WHAT IS IT?
Arthrosis is a degenerative disease characterised by the deterioration of joint cartilage which can affect any joint in the body.
The body’s joints are the points where the bones connect. The movement of the bones at these meeting points is what makes body movement possible. Cartilage is the specialised tissue found in the joints, covering the area at the ends of the bones and allowing them to slide over one another with minimal friction.
CAUSES
Besides natural ageing, any event which injures the cartilage can cause arthrosis. Over time, a small lesion to the cartilage can get bigger and lead to a significant loss of cartilage. Events like traumatic injury, infection, inflammation, osteonecrosis (dead bone) and instability can cause the cartilage to deteriorate.
SYMPTOMS
The most frequent symptoms are joint pain and stiffness generally related to physical activity.
At the start of the disease, the knee allows normal walking, but after being seated for some time or on getting up in the morning, the knee is more rigid and painful for a few minutes. As the disease progresses, the pain can interfere with everyday activities. In the final stages of the disease, the pain may be constant and even affect sleep.
TREATMENT
Arthrosis does not have a cure, but there are therapies that can alleviate symptoms and slow down degeneration:
These conservative treatments can postpone the need for surgery, which initially consists in the implantation of prosthesis.
Through biological therapies like PRP, knee arthrosis can be stabilised, slowing down its progression and reducing symptoms like pain and stiffness. The application of this technology in knee arthrosis is carried out on an outpatient basis in our Biological Therapy Unit. After activating the PRP liquid, the knee is injected via an external approach into the medial compartment of the patellofemoral joint. There must be an interval of 7 days between PRP applications, which is the time estimated for the tissue’s cell repair and remodelling processes to occur.