Polyarthritis of joints - causes

Polyarthritis of the joints is an inflammatory disease of several joints. They can be inflamed simultaneously or consistently.

Causes

  The cause of the disease is inflammation of the joint tissue. It contains a large number of blood channels and nerve endings, which instantly react with inflammation to any effect. In this case, the synovial membrane located around the joint is destroyed. Inflammation can result from infection with infectious diseases (viral hepatitis, gonorrhea, dysentery and others), allergies, impaired metabolism or trauma.

Kinds

  Depending on the cause, polyarthritis of the joints is of the following types:

- rheumatoid or rheumatic polyarthritis. In most cases, it is not associated with penetration of the infection, but has a chronic form of inflammation of several joints at the same time. This is a rather severe type of disease that affects connective tissue and spreads rapidly to other organs. Therefore, to start treatment of this species is better at the initial stage;

- an infectious species occurs against the background of an infectious disease (tuberculosis, brucellosis, gonorrhea). With proper treatment of the underlying cause, the disease successfully passes;

- crystalline or exchangeable polyarthritis is manifested with a disturbed metabolism. The reason for this is the accumulation of salts, which, irritating articular tissues, cause inflammation. For example, gout - a crystalline form of polyarthritis, resulting from the accumulation of salts of uric acid. Quite often the disease occurs in the shoulder region (polyarthritis of the shoulder joint);

- psoriatic polyarthritis most often occurs in people under 40 years of age, develops with psoriatic skin lesions after 6-8 months, first of all, affected areas of the feet;

- reactive polyarthritis occurs as a result of the infection in the body. The cause of the disease can be in the lungs or in the genitourinary system. For example, it can manifest itself against a background of cystitis or urethritis. The reactive species promotes the development of colitis, polyneuritis, conjunctivitis;

- Posttraumatic polyarthritis occurs as a result of injuries suffered such as bruises, fractures, cracks, dislocations and so on.

Symptoms

  Symptoms of polyarthritis depend on the type of the disease. In most cases, this is a swelling in the affected area, joint pain, redness, swelling, crunching when moving, numbness, stiffness (especially in the morning), fever and fatigue.

Diagnostics

  Diagnose joint polyarthritis is better in the initial phase. It is important not only to identify the disease, but also to establish the causes of its occurrence. Untimely diagnosed can lead to the progression of the disease, which will result in the defeat of internal organs, joint deformation and muscle drying.

When diagnosing, first of all pay attention to the external signs of the disease. For more accurate determination, blood and urine tests, x-rays, MRI, ultrasound are prescribed.

Polyarthritis of joints - treatment

  Any joint disease is difficult to treat, so often the therapy is quite lengthy and requires considerable perseverance. The main goal here is not only to stop the inflammatory process, but also to cure the joint itself.

The tactics of treatment depend on the type of polyarthritis, the cause and stage of the disease. It is better to treat the disease in the initial (acute) stage. In general, treatment includes the appointment of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, antibiotics, topical therapy in the form of compresses and lotions. A good effect is the use of laser therapy.

Disease in the chronic stage is often accompanied by accumulation of pus in the joint. Such cases require surgical intervention or prosthetics (insertion of the artificial joint).