Thousands of people, especially after fifty years, suffer from various forms of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. This has a significant impact on the quality of life, imposing many restrictions and causing significant pain.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint, aka knee osteoarthritis, is rightly considered one of the leaders in the list of the most common causes of disability among the ranks of the adult population of Russia. However, do not think that at a young age you are not at risk of this disease: you can leave the doctor's office with the inscription “knee osteoarthritis” on the card well before retirement.
Concept and causes of osteoarthritis of the knee
Osteoarthritis is nothing more than destructive changes in cartilage tissue, that is, its destruction, depletion, accompanied by a decrease in the volume of synovial fluid.
This could be due to several reasons:
- Postponed injuries and constant stress on the joints, exhausting physical work;
- 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 joint:
- The first stage signs are short-term pain that occurs after exertion and passes quite quickly when at rest. The pain is dull, painful. Externally, the joint looks like a healthy joint, the only thing that can be noticed at this stage is a slight swelling;
- In the second stage, pain syndrome is characterized by greater strength and longer duration. Patients note some stiffness in the joint in the morning, a squealing when moving the knee. Some limitation of movement is possible, the joint increases in volume;
- At the third stage there is a significant limitation in mobility, constant strong pain, severe deformation of the joint.
Unfortunately, at the first signs of illness, hardly anyone sounds the alarm. As a result, people turn to specialists with already advanced osteoarthritis when a much more complex treatment is needed.
Osteoarthritis of the knee with late diagnosis and lack of appropriate therapy can have very serious consequences, up to complete immobility of the affected leg, when movement in 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 complicated.
Therefore, it is so important not to ignore knee pain and delay a doctor's visit.
Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint by alternative methods
To overcome knee osteoarthritis, complex therapy is important: a combination of remedies prescribed by a specialist with folk remedies for osteoarthritis of the knee joints.
Traditional methods of treating osteoarthritis of the knee joint give a fairly good effect, especially in the early stages of the development of the disease. Their use at least relieves pain and makes it possible to avoid bringing the material to costly operations as much as possible.
In addition, one should not lose sight of the fact that this disease is chronic and therefore requires constant attention. Modern experts attribute osteoarthritis of the knee joint to progressive, incurable diseases.
Therefore, the mainstay of treatment is to take certain medications continuously in order to relieve pain and reduce the inflammatory process. However, taking medication for a long time without interruption is harmful. That is why for people with knee osteoarthritis it is so important to be able to do with traditional methods, at least during periods of remission.
So let's see what is the alternative treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee. The experience in combating this disease dates back hundreds of years, so the list of remedies that can be used at home is very long. For convenience, all folk remedies for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint can be divided into four groups.
Medicinal herbs
The first group includes medicinal herbs: burdock, onion, celandine, cabbage leaves, etc. Herbal treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee joint involves the use of self-prepared drugs both inward and outward.
- Compresses made from fresh horseradish, cabbage or burdock root leaves, which should be applied to a sore knee, isolated with cotton or several layers of bandage and left overnight, provide relieftangible. Previously, the cabbage leaves were crumpled or beaten for a better effect so that they release juice, you can lightly grease the leaves with honey. Burdock leaves are soaked 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 celandine brewedremaining is applied as a compress;
- If the disease is in its early stages, the ice cure can be used. The ice pack is firmly attached to the wound with a woolen cloth and remains there until the ice melts. This compress is used when you need to quickly get rid of edema and stop the inflammatory process;
- Compresses take a long time, so for many people a different rub will be more convenient. Rubbing is a liquid mixture of healing agents that should be rubbed vigorously on the skin of the affected area. For the treatment of osteoarthritis, rubbing from the aged elecampan root with vodka, chamomile tincture, yellow dandelion tincture and sunflower oil are particularly suitable. It is best to apply them to clean skin, ideally steamed. It is necessary to rub the sore knee every day for 5-10 minutes, then wrap it with a warm towel or cloth for a while;
- Another proven recipe is tincture of saber, for the preparation of which 1-1, 5 tablespoons of herbs are poured into 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 container, poured with vodka and left out of the reach of light for three weeks. After this period, the infusion is filtered, the used sprouts are thrown away;
- You can also peel and chop the head of garlic, pour 200 ml of vegetable oil on it and leave it in a dark place for a week. The dye has a strong smell, this should be taken into account so soon after applying the rub you have to go somewhere. In this case, you need to thoroughly wash the places where the dye entered;
- Many people note the benefits of herbal baths: malt, senna and others. A pine bath gives a good effect. You can either buy a collection of ready-made conifers at a pharmacy, or you can make a decoction yourself. To do this, you need to take young twigs of conifers with a total volume of about a liter, pour two or three liters of water and cook for about 10 minutes. Then the broth is filtered, the twigs are discarded, and the liquid is poured into a water bath. You need to take herbal baths 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 warm water, after which the painful knee is immersed in the basin for 15 minutes.
After bathing, the feet should be quickly dried and hidden under a warm cloth.
Self-prepared infusions are taken internally. They do not require boiling, the dried herbs are simply poured with boiling water and kept cool. Infusions are taken 2-3 times a day, half a glass at a time. For the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee, infusions are prepared from the leaves of horsetail, juniper, young nettle and birch.
For pain, a healing infusion of onions is very effective: two onions of medium size are poured with a liter of boiling water and insisted, the resulting liquid is consumed in three doses.
Another simple but effective recipe is lingonberry tea. Pour a tablespoon of fresh or dried lingonberry leaves with a glass of boiling water.
Like most infusions, this tea should be drunk half a glass twice a day for a month, preferably in the afternoon.
The use of these decoctions helps restore metabolic processes in the affected cartilage tissue, reduce pain syndrome and promote the removal of harmful compounds from joint fluid.
Self-massage
The second popular folk remedy for osteoarthritis of the knee joint is self-massage techniques. Self-massage is very effective, while it does not require any cost except for temporary charges. Please note that the knee must be prepared before the session! It is best to warm it up in a hot shower or a light circular rub.
Then you can go straight to the massage.
Its main techniques are as follows:
- Circular lines with your palm. We alternate the lungs, without pressing, stroking clockwise and against it, affecting not only the knee itself, but also the adjacent areas. This technique reduces muscle tone and improves blood and lymphatic flow to the area affected by osteoarthritis;
- Friction. We rub the knee in a circle, while providing tangible pressure. Can be rubbed with the palm or with a bent fist. This relaxes the muscles and improves the mobility of the joint. Circular movements are more effective in a Turkish posture 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 performed by taking a bath at a comfortable temperature. Some sources mention a honey massage at night, but usually a special cream or ointment is used. You can make such an ointment yourself.
This requires adding a small amount of essential oil to the container with petroleum jelly. Rosemary oil has a positive effect on blood circulation, peppermint oil has a cooling and pain relieving effect, and lavender oil helps stop inflammation.
The duration of the self-massage procedure is about 15 minutes, it can be done 2-4 times a day. Only a self-massage performed regularly will be effective. In addition, massage is useful as a preventive measure, in which case it will be enough to perform it at least once a week.
When doing self-massage, you should not feel any pain or discomfort, otherwise you can only make the situation worse.
Catch-up gymnastics
The third remedy is remedial gymnastics. It also requires prior preparation, warming up, which can be used as a self-massage. Such a complex use of these two means has a positive effect on their effectiveness.
Here are three simple exercises:
- Sit on a table or high chair with your feet on the floor. Then just swing your legs from side to side, 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 straight on the floor. The exercise can be done with only one affected leg, but it is helpful to use both legs not only when both knees are affected, but also for preventive purposes. Place your foot on your toes, lift your heel off the ground as high as possible, then lower it to the ground, then keep repeating this movement at a calm pace for five minutes. Can be performed with two legs alternately or simultaneously;
- Take the same position as in the previous position, only now rest on the heel only. Use your toes to lightly strike the ground. The duration of the exercise is five minutes.
Some exercises can be done early in the morning while staying in bed. It is a kind of exercise for the joints. One of these exercises is cycling.
Another exercise is performed as follows: bend one leg and let the other stretch out, pull the toes of the outstretched leg towards you as much as possible, then switch legs. Repeat several times. You can also alternately pull your legs towards your chest and straighten up.
Power adjustment
The fourth way to treat osteoarthritis of the knee at home is considered nutritional adjustment. It is not enough to affect the body from the outside, it is necessary to compensate for the lack of substances necessary to restore the structure of cartilage cells.
Therefore, you will have to make changes to the usual menu: add products, and exclude some or reduce their use to a minimum.
The question of nutrition is particularly relevant for overweight people, because with knee osteoarthritis, extra pounds further aggravate 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 useful for the restoration of cartilage tissue;
- Millet, rice and buckwheat porridge, wholemeal bread. These foods are rich in complex carbohydrates, without which the synthesis of synovial fluid is impossible. You shouldn't buy instant porridge. They will not be useful, since cereals are processed for them in a completely different way from cooking porridge at home, which destroys most of the useful elements;
- Dishes containing gelatin: fish jelly, meat jelly, jelly, pudding. Gelatin ensures the restoration of cartilage cells due to the high content of collagen and chondroitin;
- All fruits and vegetables because they are high in fiber. Green vegetables, carrots, beans, celery, radishes, and cauliflower are especially helpful;
- Steamed or steamed meat and fish, especially when combined with vegetables;
- Germinated wheat;
- Nuts: hazelnuts, pine nuts and almonds.
For healthy foods to be better absorbed, it is recommended to consume two glasses of mineral water per day.
Let's move on to the list of harmful products:
- Salt and spices. They cannot be completely eliminated from the diet, however, in the fight against joint diseases, their use should be limited. This rule does not apply to turmeric: its use, on the contrary, is considered beneficial. Turmeric has been proven to have a positive effect on cartilage tissue, which contributes to its growth and recovery;
- All fatty, smoked and marinated dishes;
- Semi-finished products;
- Fast food and soft drinks;
- Alcoholic beverages: even low alcohol content slows down metabolic processes, which negatively affects the process of regeneration;
- Sweets and flour products. They're loaded with simple carbohydrates that can trigger weight gain. As mentioned above, extra pounds create an additional load on the joints already weakened by osteoarthritis;
- Coffee. This drink can be consumed, but only in small quantities, otherwise the calcium will be eliminated from the body;
- Pepper, cabbage and tomatoes, which block collagen, preventing cartilage tissue from regenerating and growing;
- Citrus fruits and cherries. Due to the high content of acids, their use negatively affects the structure of bones.
To get the most out of this diet, remember to drink enough water: at least 1. 5 liters per day. Daily calorie intake should not exceed 3000, and food should be at room temperature, not hot.
Remember that treating osteoarthritis of the knee is a long process, and its success will depend on your willingness to perform all the necessary procedures regularly and on a diet.
Regular visits to your doctor, listening to his advice and at the same time using folk remedies for osteoarthritis of the knee, you can make significant progress in the fight against this disease.