With ankle joint arthrosis, symptoms and treatment will depend on the type of damage and the degree of neglect of the patient’s condition. Do not ignore the diagnosis, so you should consult a specialist. Only the attending physician will tell you in detail how to cure arthrosis of the ankle joint, what is very dangerous in itself and whether it is possible to get rid of this problem forever.
The cause of the disease
During the development of ankle osteoarthritis, 2 groups are distinguished: primary (occurring without a special cause) and secondary (appearing due to external adverse factors). Other names for this disease: crusarthrosis (right or left ankle suffers) or osteoarthritis. With lower limb osteoarthritis, a degenerative process occurs in the cartilage tissue, which then causes some abnormalities.
In most cases, the disease is found in older men and women. Over time, organs in the internal system do not function so actively and properly, and in some cases, failure requires thinning of bone and cartilage tissue. Under normal circumstances, the joints glide freely during movement without contact with each other.
If they are negatively affected in osteoarthritis, the joints become deformed and begin to rub against other joints. This causes an additional load, which then goes to the bone, which involves its deformation. When a joint is injured again, the tissues around it are also affected. The legs lose their mobility and do not tolerate large loads (with paresis).
Another reason
A common cause of ankle hemarthrosis is active physical activity, which has a direct effect on the musculoskeletal system. At risk are people whose work is associated with carrying heavy loads or any other active work. The same cause gives rise to disease in professional athletes or in those who have been actively involved in sports for a long time. Due to improper load, significant pressure is applied to the limb, which then causes damage.
Acute arthrosis is a common problem for overweight people, because during movement, the mass presses on the lower limbs, which cannot be held by the legs. With obesity, the disease can also develop in young people (about 20 years old), if a person has been diagnosed with this since childhood. Other diseases involving arthrosis deformity of the ankle joint (the reasons have been discussed above):
- gout;
- diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis (metabolic disease);
- congenital deformities of the feet, ankles (gray feet);
- any condition in which a nerve is pinched.
This interferes with the function of the muscular apparatus (for example, osteochondrosis). Due to flat feet or club feet, in addition to the deformed condition, subtalar arthrosis occurs (it is called because of changes in the talus).
Various types of injuries to the knee or foot (improper squatting), as well as wearing uncomfortable, small or poorly made shoes, are also causes of ankle joint arthrosis. Women are especially at risk. They have negative symptoms leading to wearing high -heeled shoes.
Symptoms and ratings
Years can pass from the initial manifestation of the disease to the final stages of the disease. The time of development will depend on the initial condition of the human body, the treatment and the appropriateness of the therapy used. The signs of arthrosis will differ in some of its characteristic features.
First of all, with any, even slightly increased, load on the joints, a person begins to feel a sharp tingling pain in the legs. The same thing happens if the patient moves long distances at a slow rate. The joints are often cracked and wrinkled.
The patient begins to twist his leg, which sometimes ends with a dislocation in the ankle. This occurs due to violation of muscle and tendon function, resulting in atrophy of muscle tissue (decrease or change in muscle tissue, followed by replacement with connective tissue that is unable to perform basic motor functions). It is for the same reason that stiffness and swelling are often felt in the feet.
Doctors distinguish 3 stages of disease development. The first two can be treated perfectly, after which the person returns fully to the previous life. At grade 3, patients are often assigned a disability for arthrosis.
During the development of stage 1 disease, the symptoms of arthrosis appear very few. A person can go to a medical institution with complaints of rapid limb fatigue and slight pain in the legs, which disappears after rest. The diagnosis of arthrosis of the foot is rarely established, because during the study no pathology was found in the patient.
In the second stage, the pain does not disappear after rest. Swelling and redness appear on the feet, which will cause an increase in temperature. The pain increases during active changes in weather conditions, swelling occurs.
In the last stage, the cartilage tissue hardens, causing the patient discomfort, from which the person experiences severe pain. The foot loses its mobility, and with each step a trotting sound is heard. If the disease is initiated, this may lead to another diagnosis - a foot deformity. This pathology gives the right to receive a disability, so treatment should be started immediately.
At this stage, arthrosis is dangerous. Some distinguish another 4th degree, in which the pain disappears completely, but the person loses the ability to walk, because the cartilage at this stage is completely destroyed and paralysis occurs. At the same time, stage 4 is characterized by the frequent development of ankylosis (when joints fuse together) and neoarthrosis (when unnecessary or false joints form between the ends of displaced bones).
Arthritis after trauma
Post-traumatic arthrosis of the ankle joint requires timely treatment, because, unlike deformities and acute, it is characteristic of young people, as it occurs after injury. For example, with dislocations, fractures and sprains.
Any tissue damage after injury does not pass without effect, directly touching the blood vessels and nerves.
At first, the patient did not feel any discomfort, only with time he began to notice that during walking was twisted, because the ligaments had weakened and could no longer support the whole leg.
Over time, with osteoarthritis of the ankle joint, physical activity (especially among athletes) is more difficult, the legs quickly get tired during exercise. Girls often in such cases have complaints that they cannot sit on a rope even with a long and proper stretch every day. Improvement is always followed by remission, in which the feet are swollen, sore and restless even after rest.
Often, post -traumatic arthrosis causes pseudoarthrosis, a bone deformity that causes severe joint movement. For example, it becomes possible to bend the arm at the elbow not only backwards, but also forwards. Pseudarthrosis appears during bone healing, when tissue grows together improperly.
Often, arthrosis after ankle trauma is the result of surgical intervention during another operation. Scars form in areas of tissue, affecting blood circulation. The risk increases when part of the affected joint is removed as needed during surgery. Treatment of arthrosis after trauma of the ankle joint occurs according to the same methodology as in the case of other types.
Things You Can and Can't Do for Arthrosis
Is it possible to do physical exercise with this disease? It is important to reduce the load on the diseased joints as much as possible, therefore, after making a diagnosis, try not to lift weights, running is prohibited, you can not jump, do squats, do thrusts and press with weights while standing, engage in shock aerobics, perform asymmetrical exercises and engage in static loads (e. g. , squatting). You can use a cane to help relieve arthritis pain while walking.
However, it is not recommended to refuse physical activity at all. In contrast, normal blood circulation of the ankle with arthrosis is achieved faster by playing sports. Recommended for diseases (especially osteoarthritis of the ankle after trauma) brisk walking or swimming.
Each extra kilogram of weight will add pressure on the foot and cause swelling of the ankle, so even a slight weight loss will speed up the recovery time significantly. Losing weight too fast is not recommended, moderate exercise and a proper (but not debilitating) diet will gradually bring the body back to normal. From arthrosis, mono-diet will not help, as well as those who dramatically and radically change the usual diet. If you are going to switch to a vegetarian diet, it is better to wait until you are fully recovered.
Choose shoes with low and wide soles. For ankle joints, you can and should wear small wide heels, but not ballet flats or shoes. These shoes are the most comfortable and safe to wear as well as significantly improve foot stability when walking. A soft sole will further reduce some of the load on the joints.
The upper should be soft and wide, not compressing the foot, but the wrong boot size will only increase the risk of injury. If you have flat feet, this only adds to the problem. When a person steps on the ground, the impact on it, along with the twisted foot, must be erased by the joints. In this case, special orthopedic insoles or instep supports will help.
While sitting, try to keep your knees slightly lower than your hips. Furniture with high legs will help in this, preferably with armrests. A seat with such a handle will be very relevant for existing pain, as this will reduce the load on the knee joint when lifting. When working in the office, prepare your desk chair so that your feet are not numb. If the furniture is not of quality, do not sit still and occasionally get up to warm up.
If you do a foot massage yourself or seek help from a specialist, remember that massaging the knee itself is strictly prohibited. Gonarthrosis also becomes inflamed in the articular bag itself, and active blood circulation inside will only increase the pain. Is it possible to warm the joints in a bath or use various warming compresses in therapy? Yes, but only if the person is certain of his diagnosis, and the attending physician does not object to such a procedure. Do not use heat if injections for arthrosis in the form of corticosteroids are prescribed.
Medical treatment
How to treat osteoarthritis of the ankle joint? Therapy must be comprehensive and work with a number of techniques. First of all, it is necessary to reduce the load on the ankle as much as possible, especially during periods of exacerbation of pain. Bandages or walking with a cane with emphasis on healthy feet will help in this regard. Do not overload it, stop jogging and other physical activities temporarily (dangerous running).
By itself, the drug will not increase a person’s motor activity, but it can facilitate movement and relieve pain. Good analgesics that relieve pain are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
NSAIDs have an adverse effect on the gastric mucosa, causing some problems and pain, so it is best to use them in the form of various ointments or injections. These funds are intended to reduce pain, many of them allow you to remove swelling and inflammation. For the same reason, corticosteroids, anti-inflammatory drugs, are also injected into the joints. Its use is advised when the disease is at a critical stage, and other drugs no longer have any effect, because corticosteroids are strong and powerful drugs.
In modern treatment methods, the drug is injected directly into the joint itself with the help of steroid hormones or with the help of hyaluronic acid (the same which is so popular for cosmetic purposes). Treating ankle osteoarthritis with this method is expensive, but effective. Injected hyaloron is similar in composition to intra-articular fluid and, entering, regenerates damaged joints, replacing fluid lost during the course of the disease.
Treatment of edema can be carried out with the help of a dropper, various ointments will improve the tone of the veins. Chondoprotectors are the last used drugs, because their main task is to restore and protect the joints from negative influences. Treatment of ankle arthrosis involves the use of chondoprotectors. Results from the use of funds occur after at least 3 months, depending on the severity of the disease. That is why the drug is usually prescribed for treatment for a year or more, but only in the first two stages, because otherwise they are useless.
Operation and its type
The operation is prescribed at 3-4 stages of the disease, as well as for those whose previous methods of treatment did not give the desired results. Treatment of ankle joint arthrosis with surgery has several subspecies:
- Arthroscopy is a well -known and frequently used method.
- Osteotomy of the tibia (also called coxarthrosis).
- Arthroplasty.
- Endoprosthetics.
During arthroscopy, the surgeon makes a small incision near the joint and inserts a small camera into it, assessing the general condition of the joint and bone. After that, the necessary surgical instruments are put in and the operation itself is performed. Arthroscopy is considered the most economical method of treatment, as the person recovers quickly after surgery, and the incision made heals no longer than a normal wound.
In some cases, this organ deformity causes deformed osteoarthritis of the ankle joint (treatment for it will be quite different from treatment for other types of disease), because the load on the entire ankle is incorrectly distributed. Osteotomy aims to correct this curvature (coxarthrosis) and align the bone. It is usually contraindicated in the elderly and is used to treat young patients. During arthroplasty, a portion of the material is taken from the femur, which is not subjected to a heavy load, and transferred to the ankle joint. With the endoprosthetic method, the affected area is removed completely or partially and replaced with an artificial device, but similar in structure.
Other treatment and prevention
The method of treating arthrosis of the ankle joint does not necessarily end with the use of various medications. The next step in treatment will be a variety of options. Therapeutic exercise (exercise therapy) restores muscle tone and restores the ankle to its former mobility. Training schemes are established by specialists. First, physiotherapy exercises are performed in a prone position, over time - sitting and standing.
Another option is to correct the foot. During such classes, it is advisable to fix the foot with a bandage or refer to the principle of recording. This is done with the help of special tape and plaster (tape). Therefore, the risk of injury is reduced to a minimum, as a comfortable lotion helps with this. This principle is widely known among professional athletes.
Another method is kinesiological recording. Here, cotton adhesive tape made of hypoallergenic material is applied on the feet. The latter dries quickly on the feet, is easy to repair and does not cause any discomfort.
Some doctors are skeptical about the next method of treating deformed osteoarthritis of the ankle joint. However, it has been scientifically proven that magnetotherapy, electrophoresis, and Vitafon treatment significantly enhance the effects of the drug, so they relieve pain perfectly.
Each massage session should be performed by a specialist and last approximately 15-20 minutes. At the same time, the action is performed not only on the ankle joint, but also moves to the adjacent area, as the leg muscles improve the work of the whole leg as a whole. The course usually lasts 2 weeks with a break of 2 days, but treatment can be adjusted on the recommendation of a specialist.
The diet for arthrosis of the ankle joint should be balanced and include the use of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, minerals. Nutrition for arthrosis is not necessarily limited. In any case, the variety of dishes is good and healthy. Vitamins for arthrosis will also be important. They can be obtained with the help of tablets, and by using vitamins from fruits and vegetables.
To prevent the development of the disease, follow a few simple rules, and the disease will not manifest.
For example, control your diet. Don’t leave out your favorite harmful products at all - try to reduce their use to a minimum.
While working out or playing sports, try to avoid injuries and heavy loads. Before your favorite workout, be sure to do a warm -up. It is forbidden to squat with arthrosis, but if the patient gets rid of the disease and returns to old activities, this should be done with as much caution as possible. Patients should wear comfortable shoes. Give preference to high quality shoes, which is why heels should be abandoned.