Arthritis rheumatoid knee joint

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Rheumatoid arthritis of the knee joint - this pathology is quite common. This is not just a disease of a large joint of the lower extremity - it is one of the symptoms of a general damage to the body.

The knee swells, it hurts to step on the leg, not only the skin in the area of the affected joint is "burning", the body temperature may rise.

These are the external manifestations of the initial stage of the disease. If exacerbations occur frequently, the x-ray can show the destruction of the cartilage tissue and the appearance of osteophytes in the articular cavity.

The disease develops after the transferred infectious processes, injuries and metabolic disorders in the body can provoke it.

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis of the knee joint is a rather long and laborious process. In addition to carrying out therapeutic measures of a different nature, it will be necessary to adjust the lifestyle, change the nature of the diet, and regularly engage in exercise therapy.

Rheumatoid arthritis of the knee joint - symptoms

The severity of symptoms usually increases gradually. The first signs of the disease are usually ignored, the problem is solved with improvised means - a variety of rubbing from the arsenal of official medicine or made according to folk recipes.

Symptoms with the gradual development of the disease:

• the patient begins to feel weak, causeless fatigue appears;
• the temperature rises periodically or is constantly kept at the subfebrile level;
• weight is reduced, despite the fact that the diet and diet have not changed;
• lymph nodes may enlarge.

Then the knees begin to swell, in the morning you feel stiffness - you have to "walk around" - and soreness. Both knees swell immediately - the disease is characterized by a symmetrical lesion. First, the joints are affected, then the periarticular tissues - tendons and muscles. When the knee is bent, a crunch is heard, and severe soreness appears. If you do not start treatment, symptoms of muscle wasting will occur, which will cause significant impairment of mobility.

Systemic symptoms that may appear against the background of the development of rheumatoid lesions of the joints:

• rheumatoid nodules - in case of damage to the knee joint, they appear under the skin of the knee, but when the disease spreads to the whole body, they can appear on the internal organs;
• anemia is a consequence of a slowdown in metabolic processes and a decrease in the platelet count in the blood formula;
• Still's syndrome - the temperature rises to 39 ° C, a rash appears on the body;
• Schengen's syndrome - a violation of the secretion of lacrimal fluid and saliva;
• Felty's syndrome - the number of neutrophils in the blood formula decreases, which causes an increase in the spleen;
• osteoporosis;
• sores on the skin of the knee that are difficult to heal;
• amyloidosis is a violation of protein metabolism.

One of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, which grows gradually, is knee subluxation - they are caused by the usual load.

The causes of arthritis that can trigger the awakening of rheumatoid factor:

• hereditary predisposition;
• violation of metabolic processes in the body;
• a change in diet, which leads to a depletion of the supply of nutrients in the body;
• allergies;
• diseases of the nervous system.

Infectious diseases of various etiologies can provoke joint damage. Especially often the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis appear after seasonal ARVI, transferred "on the legs".

How to treat rheumatoid arthritis of the knee

Before the appointment of treatment, diagnostic measures are carried out. Be sure to pass general blood and urine tests. If hemoglobin is reduced in a blood test for arthritis, ESR is high and an increased amount of C-reactive protein, as well as protein in the urine, rheumatoid arthritis can already be suspected. To confirm, they take blood tests for biochemistry and rheumatoid tests.

In addition to blood and urine tests, an X-ray of the knee joint must be done, and a puncture of the periarticular fluid may be prescribed. It is cloudy if suspicions of the diagnosis are justified, and laboratory examinations reveal an increased number of leukocytes and neutrophils.

After the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis of the knee joint is established, medications are prescribed to treat the disease.

1. Antibiotics The inflammatory process - regardless of the type of arthritis - provokes the introduction of infectious agents. They need to be destroyed.
2. Pain relievers. When choosing drugs in this group, anamnesis is taken into account. The best means for anesthetizing the knee joint are non-steroidal ones, which have anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic effects, but they are not used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The risk of bleeding ulcers is too high. Therefore, analgesics are used - the active substance may be different, or anesthetics that are injected directly into the affected joint. If strong codeine or opium-based pain relievers are prescribed, they are used once because of the potential for addiction.
3. Corticosteroids are used - hormonal agents that quickly eliminate pain and swelling, and reduce inflammation. They are injected into the knee.
4. Plasmapheresis may be prescribed - this procedure eliminates the autoimmune reaction.

To eliminate the inflammatory processes in rheumatoid arthritis of the knee joint, specific drugs can be introduced into the treatment, which stop the rapidly growing symptoms.

For example: "Remicade" or "Infliximab". They are rarely prescribed, only with the threat of rapid disability. These drugs have quite dangerous side effects that develop in 30% of cases.

One of the most dangerous side effects is tuberculosis, which was previously in the body in a latent form.

For the treatment of the inflammatory process in the joints, they also use:

• cytostatics - agents that suppress mitotic activity at the cellular level - Cyclophosphamide, Chlorbutin, Methotrelaxate;
• products containing acetylsalicylic acid - they have a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect;
• preparations, the active ingredient of which is real gold; an example of such drugs is "Auranofin" and "Tauredon", macrophage blockers that destroy the defense mechanisms that fight their own protein structure;
• Quinine, Plaquenil and other quinyl preparations.

To stop osteoporosis, which begins to develop in the knee joint, treatment is supplemented with prophylactic agents that restore potassium balance in the body and improve calcium absorption. It can be dietary supplements, vitamin supplements. It is recommended to change the diet, increase the number of fermented milk and dairy dishes in the daily menu, add nuts, white meat, plant foods with a large amount of vitamin C to it.

Physiotherapy is connected after the pain is eliminated. The most "popular" in the treatment of joint lesions are laser therapy and cryotherapy. The course of exposure to a directed laser beam or cold is 15 procedures.

For therapy with a laser or liquid nitrogen, special conditions are needed; in ordinary physical rooms, treatment with electrophoresis with hydrocortisone, pulse currents, and magnetotherapy can be recommended.

To quickly restore the mobility of the affected joint, it is necessary to regularly engage in physiotherapy exercises. The first classes begin immediately after the acute pain is eliminated, while the patient continues to stay on bed rest.

Only complex treatment will bring the disease into remission for a long time and help restore the function of the knee joint.