Thousands of people, especially over fifty, suffer from various forms of musculoskeletal disorders. This has a significant impact on the quality of life, imposes many restrictions and causes significant pain.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint, also known as gonarthrosis, is rightly considered one of the leaders in the list of the most common causes of injury among the elderly population of Russia. However, you should not think that you are not at risk of this disease at a young age: you can leave the doctor's office with the entry "gonarthrosis of the knee joint" in the card long before retirement.
Concept and causes of osteoarthritis of the knee
Osteoarthritis is nothing more than destructive changes in cartilage tissue, ie its destruction, depletion, accompanied by a decrease in the volume of synovial fluid.
This can be due to many reasons:
- Delayed injuries and constant stress on the joints, exhausting physical labor;
- Hereditary factors;
- Metabolic disorders;
- Overweight;
- Poor nutrition, lack of essential vitamins and minerals.
Stages of osteoarthritis of the knee joint
Doctors distinguish three stages of osteoarthritis of the knee:
- The signs of the first stage are short-term pain that appears after exercise, and during rest they pass quickly enough. The pain is dull, painful. Externally, the joint looks healthy, the only thing that can be noticed at this stage is a slight swelling;
- In the second stage, the pain syndrome is characterized by greater strength and duration. Patients report some stiffness in the joint in the morning, crunching when moving in the knee. Some restriction of movement is possible, the joint increases in volume;
- In the third stage there is a significant restriction of mobility, constant severe pain, severe deformity of the joint.
Unfortunately, at the first signs of the disease, almost no one is alarmed. As a result, people come to specialists with already advanced osteoarthritis when much more complex treatment is required.
Osteoarthritis of the knee with a delayed diagnosis and lack of appropriate therapy can have very serious consequences, up to complete immobility of the affected leg, when movement in the space without a crutch becomes completely impossible.
In the most advanced cases, the only way out is surgery, during which an artificial joint is implanted.
These operations are complex, expensive, and can be complex.
Therefore, it is so important not to ignore the knee pain and not to delay a visit to the doctor.
Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee by alternative methods
To defeat gonarthrosis, complex therapy is important: a combination of drugs prescribed by a specialist with folk remedies for osteoarthritis of the knee joints.
Traditional methods of treating osteoarthritis of the knee give a pretty good effect, especially in the early stages of the disease. Using them at least relieves pain and at most allows you not to bring the material to expensive operations.
Also, the fact that this disease is chronic and therefore requires constant attention should not be overlooked. Modern specialists attribute osteoarthritis of the knee joint to incurable progressive diseases.
Accordingly, most treatment consists of constant intake of certain medications to relieve pain and reduce the inflammatory process. However, taking medication for a long time without interruption is harmful. That is why it is so important for people suffering from gonarthrosis to be able to cope with folk remedies, at least during periods of remission.
So, let's find out what is the alternative treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee. Experience in combating this disease dates back hundreds of years, so the list of drugs that can be used at home is very extensive. For greater convenience, all folk remedies for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee can be divided into four groups.
Medicinal herbs
The first group includes medicinal herbs: burdock, onion, celandine, cabbage leaves and more. Herbal treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee involves the use of self-made medicines both inside and outside.
- Compresses made from fresh horseradish root, cabbage or burdock leaves, which should be applied to an inflamed knee, insulated with cotton wool or several layers of bandage and left overnight, wear tangiblerelief. Before that, the cabbage leaves are crushed or beaten for greater effect, so that they secrete juice, you can lightly smear the leaves with honey. Burdock leaves are immersed in boiling water for 30 seconds, then cooled. Horseradish root is chopped and slightly warmed;
- You can also use celandine: a few tablespoons of dried herbs should be boiled with boiling water and then cooled to 40-50 ° C. The resulting infusion is drunk before meals, and the remaining cooked celandine is applied as a compress;
- If the disease is at an early stage, ice with ice can be used. The ice pack is tightly attached to the inflamed area with a woolen cloth and remains there until the ice melts. This compress is used when you need to quickly get rid of the swelling and stop the inflammatory process;
- Compresses are time consuming, so for many people different friction will be more convenient. Rubbing is a liquid mixture of healing agents that should be rubbed vigorously into the skin of the affected area. For the treatment of osteoarthritis are especially suitable rubbing the root of elecampane, aged with vodka, tincture of chamomile, tincture of yellow dandelion heads and sunflower oil. It is better to apply them on clean, ideally steamed skin. It is necessary to rub the affected knee every day for 5-10 minutes, then wrap it with a towel or other warm towel for some time;
- Another proven recipe is a tincture of saber, for the preparation of which 1-1, 5 tablespoons of herbs are poured with 100 ml of vodka and left. The knee is treated with the resulting tincture twice a day for a month;
- There is a recipe based on potato sprouts. They are washed, placed in a glass jar, filled with vodka and left out of reach of light for three weeks. After this period the infusion is filtered, the used sprouts are discarded;
- You can also peel and chop the garlic head, pour 200 ml of vegetable oil over it and leave it in a dark place for a week. The tincture has a strong odor, this should be taken into account if soon after applying the rub you need to go somewhere. In this case you should thoroughly wash the places where the tincture got;
- Many people note the benefits of baths based on medicinal herbs: malt, hay herb and others. Pine bath gives a good effect. You can either buy a ready-made coniferous collection at a pharmacy, or prepare a decoction yourself. To do this, you need to take young coniferous twigs with a total volume of approximately one liter, pour two or three liters of water and cook for about 10 minutes. The broth is then filtered, the twigs are discarded and the liquid is poured into a bath of water. You should take baths with medicinal herbs for 15 minutes.
The simplest is the salt bath. Three tablespoons of common or sea salt and the same amount of baking soda are poured into a basin of hot water, after which the affected knee is immersed in the basin for 15 minutes.
After bathing, the feet should dry quickly and hide under a warm towel.
Self-made infusions are taken internally. They do not require boiling, the dried herbs are simply poured with boiling water and kept to cool. The infusions are taken 2-3 times a day, half a cup at a time. Infusions of horsetail, juniper, young nettle and birch leaves are prepared for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee.
In case of pain, the medicinal infusion of onions is very effective: two medium-sized onions are poured with a liter of boiling water and insist that the resulting liquid is consumed in three doses.
Another simple but effective recipe is cranberry tea. Pour a tablespoon of fresh or dried cranberry leaves with a glass of boiling water.
Like most infusions, this tea should be drunk half a cup twice a day for a month, preferably in the afternoon.
The use of these decoctions helps to restore metabolic processes in the affected cartilage tissues, reduce pain syndrome and promote the removal of harmful compounds from the joint fluid.
Self-massage
The second popular folk remedy for osteoarthritis of the knee joint are self-massage techniques. Self-massage is very effective as long as it does not require any costs, except for temporary ones. Please note that the knee must be prepared before the session! It is best to heat it under a warm shower or a gentle circular rub.
You can then go directly to the massage.
His basic techniques are as follows:
- Circular strokes with palm. We alternate the lungs without pressing, stroking clockwise and counterclockwise, while affecting not only the knee itself, but also the adjacent areas. This technique reduces muscle tone and improves blood and lymph flow from the area affected by osteoarthritis;
- friction. We rub the knee in a circle, while applying tangible pressure. It can be rubbed with the palm or with a folded fist. This relaxes the muscles and improves joint mobility. Circular movements are most effective in the Turkish position, if the condition of the knees allows this position;
- Knee knee with fingertips with moderate pressure. This technique allows you to have a beneficial effect on deeper structures.
Self-massage can be done by bathing at a comfortable temperature. Some sources mention a honey massage at night, but usually a cream or special ointment is used. You can make such an ointment yourself.
This requires adding a small amount of essential oil to the Vaseline container. Rosemary oil has a positive effect on blood circulation, peppermint oil has a cooling and analgesic effect, and lavender oil helps to stop inflammation.
The duration of the self-massage procedure is about 15 minutes, it can be performed 2 to 4 times a day. Only regular self-massage will be effective. In addition, massage is useful as a preventive measure, in which case it will be enough to perform at least once a week.
You should not feel pain or discomfort during self-massage, otherwise you can only make the situation worse.
Therapeutic gymnastics
The third remedy is therapeutic gymnastics. Preliminary preparation is also required, heating, which can be used as a self-massage. Such a complex use of these two tools has a positive effect on their effectiveness.
Here are three simple exercises:
- Sit on a table or high chair with your feet off the floor. Then just swing your legs from one side to the other, the swings should not be sharp, and the range of motion is too large. The duration of the exercise is approximately seven minutes;
- Sit in a comfortable chair with your knees bent at a right angle and your feet on the floor. The exercise can be performed with only one affected leg, but it is useful to use both legs not only when both knees are affected, but also for preventive purposes. Place your feet on your toes, lift your heel off the floor as high as possible, then lower it to the floor, and then continue to repeat this movement at a leisurely pace for five minutes. It can be performed with two legs in a row or simultaneously;
- Take the same position as in the previous position, only now rest only on the heel. Use your toes to slap the floor lightly. The duration of the exercise is five minutes.
Some exercises can be done early in the morning while you are still in bed. They are a type of exercise for the joints. One such exercise is the bicycle exercise.
Another exercise is performed as follows: bend one leg and leave the other extended, pull the toes of the outstretched leg towards you as far as possible, then change legs. Repeat several times. You can also consistently pull your legs to your chest and stand up.
Power adjustment
The fourth way to treat knee osteoarthritis at home is considered to be dietary correction. It is not enough to act on the body from the outside, it is necessary to compensate for the lack of substances needed to restore the structure of cartilage cells.
Therefore, you will need to make changes to the regular menu: add some products and exclude some or reduce their use to a minimum.
The issue of nutrition is especially important for overweight people, because in gonarthrosis excess weight further exacerbates the already poor condition of joint structures.
Let's start with a list of recommended products:
- Dairy products: cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir with a fat content of not more than 3, 2%. They contain many proteins that are useful for restoring cartilage tissue;
- Millet, rice and buckwheat porridge, wholemeal bread. These foods are rich in complex carbohydrates, without which the synthesis of synovial fluid is not possible. You should not buy instant porridge. They will not be useful, because cereals are processed for them in a completely different way than when cooking porridge at home, as a result of which most of the useful elements are destroyed;
- Dishes containing gelatin: jelly fish, jelly meat, jelly, pudding. Gelatin provides recovery of cartilage cells due to the high content of collagen and chondroitin;
- All fruits and vegetables as they are rich in fiber. Greens, carrots, beans, celery, radishes and cauliflower are especially useful;
- Steamed or steamed meat and fish, especially when combined with vegetables;
- Sprouted wheat;
- Nuts: hazelnuts, pine nuts and almonds.
In order to better absorb healthy foods, it is recommended to consume two glasses of mineral water a day.
Let's move on to the list of harmful products:
- Salt and spices. They can not be completely eliminated from the diet, but to combat joint disease it is worth limiting their use. This rule does not apply to turmeric: its use, on the contrary, is considered useful. Turmeric has been shown to have a positive effect on cartilage tissue, contributing to its growth and recovery;
- All fatty, smoked and marinated dishes;
- Semi-finished products;
- Fast food and carbonated beverages;
- Alcoholic beverages: even a small amount of alcohol slows down metabolic processes, which adversely affects the regeneration process;
- Pastries and flour products. They are loaded with simple carbohydrates that can cause weight gain. As mentioned above, excess weight puts extra strain on already weakened joints from osteoarthritis;
- Coffee. This drink can be consumed, but only in small quantities, otherwise calcium will be washed out of the body;
- Pepper, cabbage and tomatoes, which block collagen, preventing the regeneration and growth of cartilage tissue; Citrus fruits and cherries. Due to the high content of acids, their use adversely affects the structure of bones.
To get the most out of this diet, be sure to drink enough water: at least 1. 5 liters per day. The daily calorie intake should not exceed 3000, and the food should be at room temperature, in no case hot.
Remember that the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint is a long process and how successful it will be depends on your desire to constantly perform all the necessary procedures and adhere to a diet.
Regular visits to your doctor, listening to his advice and at the same time using folk remedies for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee, you can make significant progress in combating this disease.