DOA knee joints: causes, symptoms at different stages, treatment

Deforming osteoarthritis (abbreviated DOA) of knee joints is a degenerative-dystrophic disease. Almost constantly our knee joints are under pressure, because they hold the entire body weight, and at the same time provide mobility to the legs. Hyaline cartilage, responsible for damping the joints, is thinned over time, and when it is completely erased, the bone is exposed and begins to grow, forming spines (exostoses). Because of these changes, the knee deforms. In general, the disease is considered to be an age-related disease, it affects mainly people after the age of forty, and approximately twice as often it develops in women, rather than in men.

DOA of knee joints: possible causes

The disease can be primary or secondary. In the first case, it is impossible to say exactly what causes the development of the pathological process. Specialists suggest that the DOA of knee joints is the result of excessive loads on them or, conversely, low motor activity, age changes, excess weight. The causes of the secondary form of the disease doctors call joint injuries, such as ruptures of ligaments and meniscus, and certain diseases (diabetes, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.).

DOA Knee Joints: Stages and Symptoms

Speaking in general, the disease manifests itself in pain in the knees and stiffness of movements in the joint. However, the intensity of the symptoms depends on the severity of the deforming osteoarthritis.

At DOA of the knee joint of the 1st degree, the clinical picture is very weak. In the knee, there is a feeling of tightness. After sleep or a prolonged stay in a static position, a person may experience difficulty walking, but after a short period of time, the pain subsides. At this stage there are no deforming changes yet, the normal mobility of the joint remains.

When the deforming osteoarthritis passes to the 2nd degree, the symptoms are significantly strengthened, which is manifested in the appearance of prolonged severe pain in the knee. The joint begins to deform, and very soon it becomes noticeable. To bend and unbend the leg in the knee becomes difficult, it swells, when walking it feels a crunch. Even in spite of pronounced symptoms, most people do not hurry to see a doctor. And in vain! After all, the treatment of the disease at this stage can be the most effective.

DOA of the knee joints of the third degree is already a neglected disease, characterized by persistent pain, which persists both during motion and at rest. Progressive deformity of the joint can be seen with the naked eye, besides, lameness appears. The mobility of the joint is so limited that it is practically impossible to bend the knee.

Treatment of DOA knee joint

The disease is treated with conservative or surgical methods (depending on the degree of the disease and the individual indications of the patient). The attending physician is an orthopedic trauma specialist. First of all, he prescribes the use of anti-inflammatory drugs designed to relieve pain and reduce inflammation in the joint. In the acute phase, intra-articular corticosteroids can be administered. In the form of course treatment, chondroprotectors are used. But only one medication with the disease can not cope. To restore the mobility of the joint, it is necessary to engage in complex physical therapy. If the DOA of knee joints is in neglected form, arthroplasty can be recommended, that is, replacing it with an artificial implant.