What is Arthrosis?

Arthrosis is the most frequent illness that affects people beginning at the age of 40. Both males and females are affected and causes various types of pain making it difficult to create movement in the articulation. Arthrosis is one of the illnesses most consulted for therapy and it is a frequent cause for work absentism.



Its beginning is gradual and subtle. The first symptom observed is pain that tends to worsen with the progress of time. Diminishes the mobility of the articulations, some contractures start to appear, sensation of crunches and pain are observed. The articulation starts to grow in size caused by the reaction of the cartilages, bone, ligaments, tendon and the inflammation itself. Its tendency is to continue to deform the articulation although it is a symptom that appears in an advanced stage.

All of these symptoms result in an increase of instability of the articulation, contracture, muscular spasm and permanent local pain. For example, if the affected articulations are the legs, then it will result in lameness.

Arthrosis is caused by fibrosis or degeneration of the articular cartilage affecting one or various articulations. The lesion can appear in any articulation, although the most affected are the ones that support the weight of our body. That means, the knees, hips, the spine and also fingers and toes where some nodules can appear.

It is easy to diagnose although there is no specific treatment that can cure arthrosis a lot can be done to delay or stop its evolution, alleviate pain and improve the patient's quality of living.

Spontaneous pain with movement.	Morning rigidness.
Difficulty to move.	Muscular contractures.
Instability of the articulation.	Obstruction of the articulation.
Articular crunches.	Deformation of the articulation.

The pain felt by the patient is the most uncomfortable symptom, it appears with activity and it alleviates with rest. But after rest in a fixed position rigidness can appear which is alleviated after a few minutes of activity. It is also frequent to hear complaints about changes in weather which dilate the articulation provoking pain.

What Causes It?

We know that there are multiple factors that work together in the same person making arthrosis more aggressive. We also know that arthrosis is part of the aging process of the human body which can be modulated if the patient embraces a lifestyle that includes continuous exercise and a balanced diet that avoids obesity and extra weight for the articulations.

The causes are:

Previous traumatisms.	Advanced age.
Genetic predisposition.	Inflammations and infections.
Overweight (knees, hips, spine).	Inappropriate use of the articulation (vicious positions).

TREATMENT

Since this chronic pathology has multiple causes the treatment has to be oriented to attack various fronts that is to say it has to be integral. For example if one of the causes is obesity, the patient should follow a diet plan to reduce weight. The treatment should incorporate physical exercise and maintain equilibrium between rest and exercise. The treatment can be long and the patient has to be methodic and persistent in order to get good results.

Today many drugs have been developed to alleviate pain, improve the functionality and mobility of the articulation.

These drugs are capable of stimulating the process of natural regeneration of the articular cartilage alleviating pain and stopping the destruction of the cartilage.

The human cartilage is continuously regenerated during growth and development of adult life.

Aside from the drug treatment mentioned, in our clinic we have available other treatments that complement and speed up the treatment as a whole. The use of laser in the affected areas has proven to be beneficial.

Ozonetherapy plays a fundamental role in the treatment because it revitalizes the tissues and the cartilages and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Also:

	Have to watch for overweight.
	Incorporate physical activity.
	Use drugs capable of stimulating the natural regeneration of cartilage.
	Use of laser CO2.
	Thermal therapy.
	Acupuncture.

Arthrosis is a serious illness because with the progress of age can produce different levels of incapacity as for movement or any other ordinary activity.

Remember that the more you postpone your decision for medical treatment the degeneration of the cartilage continues inexorably provoking a gradual loss of elasticity and consistency of the cartilage. The sooner you act the better the results.