Application therapy (local treatment) is a simple and painless method of treating patients with osteoarthritis, complementing drugs prescribed systemically (paracetamol, NSAIDs, etc.).
A new direction in the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system is the use of combined inhibitors of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase - COX and LOX.
Non-narcotic analgesics (e.g. paracetamol) are more often used during the washout period when testing NSAIDs. However, the results of comparative studies conducted in the 80-90s of the last century indicate that paracetamol can be an alternative to other NSAIDs
Almost all drugs used in the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis (NSAIDs, depot GCS, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, etc.) have a symptomatic effect, but differ in the speed of onset of the effect.
Systemic enzyme therapy (SET) was developed in 1954 by M. Wolf and K. Ransberger and is successfully used in Europe and the USA in the treatment of various diseases accompanied by inflammatory syndrome.
As a natural component of articular cartilage, glucosamine sulfate (a sulfated derivative of the natural amino monosaccharide glucosamine) was first used as a means of stimulating reparative processes in patients with osteoarthritis more than 20 years ago.
A general practitioner must remember that every patient with osteoarthritis, regardless of the stage of the disease, must be consulted by an orthopedist, who decides on the need for and extent of surgical intervention.
Patients with osteoarthritis of I-III radiological stages according to Kellgren and Lawrence without synovitis or with its mild exacerbation are referred for spa treatment.
Primary prevention of osteoarthrosis should be carried out in childhood. It is necessary to monitor the correct posture of the child at the school desk to avoid the formation of juvenile scoliosis with the subsequent development of deforming spondylosis. Children need systematic gymnastics to strengthen the muscular-ligamentous apparatus.
