Gonorrhea, also known as deforming arthritis of the knee, is a degenerative-dystrophic disease of the medial cartilage of the knee, covering the condyles of the tibia and femur.
Symptoms of knee osteoarthritis develop gradually over years and the main manifestations of the disease are stiff and painful movements.Among other arthritis diseases (finger joints, shoulder joints, elbow joints, hip joints), gonorrhea is the most common disease.
The population most susceptible to knee arthritis is women, as well as people over 40 years of age.In some cases, gonorrhea can develop in athletes (due to increased stress) and young people (due to previous injuries).
Cause of gonorrhea
Knee osteoarthritis does not develop from a single cause;In most cases, the development of the disease depends on a combination of several negative factors, which worsen with age and can eventually lead to such a disorder.Medicine identifies the following mechanisms for the occurrence of arthritis:
Primary – occurs in old age due to aging of body tissues, as well as due to certain factors that cause this disease (constant stress, heredity, obesity).
Secondary – accounts for 30% of all cases of gonorrhea, occurring mainly after damage to the meniscus, ligament tears, tibia fractures and other injuries.In most cases, symptoms of knee arthritis begin to appear after 3-4 years.However, if the injury is severe enough, it may take 2-3 months for symptoms to appear.
About 7-8% of cases of knee arthritis occur when, after the age of forty, a person begins to actively engage in physical exercises, namely squats and running.But with age, the tissue tone of the knee joint weakens, and characteristic age-related changes under sudden loads can cause the appearance of rapid degenerative and dystrophic changes in the joint.
Another reason for the development of gonorrhea in a person can be concomitant diseases - varicose veins, overweight, ankylosing spondylitis, gout, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis or reactive arthritis.
Constant loads on the knees, frequent climbing of stairs for long periods of time or lifting heavy objects, as well as professional sports can lead to osteoarthritis of the knee.The risk of knee osteoarthritis increases significantly due to genetic weakness of the ligamentous apparatus, diabetes and other metabolic disorders, neurological diseases and spinal injuries.
Muscle stiffness in the anterior thigh area is the cause of 50-60% of knee osteoarthritis cases.Such muscle spasms may not manifest themselves for a long time before pain in the knee appears, and the patient may feel heaviness in the legs, fatigue and lower back pain.When the iliacus and rectus femoris muscles are in a constant state of contraction, with age this leads to “tightening” of the knees, limiting their ability to move freely.
Levels of gonorrhea
In most cases, the development of knee osteoarthritis occurs in one of the knees.Medicine distinguishes 3 degrees of gonorrhea depending on the intensity of the pathological process:
Firstly, there is no deformity of bones and joints;Periodic dull pain in the knee is characteristic after physical stress on the joint.Mild joint swelling may develop and disappear on its own over time.
The second degree is characterized by an increase in arthritis symptoms.The pain is long-lasting and intense, occurs with minimal exertion (lifting heavy objects, walking) and there may also be a crunching sound in the joint.In the second degree of gonorrhea, deformities may develop in the knee joint, as well as moderate limitation of movement.
Third level – there are clear symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.Notable joint deformities and constant pain lead to disturbances in the patient's gait and limited joint mobility.In the third degree of gonorrhea, the pain can increase depending on the weather and reach an intensity that disturbs the patient's sleep, limits movement to a minimum, and makes it impossible for the legs to find a comfortable position.
Diseases and pathologies with which gonorrhea is confused
Knee joint block in case of meniscus damage.
The disease develops after unsuccessful movement, accompanied by a feeling of brittleness in the knee, severe pain appears, which subsides after 15 minutes, and the next day the knee becomes swollen.
Ankylosing spondylitis, gout, rheumatism, arthritis - psoriatic, reactive, rheumatism.
To distinguish gonorrhea from arthritis, it is necessary to do a general blood test.With arthritis, test results will show the presence of an inflammatory process in the body, and with arthritis, no changes will occur in blood tests.
Knee tendonitis.
It develops in most cases in women over 40 years old, when carrying heavy objects or going down stairs.The pain is localized to the inner surface but knee movement is not restricted.
Vascular pain in the knee.
The pain is characterized by symmetry and occurs in both knees at the same time.Characteristic of young people during the period of rapid bone growth, they can occur during physical activity, colds or changes in weather.To describe their own condition, patients use the term “twisted knee.”
Stages of knee osteoarthritis
The disease progresses silently due to its gradual progression.Initially, the patient only feels mild discomfort and pain when moving, going up and down stairs.In some cases, the patient's sensation is reduced to mild joint stiffness and tightness in the popliteal area.A characteristic feature of knee osteoarthritis is considered the symptom of the onset of pain, which consists in the fact that after a sharp transition from a sitting position to movement, a person begins to feel pain during the first steps, this pain gradually disappears, reappearing only after a heavy load.
The symptoms of the knee joint with grade 1 osteoarthritis are no different from healthy knee joints, only in some cases patients will see slight swelling.In addition, in some cases, fluid begins to accumulate in the knee joint, it swells and becomes spherical, synovitis begins to develop, which leads to a feeling of heaviness and limitation of joint movements.
Such changes in the joints at the first level of arthritis occur due to disruption of blood circulation in small blood vessels in the bones that nourish hyaline cartilage.This leads to changes in the surface of the cartilage, causing the cartilage to dry out, lose its smoothness and develop cracks.As a result, smooth and unhindered movement between the cartilages is difficult and is accompanied by constant micro-traumas as the cartilages adhere to each other.Cartilage tissue, in a state of constant microtrauma, begins to lose its shock-absorbing properties and becomes thinner.
The development of pathological processes leads to changes in bone structure.The joint area flattens and growths in the form of spurs (osteoporosis) appear along the edges.The joint capsule degenerates, synovial fluid thickens and the synovial membrane shrinks.This leads to a significant deterioration in the nutritional processes of cartilage and accelerates its degeneration.
As the disease progresses to the second stage, symptoms begin to worsen, pain occurs even with light loads and is localized along the inner front surface of the joint.Rest brings relief, but continued movement causes severe pain.
Joint mobility is significantly reduced, trying to bend the leg as much as possible will cause sharp pain and a distinct rough crunching sound when moving.Synovitis is more common;Joints become enlarged and change shape due to fluid accumulation.
The third degree of osteoarthritis of the knee joint is accompanied by significant deformation of the bones, in which they seem to be pressed against each other.Cartilage tissue is almost absent and joint movement is increasingly limited.Straightening the joints becomes quite difficult, and pain begins to bother the patient around the clock, both while walking and at rest.Due to severe deformity of the joints, the legs are O- or X-shaped, the gait is unstable, waddling, and often the patient cannot function without a cane or crutches.
Diagnosis and treatment of gonorrhea
During routine examination, it is not possible to determine whether the patient has grade 1 knee osteoarthritis or not.If at level 2 or 3, when examined, there are signs of swelling, edema (with synovitis), crunching sounds, stiff movements, changes in the axis of the limbs and joint deformities.
Nowadays, in addition to X-rays, CT and MRI methods are widely used to diagnose joint diseases, thanks to which it is possible to study bone structure disorders in more detail and examine pathological changes in soft tissues.
Treatment of the disease includes a variety of orthopedic procedures and drug treatments.Chiropractors prescribe mud therapy, therapeutic exercises, massage and physical therapy.
Medical treatment involves the use of chondroprotectants, which are drugs that replace joint fluid.In some cases, intra-articular injections of steroid hormones are performed.Patients are also encouraged to undergo treatment at a sanatorium.
If treatment of a young patient with limited mobility and severe pain is ineffective, joint replacement can be used, for which the recovery period is 3-6 months.
What happens to the knee joint when you have arthritis?
Articular cartilage plays an important role in human movement, being a smooth, elastic and durable lining, thanks to which bones and joints move smoothly relative to each other, while absorbing and distributing loads when walking.
But with frequent excessive loads, genetic predisposition, metabolic disorders in the body, spasms and prolonged muscle injuries, the cartilage loses its smoothness and begins to thin.The soft sliding of the bones and joints is replaced by strong friction, and first-degree gonorrhea develops, in which the cartilage loses its shock-absorbing properties.
The degenerative process continues, poor shock absorption leads to flattening of the bone surface and the formation of bone spurs in the form of bone growths.In this case, the disease is already at the second level and is accompanied by degeneration of the synovial membrane and joint capsule.Lack of pumping and mobility causes atrophy of the structure of the knee joint, the consistency of the knee fluid becomes more viscous, and the nutritional process of the cartilage is interrupted, leading to a further deterioration of the patient's condition.
Thinning cartilage leads to a reduction in the distance between bones and joints by up to 80%.While walking, due to abnormal friction and the absence of shock absorbers, destructive processes in the joints increase rapidly, which quickly leads to the development of grade 3 osteoarthritis with pronounced symptoms:
Pain when moving, especially when going up or down stairs.
Pain both during exercise and at rest, morning stiffness.
The patient began to limp, trying to heal the painful joint.
In severe cases, crutches or canes must be used.
The third degree of osteoarthritis of the knee joint is characterized by an almost complete absence of cartilage tissue, which leads to minimal reduction of joint mobility.Therefore, there is no miracle method, super medicine or ointment that can restore worn cartilage tissue, and with the degree of bone deformation, normal joint functioning is impossible.In this case, only surgery can help.
Exercise cures knee osteoarthritis
Any treatment options for knee osteoarthritis should only be performed as prescribed by your doctor.Calisthenics includes slow, measured exercises that exclude squats, twists and jumps.It's best to exercise in the morning, sitting or lying down, for 20 minutes, repeating each exercise 10 times.
The main goals of therapeutic exercises are to relax painful muscle spasms, increase blood supply to the joints, slow the progression of the disease, and prevent further cartilage destruction.During the period of exacerbation of the disease, exercise is prohibited.
Lying on your back, you can do the cycling exercise but you need to straighten your legs parallel to the floor, use your legs to rotate, move your legs to the sides, alternately sliding along the floor, stretch your legs and count to 10.
Sit on a chair, straighten your legs, and at the same time bend your legs and hold this position, count to 10, use your hands to pull each knee in turn towards your stomach and slowly return to the starting position.
Focus on the wall, stand on the floor, alternate swinging your legs back and forth.
Place your legs straight on the chair, perform elastic tilts, and at the same time place your hands on your thighs, as if trying to straighten your legs more.
Lie on your stomach, alternately lift your legs straight up and hold for up to 3 counts.
Sit on the floor, spread your legs to the sides, move along the floor, pull your knees towards your stomach as you inhale and return them to the starting position as you exhale.