Arthrose

Depending on the stage and progression of your osteoarthritis, you may suffer from pain and discomfort of varying intensity. In the early stages, osteoarthritis of the knee joint manifests itself primarily through knee pain during impact-like movements such as jumping or jogging. If the cartilage wear in the joint progresses or if the inflammatory process in the joint capsule and joint mucosa is activated for other reasons, pain at rest, joint pain at night, pain at the start of a movement and a feeling of tension in the joint can also occur, up to and including joint stiffness.

Over time, osteoarthritis of the knee joint does not remain without effects on the entire body. The pathological processes in the joint not only affect the joint surfaces, but also surrounding structures such as bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and tissue. Over time, these changes result in incorrect loads, relieving postures and disturbances in the body's movement patterns. This means that osteoarthritis of the knee joint does not only affect the affected joint, but also influences the overall body statics. This can lead to damage and complaints in other areas, including wear and tear of vertebral joints or intervertebral discs, due to the resulting incorrect loads.

Osteoarthritis can be more severe or less severe. It is important to emphasize that this disease begins gradually, regardless of the joint affected. It often progresses subtly at the beginning and only causes severe pain, movement disorders or problems with the joint's load-bearing capacity at an advanced stage. Thanks to the latest findings on the development of osteoarthritis and modern regenerative treatment methods, we can now significantly delay the progression of the disease and often effectively alleviate the symptoms even in advanced stages. Nevertheless, once degeneration of the joint cartilage has begun, it is currently not completely reversible.

This makes prevention and therapeutic concepts that place great emphasis on treating the underlying inflammatory process in the early stages of knee osteoarthritis all the more important:

• The first step is to strive for a lifestyle that is as anti-inflammatory as possible, taking into account the following aspects: a high-fiber, low-carbohydrate Mediterranean diet, a balanced amount of exercise, effective stress management and sufficient sleep.
• Therapeutically, the first step, depending on the degree of osteoarthritis and the acute activation state, is to reduce the acute irritation. Cold therapy, laser therapy and kinesio tape are possible therapeutic approaches here.
• The second step focuses on activating the regenerative processes. This affects the area of the cartilage as well as the underlying, often overloaded bone, the capsule-ligament apparatus surrounding the joint, which has been altered by inflammation, and the joint mucosa. Focused shock waves, the high-energy magnetic field (EMTT) and injections of plasma from the patient's own blood and high-molecular hyaluronic acid are used here.
• At the same time, it is very important to restore the function of the surrounding muscle and fascia system and to correct static dysfunctions, incorrect posture and muscular imbalances that lead to increased joint stress. Osteopathic treatments, myofascial therapies using radial shock wave therapy, fascia therapy, individual exercises, repetitive peripheral muscle stimulation and, if necessary, manual therapy as part of physiotherapy treatment are used here.
• The third and final step is to precisely identify and counteract any remaining unfavorable movement patterns, muscular imbalances, poor posture and incorrect strain. To this end, we carry out a comprehensive posture and movement analysis in our High-Performance Motionlab. Based on the knowledge gained from this, you can undergo customized neuromuscular training therapy with us. We can also create an individual exercise plan for you or make recommendations for the effective design of your supplementary physiotherapy.