The matter concerns methods of pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a chronic joint disease that takes a front rank among all joint diseases in the world. This disease represents a serious medical and social problem as far as it is chronic and often promotes temporary or constant loss of ability to work.

According to statistics, from 6.4 to 12 percent of all population suffers from this disease; recently disablement caused by osteoarthritis has increased by 3-5 times. Women suffer from osteoarthritis twice as much as men and frequency of this disease increases drastically after 35 while men notice physical impairment after 45 years. Rontgenologic signs of osteoarthritis are to be found in a half of population aged 55 and 80% of 75 aged suffer from osteoarthritis also.

Now let's see in particular at pharmacological methods of pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis: Local therapy consists in taking non-steroid antiphlogistic ointments and in para-articular injections of glucocorticosteroids. To treat temperate pains medicines are used that can remove not only pain itself but also prevent, slow down or subject to reverse development pathological processes taking place in joints during the disease. Such medicines are called chondroprotectors - medicines protecting the gristle. They can stimulate synthesis of the basic substance of the gristle yet reduce production of a ferment that destroys the gristle. Often these medicines help decrease the level of pain increase ease of movements and recover the function of joints. Patients undergo pharmacological treatment with chondroprotectors very well and this medicine promotes side effects very rarely. Surgical treatment (endoprosthesis of joints) is used to treat severe forms of osteoarthritis. However, that may be all methods of pharmacological treatment are to be prescribed by a doctor and to be applied under his control.

There are many factors that promote development of osteoarthritis. They are such as the following: genetic: female gender, hereditary pathology of bones and joints; acquired: elderly age, excessive weight, reduction of the level of female sex hormones; joint and bone diseases, surgical operations on joints (meniscus removal for example); environmental factors: excessive pressure on joints (professional peculiarities like prolonged standing etc.), various joint traumas, active sports exercises. Which joints are mostly affected by osteoarthritis? Most often during osteoarthritis the joints get involved which experience the biggest pressure. Among big joints osteoarthritis affects knee joints (gonarthrosis) and hip joints (coxarthrosis) more seldom - shoulder joints, even more seldom - elbow and ankle joints. Among small joints most often osteoarthritis affects small joints of hands. Thus osteoarthritis is a serious disease so we recommend that you don't waste your time and get in touch with a health care professional.