Ankle Arthrosis - Causes, Symptoms, Degrees And Treatment Of Ankle Arthrosis

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Causes, symptoms, degrees and treatment of ankle arthrosis

Many people are faced with various diseases in which inflammatory processes begin to develop in bone and cartilage tissues. In recent years, the number of patients diagnosed with arthrosis of the ankle has increased. Against the background of the development of this disease, patients can lose the mobility of the lower limbs and become permanently disabled.

Content:

• What is ankle arthrosis?
• Causes of ankle arthrosis
• Ankle arthrosis symptoms
• Ankle arthrosis degree
• Deforming arthrosis of the ankle
• Ankle arthrosis treatment
• Prevention

What is ankle arthrosis?

Ankle arthrosis is a disease in which degenerative processes develop in cartilage tissues. With the progression of arthrosis, irreversible processes begin to occur in the cartilage of the joint, which cause serious consequences.

Today, modern medicine classifies arthrosis of the ankle joint as follows:

1. Acute arthrosis.
2. Post-traumatic arthrosis.
3. Deforming arthrosis.

This disease is being studied by leading experts from around the world who have been conducting research in this area for many years. According to the statistics obtained, published in specialized media, for every 100 examined patients, 6 ankle arthrosis is detected.

Most often, this disease affects the elderly, 80% of the total number of patients are elderly men and women. Such a high rate is explained by the fact that with age, the work of many internal organs, the circulatory system is disrupted in people, bone and cartilage tissue becomes thinner. Despite this prevalence, arthrosis of the ankle joint responds well to treatment.

Causes of ankle arthrosis

Arthrosis of the ankle joint is a disease that develops against a background of certain reasons, which include the following:

• strong physical exertion, which is on the musculoskeletal system, in particular on the lower limbs;
• any degree of obesity (people who have problems with being overweight often have problems with joints, since in the process of movement they have an additional physical effect);
• practicing strength and active sports can cause the development of arthrosis of the joint;
• uneven distribution of the load on the lower limbs during movement;
• any injuries: bruises, falls, blows, etc.;
• wearing the wrong shoes often provokes the development of arthrosis;
• old age (in older people, over time, cartilage tissues begin to thin out, which lose elasticity and begin to crack);
• salt deposits;

• harmful working conditions (many people spend their entire working day on their feet, without rest);
• various diseases (chronic and inflammatory);
• hereditary predisposition, etc.

Ankle arthrosis symptoms

Ankle arthrosis can be accompanied by various symptoms:

• painful sensations, aggravated by any physical load on the musculoskeletal system;
• crunch in the joints;
• fatigue that appears after moving even for short distances;
• atrophy of muscle tissue in the lower extremities;
• subluxations occurring against the background of a violation of the functionality of muscles and tendons;
• swelling that appears in the ankle joint;
• inflammatory processes, accompanied by an increase in temperature;
• stiffness and impaired motor functions of the lower extremities;
• the acquisition of an x-shape by the axis of the lower leg, etc.

Ankle arthrosis degree

Modern medicine defines 3 degrees of arthrosis of the ankle joint, which can be detected during hardware diagnostics. The first two degrees of arthrosis respond well to treatment, after which patients restore their previous mobility. With the transition of this disease to the third stage of development in patients, deformation of the joint begins to occur. Many patients who develop grade 3 arthrosis become disabled.

Arthrosis of the ankle joint 1 degree

The first degree of arthrosis is considered the initial stage of this disease. People may not have pronounced symptoms. Most often, patients go to medical institutions for excessive fatigue. Some patients experience pain in the lower extremities, which disappear on their own during sleep or daytime rest.

During diagnostic measures, arthrosis of the ankle joint of the 1st degree is found quite rarely, since specialists almost never find pathological changes.

Arthrosis of the ankle joint 2 degree

Arthrosis of the ankle joint of the 2nd degree is accompanied by certain symptoms that people should pay close attention to. Patients develop severe pain syndrome that does not go away with rest. In some cases, inflammatory processes in the ankle joint may develop, against the background of which there is a reddening of the skin and an increase in temperature.

With the progression of inflammation, swelling appears, loss of activity and mobility of the lower limbs, as well as meteorological dependence (patients' joints begin to hurt more when the weather changes). If medical assistance is not received in a timely manner, this category of patients may have more serious problems that will require constructive treatment.

Ankle arthrosis grade 3

After the transition to the 3rd stage of development, arthrosis of the ankle joint begins to give the patient discomfort and excruciating suffering from pain. This is due to the fact that, against the background of the progression of this disease, ossification of the cartilaginous tissue occurs. As a result, the joint loses its cushioning qualities and mobility. The patient begins to hear a crunch in the joint with any movement of the lower limb. If you self-medicate, or do not pay attention to these symptoms at all, you can get disability as a result of foot deformity.

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Deforming arthrosis of the ankle

Deforming arthrosis most often develops in people who are in a standing position every day for several hours, since they have a strong effect on the ankle joint. This category of patients includes patients who regularly expose their body to strong physical exertion.

The following factors can cause the development of deforming arthrosis:

• excess weight;
• inflammatory processes;
• dysplasia of cartilage tissues;
• hereditary predisposition to arthrosis;
• diseases of the endocrine system (people who are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at any stage of development most often suffer from arthrosis), etc.

Deforming arthrosis that has developed in the ankle joint is subdivided into several degrees:

1. First degree. Deforming arthrosis is accompanied by pain. When carrying out hardware diagnostics in such patients, it is possible to reveal a compaction of the talus, as well as a narrowing of the joint gap. Patients may experience discomfort in the joint area during movement.
2. Second degree. Patients experience joint deformation, severe pain syndrome, a feeling of fatigue with any physical activity.
3. Third degree. At this stage of development, the disease is accompanied by pronounced symptoms. In patients, against the background of joint deformation, mobility is limited, pains appear that can only be removed with special drugs.

Treatment of this form of arthrosis of the ankle joint (1 and 2 degrees) is possible with a medication. Without fail, patients are prescribed physiotherapy procedures and recommendations are given regarding the choice of special shoes. When this form of arthrosis has passed into the 3rd stage of development, its treatment is possible only by surgery.

Ankle arthrosis treatment

The key to successful treatment of arthrosis is timely diagnosis. Every person who has discovered symptoms of this disease or just discomfort in the joint area should contact the nearest medical institution. At the appointment with an orthopedic traumatologist, the patient will undergo a personal examination. During palpation of the ankle joint, the specialist will be able to identify serious abnormalities.

To confirm his diagnosis, the doctor will send the patient for an additional examination:

• for radiography;
• for computed or magnetic resonance imaging.

When choosing a method for treating arthrosis that has developed in the ankle joint, a specialist must use various modern techniques, due to which the process of degeneration of cartilage tissues stops. First of all, the doctor should prescribe medications to his patient that can relieve him of severe pain. After that, patients begin to take medications that relieve inflammation in the joints.

The course of medical therapy includes the following:

• physical therapy (all exercises must be performed under the supervision of an instructor who will make sure that the patient is not injured during training);
• normalization of weight (if the patient is obese, he should urgently go on a diet that limits the use of fats, salts and other harmful substances);
• medications;
• ointments that have an analgesic effect;
• physiotherapy treatments, including magnetotherapy, etc.

The patient's nutrition plays an important role in the healing process. During treatment, as well as for prophylaxis, patients need to eat jellied meat and other dishes that contain gelatin (for example, jelly). It is very important to monitor the amount of consumed vitamins that are present in various foods. If the patient cannot, for some reason, consume such products, he can acquire a balanced vitamin and mineral complex, indicated in the treatment of arthrosis of the joints.

It is better to discuss all questions regarding the rules of nutrition for arthrosis of the ankle charter with a nutritionist who will help the patient to correct weight and restore metabolic processes in the body. During treatment, patients are not recommended to consume alcohol and carbonated drinks. Doctors strongly recommend quitting smoking, as nicotine negatively affects all vital organs and human systems.

Details: Diet for arthrosis

If drug therapy does not work, patients undergo surgical treatment of arthrosis:

• endoprosthetics (during surgery, the damaged joint is replaced with a high-quality prosthesis);
• arthroplasty (during surgery, part of the cartilage tissue is preserved and the joint is immobilized by an artificial method).

During endoprosthetics, specialists use prostheses made of ceramic, metal or plastic. After successful prosthetics, the patient can lead a full life for 20 years.

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Prevention

To prevent the development of arthrosis in the ankle joint, it is necessary to take a number of preventive measures in a timely manner:

• follow the diet (try not to eat fatty foods that can lead to weight gain);
• timely visit a medical facility for the treatment of chronic and inflammatory diseases;
• try to avoid injury;
• do a full warm-up before playing sports;
• take vitamins and minerals, as well as preparations containing calcium and other trace elements necessary for the full development of joints.

Author of the article: Kaplan Alexander Sergeevich | Orthopedist

Education: diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" received in 2009 at the Medical Academy. I. M. Sechenov. In 2012 completed postgraduate studies in Traumatology and Orthopedics at the City Clinical Hospital named after Botkin at the Department of Traumatology, Orthopedics and Disaster Surgery.