Ointments for knee pain

The musculoskeletal system – thanks to it, any person is able to stand, sit and move. And if at least one of its elements fails, obvious discomfort is experienced, and not only physical, but also psychological. The knee is, perhaps, the most complex and large joint. Injury or damage by any disease brings a lot of suffering to the patient, which you want to get rid of as soon as possible. Pain symptoms of this joint are also an age-related problem. Almost all elderly people suffer from it. It is the first place in the diseases of professional athletes. Therefore, drugs that allow you to easily and quickly relieve pain are quite in demand among consumers. Among the most convenient to use, you can name ointments for knee pain.

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Indications for the use of ointments for knee pain

Pain symptoms that limit joint mobility can occur in a patient for many reasons. Therefore, before starting adequate treatment, it is necessary to establish the source of the problem and only then proceed to therapy.

But even at the stage of establishing a diagnosis, special painkillers can be used to relieve a pain attack. Indications for the use of ointments for knee pain may arise in the presence of such diseases:

• Trauma and disruption of the integrity of the meniscus.
• Arthritis (rheumatic and rheumatoid) is an inflammatory disease of the articular joint.
• Arthrosis is a degenerative-dystrophic disease of the joints.
• Exacerbation of gout.
• A disruption in the normal blood flow to a given area of the human body.
• Inflammatory process affecting the knee joint:
  • Radiculitis.
  • Bursitis.
  • Lumbago.
  • Osteochondrosis.
  • Bechterew's disease.
  • Osteoporosis.
  • Osteoarthritis.
  • Arthritis.
  • Tendinitis.
  • Sciatica.
• Trauma to the knee without compromising its integrity.
• Myalgia of non-rheumatic origin.
• Neuralgia.
• Traumatic inflammation of the soft tissues adjacent to the knee joint.
• Ankylosing spondylitis.
• Joint pain can also be provoked by diseases that seem to be unrelated to the functioning of the musculoskeletal system:
• Adnexitis is an inflammatory process in the uterine appendages.
• Diseases of the ENT organs.
• Algomenorrhea is a menstrual cycle disorder that manifests itself as cramping or aching pain in the lower abdomen, but pain symptoms can also occur in the knee joints.
• Pathology of dental genesis.
• Migraine.
• A feverish condition during an infectious and inflammatory process in the patient's body.

The main symptoms requiring medical intervention are:

• Deformation of the patella.
• Swelling in the area of the affected joint.
• Painful symptoms when trying to change the position of the joint.
• Limited knee mobility.
• The appearance of sounds that are not typical for normal joint function: clicking, crackling and crunching.
• Long-lasting pain that gets worse when moving the knee.

Release form

Medicines for the purpose in question are presented by pharmaceutical companies in a fairly large range. But the form of release considered in this article is represented by ointments developed for local external use.

In case of a severe clinical picture of the disease, it is permissible to introduce the ointments in question into the complex treatment protocol.

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Pharmacodynamics

The drugs of this group were developed specifically for external use. Therefore, their pharmacodynamics are aimed at providing anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects on tissues. Some drugs, due to their composition, have a warming or, conversely, antipyretic effect.

Knee pain ointments inhibit cyclooxygenase, an arachidonic acid enzyme that plays a significant role in the progression and spread of the inflammatory process. There is a direct immediate effect on prostaglandins. The process of platelet aggregation is suppressed.

Medicines have analgesic properties. When applied externally to the affected joint, the medicine improves the motor activity of the knee and reduces pain intensity.

When applied in a thin layer, the drugs of the pharmacological focus in question do not have a significant negative effect on the patient’s body.

Pharmacokinetics

The pharmacokinetics of drugs in this group show a high degree of penetration, entering the tissues adjacent to the affected joint. It is in these tissues that the active substances begin to accumulate (and not in the blood plasma), reaching maximum concentrations. This allows patients with diseases of the mucous membrane of the digestive tract to effectively undergo treatment without fear of exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases (unlike tablets).

The half-life (T1/2) of drugs in this group is usually two to three hours. About 80% of the drug's components are excreted from the patient's body with urine. Seven parts are excreted as metabolites, and one part is excreted unchanged. The remaining part, in the form of metabolites, leaves the body with feces.

Names of ointments for knee pain

Pain when moving, difficulty straightening and bending the knee, unpleasant crunching in the joint - all this does not add comfort, but is a reason to contact a specialist. A qualified doctor will conduct an examination and determine the cause of these symptoms. Only after this is a comprehensive treatment prescribed, which may consist of physical therapy, medication, including ointments for knee pain. In particularly severe cases, surgery may be necessary.

Their choice is quite wide, and the attending physician will help you understand the offered assortment, who will prescribe the most effective drug for a specific clinical picture. The list of drugs of the considered pharmacology and release form is quite extensive. In this article, we will get acquainted with only some of them. Below are the names of ointments for knee pain - these are fastum gel, dolobene, ibutop, diclofenac, orthofen, voltaren, heparin ointment, nurofen, artroactive, ibuprofen-norton, brufen, dolgit, troxevasin, bystrumgel, ferbedon, deep relief and many others.

All of them are quite easy to use, and quickly and effectively relieve pain symptoms. With prolonged use, they reduce the inflammatory process, stopping swelling and improving the mobility of the knee joint.

Usually, drugs in this group are divided by type of action, although modern drugs also have almost all of these properties (to a greater or lesser extent).

• Warming ointments. This effect occurs due to the special animal poisons, plant and chemical components included in the ointment. When applying the drug, the blood flow to the periarticular tissues improves, heat exchange processes in this area are activated, which helps to shorten the recovery period of the affected joint. But you should know that drugs with a warming effect should not be used immediately after a knee injury. They are effective during the rehabilitation period of an injury or when used for preventive purposes. Before using any ointment, the drug must be tested on a small area of the skin. This will help to avoid a larger-scale allergic reaction of the body to the drug. Such drugs include: Ai ointment, Ogarkov ointment and others.
• Anti-inflammatory ointments. Medicines of this pharmacodirection work to stop inflammation that affects the joint and adjacent tissues. An acute or sluggish inflammatory process indicates that the patient's body's defenses are weakened. Local application of ointments allows not only to remove inflammation, but also to locally increase the human immune status. The following belong to the drugs of this group: fastum gel, diclofenac, orthofen, bystrumgel, voltaren and many other ointments.
• Ointments with an analgesic and cooling effect. The preparations of this category have a low (unlike warming ointments) irritating effect. Such medicines are allowed for use immediately after an injury. They effectively relieve pain.

Method of administration and dosage

Treatment therapy for knee joint damage is a long process, so you will have to be patient. There are cases when such treatment is unable to solve a medical problem, then it is used to relieve the patient from uncomfortable symptoms, at least partially improving the health situation.

A medicine for joint pain, depending on the clinical picture of the pathology, can be used both as a monotherapy drug and as a medicine included in a complex treatment. But in either case, the name of the medicine, the method of administration and the dose should be prescribed only by the attending physician after examination and additional examination of the patient.

All ointments are applied in a thin layer, in some cases the ointment is not even rubbed in (it is necessary to carefully read the instructions for the drug). If the disease is chronic, it is advisable to choose knee pain ointments that contain iodine.

In most cases, therapy with external ointments is only part of a larger complex of therapeutic measures.

It should be remembered that self-treatment and refusal of medical care can result in severe complications and irreversible changes in the structural structure of the joint itself and the tissues surrounding it, which clearly leads to the need to replace the deformed joint with an artificial mechanism.

Often, it is recommended to apply ointments in a strip of about 10 cm to the area of the affected knee, and distribute the medicine in a thin layer over adjacent areas. Such a procedure, having previously read the instructions or on the recommendation of a doctor, is carried out from two to five times during the day. But before starting treatment, it is advisable to test for the absence of an allergic reaction to the components of the drug. To do this, apply a little medicine to a small area of the skin and hold for about 20 minutes. If there is no reaction, you can safely use the drug.

The duration of the treatment course varies and is determined depending on the severity of the disease and the level of sensitivity of the patient's body to the active components of the ointment.

Medicines should be used with extreme caution during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Caution should also be exercised:

• For elderly people.
• With severe damage to the kidneys and liver.
• The presence of chronic heart failure in the patient's medical history.

If one or more symptoms (from the above) are present, constant monitoring of the heart, kidneys, liver and peripheral blood condition is necessary throughout the treatment.

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Using Ointments for Knee Pain During Pregnancy

Carrying a baby is a period when any external intervention can make adjustments (often unfavorable) to the development of the embryo and the general course of pregnancy. Therefore, even if applied externally, the use of ointments for knee pain during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, is not allowed. In the first and second trimesters, taking ointments is allowed only if there is a significant need to relieve the health problem of the expectant mother. That is, when the possible harm to the fetus is lower than the result of therapy for the woman.

Often, small amounts of the active substances of the drug are excreted in breast milk. But the use of drugs of this group during lactation is still allowed. An exception is the situation when the drug must be taken for a long time and in large doses, then it is necessary to raise the issue of stopping breastfeeding the newborn.

Contraindications to the use of ointments for knee pain

Many patients believe that if a medicine is used externally, it cannot harm health. But this is not true. Contraindications to the use of ointments for knee pain still exist.

• Increased sensitivity of the patient's body to the components of the ointment.
• Tendency to allergic reactions.
• The presence of abrasions and other damage to the skin at the site of intended application of the drug.
• Bronchial asthma.
• Third trimester of pregnancy.
• The age of children from six or 12 years for each specific medicine separately.
• Hematopoiesis disorder.
• Severe renal or hepatic impairment.

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Side effects of knee pain ointments

Medicines for joint pain are tolerated by the human body quite well. But in case of application of the medicine to the skin in large doses and during a long course of therapy, side effects of knee pain ointments may still appear. Usually they are expressed by symptoms of an allergic nature: the appearance of itching, skin rashes, hyperemic surface. But these symptoms will disappear in eight to twelve hours, as soon as the application of the medicine is stopped.

Overdose

To date, there is no complete information on whether an overdose of drugs of this pharmacological group and form of release is possible. It can only be noted that under certain circumstances and individual characteristics of the patient's body, he may experience allergy symptoms: itching, urticaria, hyperemia of the area treated with ointment, slight swelling, burning.

But it is enough to stop using the ointment, and after a certain period of time (from 8 to 12 hours) this pathological situation will go away on its own.

Interactions with other drugs

No matter how harmless a medicine may seem, when used together with drugs belonging to other pharmacological groups or to the one to which the medicine in question belongs, their mutual influence on each other's pharmacodynamics can be observed. Therefore, before introducing a new medicine into the treatment protocol, it is necessary to know the consequences of the work of ointments and their interaction with other drugs.

In case of tandem administration with drugs containing indirect anticoagulants (for example, acenocoumarol), their displacement from binding complexes with blood proteins is possible.

A similar situation can be observed with combined use with phenytoin, as well as sulfonylurea derivatives, which are hypoglycemic drugs.

When using knee pain ointments and antihypertensive drugs simultaneously, the level of the latter's pharmacolytic properties decreases. These include beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

With tandem administration, the effectiveness of diuretics is significantly reduced. Acetylsalicylic acid leads to a decrease in the concentration of the active ingredient of the ointment in the patient's blood plasma.

And when working with anticoagulants, on the contrary, it increases their impact on the patient’s body.

If the same treatment protocol includes the drugs discussed in this article and glucocorticosteroids, it is possible that side effects from the digestive tract may be provoked.

When used in combination with amlodipine, a slight decrease in the antihypertensive properties of the latter may be observed.

There are documented cases where an increase in the toxicity of baclofen components was observed with the same treatment protocol as baclofen.

The tandem of colestyramine and the drugs considered in this article significantly reduces the absorption capabilities of ointments. And when administered with magnesium hydroxide, on the contrary, an increase in this characteristic is observed.

When taken together with warfarin, bleeding may occur, which may last for quite a long time. Hematomas and signs of microhematuria may appear.

The risk of a decrease in the antihypertensive effect of captopril increases when it is taken together with ointments for knee pain.

An increase in the quantitative component of lithium in blood plasma is observed when taken together with lithium carbonate.

With the simultaneous administration of drugs that relieve pain symptoms in the knee joints and methotrexate, an increase in the toxicity of methotrexate is observed.

Storage conditions

The drug has been prescribed, but immediately after it has been purchased at the pharmacy, it is necessary to pay attention to its storage conditions at home. After all, the quality of the preserved pharmacological characteristics that the drug should show throughout the entire therapeutic period depends on how correctly a person will adhere to these recommendations given in the instructions attached to the drug.

There are several such recommendations:

• The medicine should be stored in a cool place where the room temperature does not exceed + 25 °C. However, tubes with the medicine should not be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
• The room where the ointment is stored must be dry, moisture reduces the quality of the product and worsens its pharmacological characteristics.
• The drug should not be accessible to small children.
• The storage location should not be exposed to direct sunlight.

Best before date

After purchasing a medicinal product, it is imperative to familiarize yourself with the production dates of the medicine and especially pay attention to the final effective use date, which must be reflected on the packaging of any product. If the final date has already expired, further use of the medicine in question is unacceptable. The shelf life of the ointments discussed in this article is generally from two to three years from the date of manufacture of a specific batch of the medicine.

We are used to the fact that our body obeys us at the slightest signal from the brain. Therefore, when pain in the knees appears and their ability to move smoothly decreases, causing many unpleasant minutes, you should not self-medicate, prescribing all sorts of drugs to yourself. Such an approach to the signals of your body can lead to the loss of precious time and aggravation of the situation with the clinical picture of the disease. Therefore, the sooner the patient gets to the doctor for a consultation, the less effort and time will have to be applied to relieve the problem. Often, knee pain ointments can help in the treatment of this problem. They are easy to use and, differing in local action, show minimal impact on other organs and systems of the human body. The main thing to remember is that the drug must be prescribed by a specialist and his recommendations must be strictly followed. Only in this case can you expect a quick and effective result, with a minimal risk of relapse.