Arthritis is a disease of the joints of an inflammatory nature.
There are primary forms of arthritis: rheumatoid, traumatic, infectious, gout and pseudogout, etc.
Arthritis, manifested in other diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis, granulomatosis and others.
The most common causes of arthritis are autoimmune processes occurring in the body of a different genea (after the transfer of infectious diseases, hereditary factors, allergic processes, etc.).
The features of the rapidity of the inflammatory reaction in the joint are associated with a large number of vessels in the synovial membrane and nerve receptors. As a rule, the synovial membrane inflames first, with a further transition of inflammation to the ligaments, cartilage and bone.
Types of Arthritis
- According to the number of affected joints, arthritis is divided into: monoarthritis (inflammation of one joint), and polyarthritis (several joints are affected).
- According to the course of the inflammatory process, there are acute and chronic forms of arthritis.
- Acute arthritis - severe pain arises suddenly as a rule with a rise in body temperature accompanied by severe pain in the joints and an increase in body temperature, which indicates an acute inflammatory process.
- Chronic arthritis - develops for a long time, slowly, sometimes asymptomatically with the periods of remission.
In chronic arthritis, a person in most cases complains of pain when moving in a joint.
The clinical picture of arthritis is primarily pain, the degree of which depends on the type of arthritis. The pain in the joint has a sudden nature, is as intense as possible in the second half of the night or in the morning, subsides after movement. Typical of arthritis is also redness of the skin, limitation of mobility in the joint, and its swelling.
Restricted mobility can be caused by both pain and organic changes in the joint. In acute arthritis, impaired joint function is reversible. In chronic arthritis, progression is typically characterized by limited mobility, which in the first stage is due to pain and then fibro-organic changes in the joint. These changes may be accompanied by an unnatural crunch when the joint is working.
Fibrous-proliferative changes in the joint are the result of soft tissue damage, subluxation and varying degrees of contractures.
Diagnosing arthritis is a very serious task, as this disease is often caused by complex pathological immune processes, the causes of which are not clear enough. These can be post-infectious, autoimmune, allergic and other processes.
The basis for the diagnosis of arthritis is a comprehensive study of the patient using a wide range of methods. Diagnosis is based on:
- history of the disease, which allows to establish the connection of joint damage with injuries, infectious allergic diseases, hereditary factors and other pathological processes.
- subjective and objective clinical data: the nature of pain, redness and swelling or deformity of the joints, sensation during palpation, the degree of restriction of mobility in the joint.
- laboratory data.
- The results obtained from the study of synovial fluid.
- X-ray data, computed and magnetic resonance imaging.
Therapy for arthritis should be comprehensive, which aims to: - treat and eliminate the underlying pathological process or disease;
- elimination of various types of inflammatory reactions (the use of drugs - corticosteroids, antihistamines, etc., physiotherapeutic agents, etc.);
- restoration of joint mobility (shock wave therapy, therapeutic exercises, various massages, kinesiotherapy, manual therapy);
- improving the patient's immunological response;
- decrease in overweight of the patient and normalization of a metabolism.
There are primary forms of arthritis: rheumatoid, traumatic, infectious, gout and pseudogout, etc.
Arthritis, manifested in other diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis, granulomatosis and others.
The most common causes of arthritis are autoimmune processes occurring in the body of a different genea (after the transfer of infectious diseases, hereditary factors, allergic processes, etc.).
The features of the rapidity of the inflammatory reaction in the joint are associated with a large number of vessels in the synovial membrane and nerve receptors. As a rule, the synovial membrane inflames first, with a further transition of inflammation to the ligaments, cartilage and bone.
Types of Arthritis
- According to the number of affected joints, arthritis is divided into: monoarthritis (inflammation of one joint), and polyarthritis (several joints are affected).
- According to the course of the inflammatory process, there are acute and chronic forms of arthritis.
- Acute arthritis - severe pain arises suddenly as a rule with a rise in body temperature accompanied by severe pain in the joints and an increase in body temperature, which indicates an acute inflammatory process.
- Chronic arthritis - develops for a long time, slowly, sometimes asymptomatically with the periods of remission.
In chronic arthritis, a person in most cases complains of pain when moving in a joint.
The clinical picture of arthritis is primarily pain, the degree of which depends on the type of arthritis. The pain in the joint has a sudden nature, is as intense as possible in the second half of the night or in the morning, subsides after movement. Typical of arthritis is also redness of the skin, limitation of mobility in the joint, and its swelling.
Restricted mobility can be caused by both pain and organic changes in the joint. In acute arthritis, impaired joint function is reversible. In chronic arthritis, progression is typically characterized by limited mobility, which in the first stage is due to pain and then fibro-organic changes in the joint. These changes may be accompanied by an unnatural crunch when the joint is working.
Fibrous-proliferative changes in the joint are the result of soft tissue damage, subluxation and varying degrees of contractures.
Diagnosing arthritis is a very serious task, as this disease is often caused by complex pathological immune processes, the causes of which are not clear enough. These can be post-infectious, autoimmune, allergic and other processes.
The basis for the diagnosis of arthritis is a comprehensive study of the patient using a wide range of methods. Diagnosis is based on:
- history of the disease, which allows to establish the connection of joint damage with injuries, infectious allergic diseases, hereditary factors and other pathological processes.
- subjective and objective clinical data: the nature of pain, redness and swelling or deformity of the joints, sensation during palpation, the degree of restriction of mobility in the joint.
- laboratory data.
- The results obtained from the study of synovial fluid.
- X-ray data, computed and magnetic resonance imaging.
Therapy for arthritis should be comprehensive, which aims to: - treat and eliminate the underlying pathological process or disease;
- elimination of various types of inflammatory reactions (the use of drugs - corticosteroids, antihistamines, etc., physiotherapeutic agents, etc.);
- restoration of joint mobility (shock wave therapy, therapeutic exercises, various massages, kinesiotherapy, manual therapy);
- improving the patient's immunological response;
- decrease in overweight of the patient and normalization of a metabolism.