Osteoarthritis

What is osteoarthritis and how is it treated?

Osteoarthritis (arthrosis) is a disease of the joints, which has a degenerative-dystrophic character. This pathology is characterized by thinning and damage to the articular cartilage, hypertrophy of bone tissue, resulting in pain and discomfort in the joints, limiting their mobility. Most often, arthrosis of the knee and hip joints is diagnosed, a little less often – arthrosis of the shoulder, ankle joints, fingers, however, the disease can affect any joint of the human body. With progression, the disease can lead to limitation, and then complete loss of joint mobility.

According to statistics, this is one of the most common diseases of the musculoskeletal system, which occurs in 10-15% of the world's population. The disease is directly related to age. Most often, the pathological processes characteristic of this disease occur at the age of 40-50 years, and by the age of 80 they are present in almost most people.

Modern treatment of osteoarthritis today is carried out using various methods. Cellular therapy is one of the most promising and effective. With the help of stem cells, it is possible not only to slow down the degradation of tissues, but also to achieve the activation of regenerative processes. This allows improving the condition of the joint and removing pain, avoiding or significantly delaying the need for surgical intervention.

MedTour will help you find the right clinic that uses the most effective methods of treating osteoarthritis.

Types of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis can be:

• Primary. It is diagnosed when the causes of the disease remain not fully understood.
• Secondary. It is provoked by injuries, hormonal and metabolic disorders, and other inflammatory diseases.

Depending on which area is affected, there are knee arthrosis, hip, elbow osteoarthritis, etc. Also, according to localization, doctors distinguish:

• Local osteoarthritis: when one joint is affected.
• Generalized osteoarthritis: when three or more joints are involved in the pathological process.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis

The main symptoms of arthritis are:

• discomfort and pain in the joint,
• feeling of joint stiffness.

Pain can occur at the time of movement or when probing the joint. Often there are starting pains that disappear after a certain period of time after active work with the joint. For example, pain in osteoarthritis of the knee often occurs when a person starts walking, but disappears after a while. In the later stages, there may be constant night pains that are not associated with movement. There may be a feeling of jamming of the joint, which is often accompanied by acute pain.

With the progression of the disease, the amplitude of joint mobility usually decreases, which is associated with tissue deformation, severe cartilage thinning, and increased friction of bone surfaces. If there is arthrosis of the knee joints, then lameness appears, it becomes difficult for a person to walk, and over time, any movement of the joint becomes problematic.

Causes of osteoarthritis

The main causes of arthrosis:

• age;
• genetic predisposition;
• injury;
• excessive stress on the joints;
• infection;
• excess weight;
• other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

How quickly does osteoarthritis develop?

There are 4 stages of the disease:

• 1st stage. Osteoarthritis is just beginning and is often asymptomatic.
• 2nd stage. There is a slight stiffness in the area of osteoarthritis, discomfort, and occasionally pain.
• 3td stage. The cartilage is already noticeably deformed, which causes frequent pain and limited mobility. With a diagnosis of grade 3 osteoarthritis, treatment is usually surgical.
• 4th stage. Articular cartilage is almost destroyed. Mandatory operation required.

The rate at which osteoarthritis develops can vary markedly. The disease can progress slowly over decades. Or tissue degradation can take place quickly, then in a few years such changes are possible in the joint that require mandatory surgical treatment.

There may be periods of exacerbation and improvement of the condition, but the later the stage, the more the disease limits the person and reduces the quality of his life.

How to relieve pain in osteoarthritis?

During an exacerbation, active inflammation of the joint and surrounding tissues usually occurs, which is accompanied by severe pain. With arthrosis, treatment includes painkillers: analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For severe pain, the doctor may inject directly into the joint. You can also use special ointments and creams that have an analgesic effect.

Medicines can relieve pain, but it will not be a complete treatment. In order to effectively treat osteoarthritis, the doctor must accurately diagnose, determine the stage of the disease and select the optimal treatment based on the condition.

How to diagnose osteoarthritis?

In order to make an accurate diagnosis, an examination is carried out, which may include:

• joint radiography,
• ultrasound,
• CT (computed tomography),
• laboratory tests (general blood count, biochemistry, rheumatic tests).

In some cases, doctors prescribe scintigraphy, diagnostic arthroscopy. Consultations of doctors of various specializations may be required.

Treatment for osteoarthritis

To date, there are several methods of treatment of arthrosis:

• Conservative therapy. Includes medication, physiotherapy, exercise therapy.
• Surgery. Required in the later stages of the disease. With osteoarthritis, arthroscopy or arthroplasty with implantation of an artificial joint can be done.
• Innovative methods. Cell therapy is one of the new methods demonstrating high efficiency in the treatment of arthrosis.

Treatment of osteoarthritis with stem cells

Stem cell therapy has proven itself very well and has been actively used in the world’s leading orthopedic clinics for several years. Treatment of arthrosis with stem cells gives an improvement in about 85% of cases: pain is eliminated, the mobility of the affected joint improves.

The unique ability of stem cells is that they can turn into cells of different organs. At the same time, they have a very high regenerative potential. Once in the joint, they become part of its tissues, due to which the cartilage tissue is restored and the functionality of the joint is improved. In addition, stem cells reduce the level of inflammation in the area of development of the pathological process.

Treatment of joints with stem cells includes several stages:

• First, stem cells are harvested. They can be taken from the bone marrow or from adipose tissue.
• Then they are prepared in a special way and their number is increased.
• After that, the cell preparation is injected directly into the joint.

Such treatment of arthritis shows high efficiency, can significantly improve the quality of life, avoid surgery or delay the need for it for a long time.

Prevention of osteoarthritis

In order to avoid the appearance of degenerative-dystrophic processes and the development of arthrosis, doctors recommend:

• avoid injury;
• eat well;
• enough to move;
• avoid excessive physical stress on the joints;
• consult a doctor in time if signs of various diseases appear.

If there are symptoms indicating diseases of the musculoskeletal system, you need to consult a doctor and find out the reasons for the deterioration of health.

To get treatment from the best specialists, contact the medical coordinators of MedTour who will answer all your questions!

The best doctors for the treatment of osteoarthritis

You have the opportunity to get treatment in leading clinics around the world. MedTour will help you find the best doctors who use the latest techniques and demonstrate good results in the treatment of arthrosis of various localizations.

If you want to undergo stem cell treatment, you can contact Dr. Andriy Kovalchuk, surgeon, PhD. The doctor successfully treats arthrosis with the help of cell therapy.

To learn more about stem cell treatment, please contact the medical coordinator of the MedTour website

Frequently asked Questions

How to distinguish osteoarthritis from rheumatoid arthritis?

These diseases have similar symptoms, but differ in causes and treatment features. With osteoarthritis, degenerative processes occur that affect cartilage and bone tissue. Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease in which not only the joints are affected, but inflammatory processes in other organs can also occur. In order to understand what kind of disease you have, you need to see a doctor, undergo a series of examinations that will determine the exact diagnosis, and choose the optimal treatment.

Are there any side effects when using cell therapy to treat osteoarthritis?

The technique practically does not give serious side effects. In the first days after the procedure, swelling may occur in the injection area. Pain of varying strength may also be disturbing. However, these unpleasant manifestations pass quickly enough.

Can cell therapy replace joint surgery?

Due to the fact that stem cells activate regeneration processes in tissues and reduce the level of inflammation, their use in many cases avoids surgery and can be considered an alternative. However, it must be understood that in some situations in the later stages of the disease, cell therapy may no longer be effective enough and surgical intervention is still required. Your doctor will help you choose the most effective method of treatment.

Published: 14.04.2023

Updated: 08.06.2024

Medical author, Medical editor:

Natalia Segen

Medical author, Medical editor:

Olena Kursabaieva

Information on this webpage verified by the medical expert

Medical Doctor, oncologist, PHD student

Kateryna Maliarchuk