Two main symptoms of ankle osteoarthritis

Ankle osteoarthritis is an orthopedic disease that the elderly often suffer from. The causes of the disease are related to the whole body, especially the severe degeneration of the ankle joints. Osteoarthritis of the ankle will lead to the deterioration of other joints in the body, so you must protect your joints when you reach a certain age. Next, I will take you to understand the symptoms of ankle osteoarthritis.

Symptoms of Ankle Osteoarthritis

(1) Pain

Pain is the main symptom of the disease and the main cause of functional disability. It is characterized by insidious onset and continuous dull pain, which often occurs after activities and can be relieved by rest. As the disease progresses, joint movement may be limited by pain, and pain may occur even when the patient is at rest. During sleep, the muscles around the joints are damaged and the protective function of the joints is reduced. The patients cannot limit activities that cause pain as they do when awake, and they may wake up in pain.

⑵Morning stiffness and stickiness

Morning stiffness suggests the presence of synovitis. But unlike rheumatoid arthritis, the duration is relatively short, generally not exceeding 30 minutes. The sticking sensation refers to the feeling of stiffness when the joint moves after being still for a period of time, as if it is stuck, which can be relieved by a slight movement. The above situation is more common in the elderly and lower limb joints.

⑶Other symptoms: As the disease progresses, joint contracture, instability, rest pain, and increased pain when bearing weight may occur. Dysfunction may occur due to mechanical locking caused by poor joint surface fit, muscle spasm and contraction, joint capsule contraction, and bone spurs.

Treatment options for osteoarthritis

1. Non-drug treatment of osteoarthritis

Non-drug treatment involves a lot of content, including patient health education, self-training, weight loss, aerobic exercises, joint range of motion training, muscle strength training, the use of walking aids, occupational therapy and joint protection, auxiliary facilities for daily life, etc. A considerable number of patients in Europe and the United States can alleviate their symptoms and resume normal life and work through the above treatments. my country's investment in this field and the awareness of medical staff are still relatively weak. In the future, medical staff at all levels should pay attention to strengthening this work.

Patients with knee osteoarthritis often experience weakened quadriceps muscle strength. In the past, it was believed that this was caused by disuse atrophy, but recent foreign studies have shown that quadriceps atrophy is not entirely caused by osteoarthritis, and weakened quadriceps muscle strength may be one of the risk factors for knee osteoarthritis. Due to the weakening of quadriceps muscle strength, the stability of the knee joint is affected, and the buffering capacity of normal muscles is reduced. Therefore, strengthening quadriceps muscle strength training and aerobic training are beneficial for patients with osteoarthritis.

2. Drug treatment for osteoarthritis For the drug treatment of arthritis , the most effective method at present is traditional Chinese medicine plaster. Among them, the most effective one is Lizheng Tibetan Medicine Pain-relieving Patch. It is made of pure Chinese medicine ingredients and is applied externally. The medicine penetrates the bone from the skin, with good effects and no side effects. It is also very effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis, with an efficacy rate of 99.6%, making it a better choice among drug treatments.

Intra-articular injections for osteoarthritis

This is also a treatment method that can relieve joint symptoms. Commonly used drugs include hyaluronic acid preparations and glucocorticoids. The former has been used clinically in China for some time and has certain therapeutic effects. The mechanism of action is mainly to inhibit inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines and prostaglandins; stimulate the synthesis of cartilage matrix and inhibit cartilage degradation; but the analgesic effect appears slowly. The analgesic effect of glucocorticoids appears quickly. It is worth noting that intra-articular injection therapy is an invasive procedure. In order to avoid iatrogenic intra-articular infection, glucocorticoids should be used with caution.