Osteoarthrosis of the ankles: causes, diagnosis, prevention, treatment

click fraud protection

The moving bone joint between the foot and lower leg during walking experiences loads exceeding the body weight by 7 times. Unpleasant impact on him and lifting weights, prolonged being in a standing position, overweight. These loads can lead to the development of such a serious pathology, as osteoarthritis of the ankles. Consider what kind of ailment, what is provoked and how to deal with it.

osteoarthritis of the ankles

Characteristics of the disease

Osteoarthritis of the ankles is a common ailment. According to statistics, this pathology is diagnosed in 80% of people aged 50-60 years.

During life on joints, there are heavy loads, about which the person, while the joints do not bother him, does not even think about it. However, they trigger the mechanism of aging. This process destroys the fibers in the joints. In healthy joints, loss is made up by the synthesis of new ones.

But if the balance between destruction and recovery is violated, then osteoarthritis begins to develop. The cartilage becomes brittle, it becomes dry. The ankle joint swells and hurts. He is no longer capable of withstanding loads. Over time, its destruction occurs. However, the changes concern not only the cartilage. They affect the bone beneath it.

instagram stories viewer

At the edge of the joint, outgrowth begins to grow. They seem to compensate for the loss of cartilage with enlarged articular surfaces. This is how the deforming osteoarthritis of the ankle develops.

Ankle joint swollen and aching

Causes of the disease

Pathology can provoke a variety of factors. And most often the disease occurs as a result of a combination of several reasons.

The main factors that provoke osteoarthritis of the ankle joints are:

  1. Aging. The cartilage becomes less elastic with age, it loses its ability to resist loads.
  2. Congenital pathology. The weakness of the connective tissue often causes the development of flat feet. If you do not comply with a certain regimen, at a young age you may experience arthrosis.
  3. Genetic predisposition. This fact is scientifically proven.
  4. Injuries. Dangerous as one-time severe injuries, as well as permanent micro-traumas. The latter are often provoked by the characteristics of a profession or sports. Thus, dancers often have osteoarthritis of ankle joints.
  5. Associated ailments. Disrupted metabolism, endocrine pathologies can lead to the development of the disease. Most pathology occurs in patients with diabetes mellitus, obese people, atherosclerosis, thyroid disease.

osteoarthritis of the ankle

Stages of pathology

On the progression of the disease, several degrees of the disease are distinguished:

  1. Osteoarthritis of the 1st degree. This is the beginning of the disease. Significant damage to cartilaginous tissue is not observed. The junction looks quite normal. Visual changes are not visible. However, the process of destruction has already started. Cartilage lacks nutrients. As a result, his cells begin to die off gradually. Suffer and adjacent tissue. The person is experiencing some pain.
  2. Osteoarthrosis of the ankle joint of 2nd degree. In this case, unpleasant manifestations are already more pronounced. The patient experiences severe discomfort. The pain is regular. Sometimes it does not even stop. There is deformation of the joint. X-ray confirms that irreversible processes have occurred. Bone tissues have grown far beyond the joint.
  3. Osteoarthritis of 3rd degree - deforming. With this pathology, changes are visible even to the naked eye. Cartilages, ligaments, articular bags are very much struck. As a result, the ankle is deformed.

Symptoms of the disease

All manifestations that occur with this disease depend on the degree of pathology. Over time, such symptoms are aggravated.

deforming osteoarthritis of the ankle

For the pathology the following manifestations are characteristic:

  1. Pain syndrome. The discomfort gradually builds up. Initially, a person experiences pain only while walking, running, playing sports. At rest, unpleasant symptoms completely disappear. With the progression of the disease, discomfort occurs even at night. He is noisy and does not allow a person to rest easy. The ankle joint swells and hurts. In the future, discomfort occurs even in the morning. A man can not step on his foot calmly.
  2. Limited mobility of joints, stiffness of movements.
  3. The extremity is clamped in one position.
  4. Together with the swelling, the temperature in the painful area may increase. This symptomatology characterizes the acute stage of the disease.
  5. Deformation of the joint.
  6. A person can not step on his foot. A clear symptom that characterizes this pathology.

Treatment of

disease Only complex therapy is used to combat such pathology as osteoarthritis of the ankle joint.

Treatment includes the following activities:

  1. Massage. It allows you to get rid of painful spasms, improves blood circulation, stimulates the transmission of impulses. As a result, cartilage receives better nutrition.
  2. Physiotherapy. Soft methods are assigned. May be recommended: magnetotherapy, electrophoresis with "Dimexide", laser therapy, EHF-therapy.
  3. LFK training. This is an obligatory condition for comprehensive rehabilitation.
  4. Orthopedic aids. They can significantly reduce the load on the damaged joint. The patient can be recommended wearing orthopedic shoes or a special instep.

osteoarthritis of the ankle joint of 2nd degree

Along with such therapy, medication is prescribed:

  1. NSAIDs. To relieve inflammation and reduce pain, drugs are recommended: Diclofenac, Indomethacin, Movalis, Ibuprofen.
  2. Anti-inflammatory ointments. Benefits will be brought by medicines: Fastum-gel, Dolgit-cream, Diclofenac-gel, Revmagel, Erazon.
  3. Intra-articular introduction. To quickly relieve the patient's pain, they inject directly into the articulation preparations: Kenalog, Diprospan, Depo-Medrol, Celeston.
  4. Chondroprotectors. Such drugs can be taken in the form of tablets: "Structum", "Don".Medicines for intramuscular injections: Rumalon, Alflutop. For intra-articular injection, medicines "Alflutop", "Traumeel", "Target T" are used.

Folk remedies

Such treatment is very popular. However, it should be understood that it will benefit only in complex therapy. In addition, its effectiveness can be calculated if the ankle joint is not started osteoarthritis.

Folk remedies are often used as follows:

  1. The rice must be grinded and pre-soaked. Mix it with petroleum jelly. Such a slurry is recommended to be applied to the affected joint at night.
  2. Take 10 g of laurel sheets. Pour 1 tbsp.boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes. This broth should be drunk all day in small sips. It excels from toxins, slags and salts. Duration of admission can be from 2 weeks to 1 month. After a break, you can repeat the therapy.

osteoarthritis of the ankle

Prevention of the disease

To protect your body from the development of pathology, doctors recommend adhering to the recommendations:

  1. Keep track of your weight.
  2. Provide the body with proper nutrition.
  3. Be sure to perform physical exercises( they should be selected with an orthopedist).
  4. Choose the right shoes( prolonged walking on high heels is unacceptable).

And most importantly, contact the doctor in a timely manner. After all, the pathology discovered in the early stages can be suspended.