Every day, our knees have to withstand body weight and physical activity.Over the years, cartilage wears down and changes occur in the joint.This is the reason why the elderly experience arthrosis of the knee joint.
Arthrosis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis) is a degenerative pathology of the joint, in which the cartilages are destroyed, the muscles and ligaments are damaged, and the bones are deformed.
Home treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint is a certain package of measures that alleviates the patient's condition.
If the therapy is supplemented with competent medical prescriptions, the progression of the disease can be slowed down and sometimes completely stopped.
Symptoms and causes of joint arthrosis
The first sign of gonarthrosis of the knee joint is stiffness of the knee and the appearance of pain after minor exertion, sleep and prolonged sitting.If the patient warms up a bit, the pain will ease.A cracking sound is often heard when bending the knee, and the pain increases after hypothermia.
Such signs of the disease appear over several years and are sometimes disturbing.If the problem is not treated, walking becomes difficult over time, the knee joint is deformed, and it is impossible to move without crutches.
The following can help accelerate the development of pathology:
- The patient is overweight, which triples the rate of progression.
- Regular exercise.
- Meniscal injuries, fractures and knee injuries.
- Bone placement errors (X and O shaped).They deform the cartilage tissue and the joint as a whole.
Stages of development of arthrosis of the knee joint
Section 1
The legs become very tired, mobility begins to decrease, and a crunchy feeling appears.Joint pain occurs at rest and during prolonged exercise.At this stage of the disease, there is no deformation in the knee, and the joint gap can only narrow.
Section 2
Grade 2 deforming arthrosis of the knee joint requires immediate treatment, as the pain becomes severe and limits movement.A person cannot travel long distances and needs a lot of rest.Lameness appears with a loud crunch and deformation.The bone grows and osteophytes form, and in case of arthritis, fluid accumulates.
Section 3
The most difficult stage of the disease.The pain appears even at rest, and the leg becomes almost immobile.The joint space may disappear completely.
Who is at risk?
- people with extra pounds;
- everyone who leads a sedentary lifestyle;
- patients with knee injuries;
- professional and amateur athletes who put a lot of stress on their knees;
- people with professions that put a lot of stress on their knees;
- cartilage and bone tissue pathology patients;
- those suffering from infectious and parasitic diseases.
All these reasons accelerate the development of the disease at an early age and lead to a complex course of the disease.
Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint
Currently, doctors do not single out a single regimen, since there is no specific drug that helps patients in the same way.When planning home treatment, doctors take into account the extent of the problem, the age of the patient, the severity of the pain and the degree of joint deformation.
That is why it is necessary to treat such a disease for a long time and diligently, using various methods to influence the painful knee.
Principles of nutrition
Everyone should understand that home treatment of arthrosis must begin with dietary correction.In this case, an increase in the amount of calcium, vitamins "B" and "E" can be considered a prerequisite.The body can obtain these elements from sprouted wheat, dairy products, almonds, whole grains, bread and pasta.
Salt should be limited and increased in vegetarian salads and vegetables after rapid heat treatment.
Anyone planning to treat any degree of osteoarthritis should eliminate acidic fruits such as grapefruit, lemons, oranges, alcohol and coffee from their diet.The amount of meat consumed should be minimized, as should the amount of dried fruits and cereals.
Jellied meat made from bone broth is considered a healthy food, as it is enriched with collagen, which is necessary for the construction of cartilage and bone material.Equally important is the use of gelatin, which contains the main condom protectors.
Gymnastics
Even in the most advanced stage of arthrosis, the treatment involves performing three exercises:
- You should sit on a high chair or table so that your legs hang freely.Then they start chattering with an amplitude of up to 10 cm.Severely ill patients can do the exercise for 5 minutes every hour, and for other patients for 10 minutes a few times a day.
- Sitting on a chair, place your feet on the floor.Leaning on the toe, the heel rises 12 cm from the floor and then falls freely.After 3 seconds, the exercise is repeated.For both sore legs, the exercise is performed alternately.
- Sit on a chair and put your feet on the floor.Then, lean back on your heels and slowly tap your toes on the floor, lifting them no more than 12 cm.Rest for 3 seconds between exercises.
Knee joint massage
At home, you can work independently on the arthritic knee joint with the help of fingers, palms and slaps.
The beating activates nerve pathways in the skin and causes bleeding.As a result of blows through pressed fingers, the impact is transmitted to the muscles, ligaments, tendons and joint capsule.Thus, the blood is more easily squeezed out of the capillaries without damage.
The treatment should be started by tapping on the painful places with pressed fingers.The patella is struck from the side.Hitting a very sore joint should be done as gently as possible, and as soon as it recovers, it should be slightly strengthened.
The damaged tendons should be gently tapped, then hit with a pressed palm on the right, left, front, straightened leg, below the knee, bent leg.The session ends with a beating.
Number of necessary procedures:
- moderate arthrosis - once a week;
- mild stage of arthrosis - once every 23 days;
- severe arthrosis with inflammation and swelling - once every six months.
Magnetotherapy
This procedure is easy to perform at home and does not further deform your knee.Magnetic therapy has been tested in practice for years and has always shown excellent results.
The knee joint affected by arthrosis can be treated at home under the influence of a weak magnetic field.This treatment normalizes blood circulation and metabolism.Thus, the outflow of fluids from the tissues is accelerated.
To treat this problem with a magnet, you do not need to perform complex operations.The procedure only requires a small magnet.Once a day, massage the area of the injured knee with circular movements for 20 minutes.The duration of such treatment is usually no more than three months.There are many opinions about the treatment of 2nd degree arthrosis of the knee joint with magnets, and all of them are positive.
Thermal treatments
The ability to perform thermal procedures at home is limited.Instead, you can use wet and dry heat – foot baths and compresses.
Add sea salt (one spoon per liter) to water heated to 45°C, then pour into a tall container so that your knees are completely submerged.The warm water helps dilate the blood vessels, and the salt removes excess fluid from the periarticular tissue.
Sand made with coarse salt or a mixture of dry herbs is heated in a microwave oven or pan, then wrapped in a thick material and cooled to room temperature, applied to the knee.After such treatment, the poultice is not thrown away - it is used during the entire course.
At the end of the thermal procedure, a gel (ointment) prescribed by the doctor is applied to the knee joint.In the case of enlarged pores, the drug penetrates better and has a stronger pain-relieving effect.
Drug treatment
Arthrosis of the knee joint of varying complexity can be treated at home with local medicines that have an edema, anti-inflammatory, warming and pain-relieving effect.The advantage of these funds is the possibility of long-term use.The active ingredient of the ointments does not penetrate in such an amount as to cause side effects.Thus, the range of those for whom treatment is available is expanded if the course of injections or tablets containing the active ingredient is prohibited.This applies to NSAIDs, which are prohibited for people with chronic and acute gastrointestinal diseases and other diseases of internal organs.When applied locally, it has an analgesic effect and relieves inflammation in arthrosis.
Traditional recipes for the treatment of arthrosis of the knee
There are wonderful herbs known in nature that are necessary for the production of collagen and the restoration of cartilage.
- gelatin- popular joint treatment.To prepare the medicine, take a spoonful of gelatin and pour a quarter of a glass of water into it in the evening, and in the morning, when it has swollen, eat it on an empty stomach.For the entire therapeutic course, you will need 150 g of gelatin.The drug is contraindicated for those with high blood clotting.
- Dandelion- wash the freshly picked flowers thoroughly under water, then grind them to a pulp.Eat no more than 5 flowers per day.It is worth preparing the leaves of the plant for winter treatment.Despite the bitter taste, the leaves should be chewed daily.Dry grass is poured with a glass of boiling water and soaked.Dandelion tincture has an excellent effect.You need to rub your knees for a month.The pain passes quickly, but the procedure must be continued.To make the remedy, collect a lot of dandelion heads, fill a bottle with them, and then fill it with alcohol or triple cologne.The tincture will be ready within a month.
- Honey and beekeeping products– a unique remedy for arthrosis of the knee joint.Warm the honey with a heating pad, then rub it into the affected area with light circular movements.The procedure is carried out once a day for half a month, after which the session is repeated after a break.
- Burdock- a common plant for treating joints.Take 6-7 burdock leaves and fold them with their woolly side down.Place a pan of boiling water over this pile until it cools.The knee is smeared with vegetable oil, the leaves are placed on top and wrapped in polyethylene and a towel.
- Cinquefoil and cinquefoil (tincture)– cinnamon and cinnamon root (2:1) are poured with vodka and left to stand for 20 days.The finished product should be taken orally, with a spoonful before meals, for one month, then a break should be taken.The combination of herbs relieves swelling, increases joint mobility and eliminates crunches.
- Cabbage juice– this product should be soaked in woolen material and applied to the painful area.The procedure is carried out before going to bed.The finished juice is stored in a dark place for up to three days.You can make poultices from cabbage leaves.The inside of the leaf is smeared with honey and applied to the painful knee.This is reinforced overnight with polyethylene and wool fabric.The poultice is removed in the morning, and the remaining honey with warm water.The treatment process lasts a month.
- Compression of colostrum with chalk- add fermented milk product to the ground chalk, mix thoroughly and apply the mixture to the knee joint.After insulating with foil and cloth, the residue is removed with a napkin the next morning.A chalk compress relieves inflammation and relieves pain.
- Spa with pine- coniferous plants are always used to treat joint arthrosis, most often in the form of a bath.To prepare the medicinal mixture, take coniferous pine branches, a few chopped chives, 1 tsp.turpentine, 1 kg of sea salt, 2 tbsp.l.honey You can stay in such a bathroom for no more than 20 minutes, then wipe the skin with a towel.An iodine mesh is drawn on the painful joint and it is smeared with honey.Steamed pork fat is also used there.The process of treating arthrosis is two weeks.
Knee arthritis is a disease that most people have to deal with often.Home therapy helps to stop the progression of the disease, as well as to completely restore the joint materials.In addition, the effectiveness of the methods depends on the patient himself and his desire for healing.