Knee joint osteoarthritis is a disease characterized by progressive degenerative-dystrophic damage to cartilage tissue and subsequently to other structures in the knee joint area. As we have already said, it is the cartilage that mainly changes in this disease. However, the pathological changes spread to the synovial membrane, joint capsule, adjacent bones and ligaments.
As the statistics show, osteoarthritis of the knee joint occurs in about 13% of people over the age of forty-five. About 15% of people who have suffered a knee joint injury subsequently face this disease. More than 60% of patients indicate a decrease in quality of life due to the presence of this pathology. The disability rate ranges from 10 to 21 percent.
In 2011, a team of scientists analyzed the treatment of 300 outpatients with knee osteoarthritis. At the same time, it was found that among people seeking medical care, women predominate 2, 3 times. The mean age of the patients was 51 years. Concomitant pathologies could be identified in 27. 3% of patients. The men who applied first had a shorter disease duration and lower osteoarthritis severity than female representatives.
As we have already said, osteoarthritis of the knee joint, which has not been treated, very often leads to the disability of a sufferer. This is due to the fact that in the later stages of the disease, the joint is deformed, thereby limiting its motor activity. It becomes difficult for the patient to move, he is forced to use auxiliary objects, for example, crutches.
Arthrosis of the knee joint is divided into two forms: primary and secondary. The primary form develops when changes in the cartilage tissue of the joint were not preceded by trauma. According to statistics, it accounts for about 38 percent. The secondary form occurs if there is a history of trauma, inflammatory pathologies, and so on.
In addition, there are three degrees of severity of such a pathological process. At the first degree, clinical manifestations have a minimum degree of severity, there are no deformities. The second degree is characterized by an increase in symptoms, moderate limitation of movement in the joint. In the third degree, a noticeable deformation of the joint is determined.
Reasons for the development of arthrosis of the knee joint
The main cause of osteoarthritis of the knee joint is injury. Most often, the formation of pathological changes in the joint takes three to five years from the moment of injury, but sometimes an earlier development of arthrosis is also observed. Another common cause is increased stress on the joint. At risk are people who overload the knee joint during sports, who are overweight.
The risk of developing osteoarthritis with previous arthritis, metabolic disorders and genetic predisposition increases significantly.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee joint
Symptoms of this disease gradually increase. At first, a person pays attention to mild joint pain, which increases with physical exertion. A characteristic clinical sign is the onset of pain during the first movements after a long sitting position.
Sometimes a slight swelling is determined in the area of the joint, but most often there are no external signs of the disease.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint, which is not treated, continues to progress. With the second degree, the pain becomes more intense, it appears even with little physical exertion. The pain syndrome disappears at rest, but when the movements begin, it returns again. In the future, the range of motion in the joint is limited, a rough crunch is sometimes noted.
In the third degree, the pain becomes almost constant, sometimes it occurs even at night. A sick person cannot fully bend or straighten the leg, external deformation of the joint is found. The patient's gait becomes unstable; in severe cases, it can only move with a support.
Principles for the diagnosis of osteoarthritis
As a rule, osteoarthritis of the knee joint does not cause any difficulties in terms of diagnosis. The examination plan includes an external examination and an x-ray examination. At present, radiography is the main diagnostic method for this disease. However, it is worth noting that in the early stages, radiological signs may be absent, but this does not exclude the diagnosis. If a more detailed study is required, in addition to radiography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging is used.
Osteoarthritis of the knee: treatment and prevention
In the case of degenerative-dystrophic damage to the joint, treatment can be both conservative and surgical. It is worth noting that the effectiveness of therapy will directly depend on the timeliness with which it was started. Among the drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and chondroprotectors are used. Sometimes it becomes necessary to carry out intraarticular administration of glucocorticosteroids. The treatment plan is complemented by physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises.
However, with advanced osteoarthritis of the knee joint, treatment is performed using surgical methods. Most often, joint arthroplasty is used, followed by rehabilitation measures.
In 2013, scientists published an article providing data on studying the quality of life of patients undergoing knee arthroplasty versus the quality of life of patients undergoing conservative therapy for gonarthrosis. Investigations were conducted, during which it was found that three months after endoprosthesis, people's quality of life was higher than with conservative therapy alone.
The main method of prevention is to avoid injuries and excessive physical exertion on the knee joint.