Arthrosis of the foot, causes, treatment

The causes of arthrosis of the foot are not yet fully understood. In this case, there are several factors due to which the supply of the foot with blood is disrupted.

This is what can lead to the appearance of such a disease. The causes listed below in 70% of cases lead to problems with joints, including foot arthrosis.

This disease affects people at any age.

The reasons are as follows:

1. The presence of any non-standard features in the structure of the foot. This is deformation of the fingers, and flat feet, and asymmetry of the lower extremities;
2. Serious stress on the feet. Reasons – work associated with hard physical labor, prolonged stay of a person on his feet, overweight;
3. Inconvenient shoes (high heels, too narrow or squeezing);
4. Injuries are very common causes of osteoarthritis of the foot;
5. Hypothermia, due to which blood circulation suffers;
6. Endocrine diseases.

Symptoms of foot arthrosis

The most striking and important symptoms in this ailment are primarily painful sensations in the foot.

Also in this area you can observe:

1. redness;
2. swelling;
3. increase in temperature of this area of ​​the skin.

Such symptoms impede any movement of the foot. They are a consequence of the onset of the inflammatory process. Quite often, symptoms such as limping are also manifested. After all, it becomes very difficult for the patient to step on a sore foot.

If at least some symptoms appear, you should rather consult a doctor for help. Only he will prescribe the most effective option for a diagnostic study – radiography, and then identify the source of the problem.

Stages of foot arthrosis

There are 3 degrees of development of osteoarthrosis of the foot:

• Arthrosis of the first degree. This is the initial stage of the development of the disease. In this case, pain in the front of the foot is noted. It occurs infrequently, but especially such symptoms become noticeable with severe physical exertion. As a result, a person quickly fatigues.
• Osteoarthrosis of the foot of the second degree is characterized by severe pain. The head of the metatarsal bone noticeably thickens, bones appear, which leads to a noticeable limitation of the motor function of the joints.
• Arthrosis of the third degree is a strong change in the structure of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. And movement in the foot becomes almost impossible. With the third degree of the disease, the big toe drops down.

The disease in the third degree is the most severe. Therefore, it is recommended not to bring it to this, and for the slightest problems in these joints, consult a specialist who treats foot arthrosis. The early degrees of the problem have the opportunity to fix.

Deforming arthrosis: features and problems

Deforming arthrosis of the foot is one of the serious and complex variants of the disease. You can recognize the disease by gait, during which the patient all the time tries to load exactly the outside of the foot.

Thus, it reduces pain, which is associated with physical activity on the foot. Large calluses appear. And over time, pains are felt not only when walking, but also in a calm state.

At the same time, there is a decrease in working capacity and fatigue too fast.

The cause of this type of disease can be excessive stress, the occurrence of some other disease, weight transfer or even prolonged stay in uncomfortable, narrow shoes, as well as overweight. Dislocations and joint injuries play an important role.

They are especially common among athletes. Constant hypothermia of the foot is another reason for the development of this terrible disease.

Diagnosis of foot arthrosis

To recognize and begin treatment of foot arthrosis, not only visual diagnosis of the patient is necessary.

A hardware technique will be required:

• Roentgenography;
• CT scan;
• Magnetic resonance imaging;
• Arthroscopy (with its help it is possible to study the joint from the inside).

All these diagnostic methods are aimed at differentiating foot osteoarthrosis from many other joint diseases. Laboratory tests will also be required.

Foot Arthrosis Therapy

Today, treatment of foot arthrosis is carried out by several basic methods:

1. Physical rehabilitation. It is very important to choose the right mode. This will help the doctor. He will prescribe exercise therapy, methods of manual therapy, massage and physiotherapy. All this contributes to the effective restoration of the functionality of the joints, their mobility.
2. Conservative methods. Without fail, the patient is prescribed medication. You can’t drink anything yourself. Only a doctor will prescribe the most effective medications. Anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs are prescribed. With their help, you can relieve pain and remove inflammation in the joints. Most often, Ibuprofen, Piroxicam, Indomethacin, Ortofen and others are used. Steroid medications are injected directly into the diseased joint. They help improve metabolism and tissue condition. Ointments and gels act favorably, which are applied to the sore spot. These are such products as Diclac, Diclofenac and others. Often, the use of chondroprotectors in the form of hyaluronic acid, Arthrodarin, Diacerein, Structum and others is required.
3. Surgery. In the case when no other methods of treatment help, resort to surgical intervention.

It is necessary to treat foot arthrosis comprehensively. The main principles that doctors adhere to in this case are the reduction of painful sensations and the speediest recovery of motor activity.

ethnoscience

It is possible to treat foot arthrosis with folk remedies. They quite effectively relieve pain and eliminate the inflammatory process. Here are just a few recipes:

• Foot bath. Dissolve a spoonful of honey, a couple of small pine branches, Jerusalem artichoke root (very finely chopped), a little sea salt and a small spoonful of turpentine in hot water. The feet are lowered into this mixture for 10 minutes. Then the legs are thoroughly wiped dry, and iodine mesh must be applied to the sore joint.
• The compress is made from potatoes, which are boiled together with the peel. Then it should be crushed and mixed with a small amount of broth. A little chalk is added to the mixture until thick. A cake is created from the resulting test, which is applied to the tissue and applied to the joint. Once the potato mixture has cooled, you can remove the compress.

In addition to these recipes, it will be very useful to walk on sand or earth barefoot. This “folk” gymnastics will improve the microcirculation of blood in the legs, especially the feet.

Preventive measures for foot arthrosis

It is better to prevent foot arthrosis than to treat it. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right shoes. It is necessary to abandon tight and narrow shoes. Shoes must be of the correct size. Otherwise, you can only harm the joints of your legs. An important preventive measure against foot arthrosis is the diet. Monitoring nutrition is a must. The main thing is not to accumulate excess weight.

Diet will help to cure the disease, if you strictly adhere to it.

The principles of proper nutrition are as follows:

1. Diet should not be harsh. In this case, only liquid will come out of the body, which will wash the necessary potassium and calcium from the bones.
2. It is necessary to choose the most balanced diet, which will include fiber, minerals, proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates and fats in the required amount.
3. Diet must be low-salt. A minimum amount of salt should be consumed per day, and if possible, it is recommended to completely abandon it.
4. Protein should also be low in the diet. It is advisable to use dairy products that are rich in easily digestible protein. They also have a lot of calcium.
5. Experts recommend that the diet include dishes from meat and bone broths. Jellied meat, jelly is especially useful. They have collagen, which effectively restores cartilage.
6. A diet for foot arthrosis involves limiting the intake of sugar and carbohydrates. You can eat cereals. Sugar is best replaced with fruit and honey.
7. Fats should be ingested primarily from plant foods. It’s important to eat oily fish that are rich in omega 3.

Diet is not a panacea for ailment. You should take care of your feet, and when arthrosis occurs, it does not need to be started.