Arthrosis Therapy

Arthrosis, i.e. the systematic wear and tear of the joints, is one of the most common diseases in older people.

Appropriate therapy depends on the severity of the symptoms.

Clinical studies have shown that approximately one third of adults between 25 and 74 years have at least one joint suffering from arthrosis. Arthrosis is caused by increased wear of the joint cartilage caused by:

• Biomechanical factors (misalignment, overweight, axial misalignment, etc.)
• Congenital deformities of the joints (e.g. hip dysplasia)
• Metabolic factors (gout/arthritis urica, etc.)
• Posttraumatic arthrosis after joint injuries
• Arthrosis caused by rheumatic diseases
• And a variety of other rare causes.

Depending on the severity of the joint wear, arthrosis can be divided into different degrees. The appropriate therapy depends on the stage of the disease and is selected after a clinical examination, appropriate clinical tests and, if necessary, X-ray diagnostics. Once the cartilage has been completely destroyed in advanced arthrosis, it cannot be restored by any therapy of modern medicine. Nevertheless, the symptoms of the disease can be significantly improved. A cartilage transplantation only makes sense for minor cartilage damage with otherwise good cartilage conditions, as the transplantation cannot remove any substantial damage to the cartilage.

Therapy

An adequate therapy for arthrosis has two basic goals: painlessness under normal strain and the prevention of mobile restrictions. In addition, special therapeutic measures favour the slowing down of the progression of degenerative changes in a joint.

At the beginning of every therapy treatment is always the analysis of the reasons for the arthrosis disease. This is followed by a comprehensive explanation of the disease by our team. To guarantee our patients the greatest possible freedom from pain and freedom of movement, the following therapy approaches are suitable, depending on the severity of the arthrosis:

• Local and/or systemic pain reduction and inflammation inhibition through anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID therapy) or infiltration of the joint with substances containing glucosteroids
• Regeneration of the joint cartilage by “Symptomatic Slow Acting Drugs” (chondroitin, glucosamine, diacerein or hyaluronic acid) or by infiltration of the affected joint with hyaluronic acid (5 infiltrations at intervals of approx. 1 week)
• Functional improvement through physiotherapy
• Elimination of misalignments

In the final stage of the disease, an endoprosthetic joint replacement can also be used.