As a result of injuries, a microcrack may form on the joint, the pain from which will subside in a few days. Over the years, a person will experience periodic pain that is characteristic of arthritis. Why is this happening? What are the symptoms of post-traumatic arthritis? How can the disease end?
ICD-10 code: M13.8 (other specified arthritis).
Causes of the disease
Arthritis can develop due to injury
Post-traumatic arthritis is a consequence of an injury, as the name implies. Causes of the disease:
- dislocation of a limb;
- injury;
- ligament rupture;
- meniscus injury;
- cartilage injuries due to impacts or heavy loads;
- prolonged exposure to vibration.
A sprained or bruised limb is a very painful incident that anyone can experience. When a dislocation occurs, the joint capsule may be damaged, but most often the ligaments are affected. First aid for a dislocation includes realigning the limb and resting for at least a few days. If, after an injury, a person continues vigorous activity, during which the injured limb is strained, there is a high risk of complications. The cartilage gradually loses its elasticity, microcracks appear in the tissue, due to which inflammation develops.
When a joint is bruised, numerous small hemorrhages are observed, the local blood supply and nutrition of the cartilage tissue are disrupted. All this requires urgent medical attention, as it is fraught with the development of arthritis.
Traumatic arthritis often develops due to the characteristics of professional activity. For example, frequent vibration exposure leads to disruption of the blood supply to cartilage tissue. This, in turn, causes a gradual loss of elasticity of the cartilage, the formation of cracks, which subsequently lead to limited mobility of the affected joint.
Prevention
Post-traumatic arthritis of the knee joint can be prevented or the duration of remission can be increased. To do this, you need to exercise and eat right. It is important to avoid heavy physical activity, so sports should be gentle. Every day it is necessary to carry out therapeutic exercises to improve the mobility of the affected limb. The patient should completely abandon heavy physical work and regularly do self-massage of the lower leg and thigh. It is necessary to immediately treat all infectious diseases so that they do not become chronic. This also applies to the treatment of various disorders in the functioning of human internal organs.
Features of post-traumatic arthritis
Traumatic arthritis is a fairly common pathology. The disease develops due to insufficient attention to one’s own health. Avoiding this complication is not at all difficult; you just need to consult a doctor if you receive an injury and provide rest to the damaged joint for a while.
Most often, professional athletes or people whose activities involve increased stress on the joints experience post-traumatic arthritis.
A feature of post-traumatic arthritis is a slow increase in symptoms. The disorder develops against the background of injuries received over a long period of time. The pathology leads to a slowly developing impairment of motor activity in the affected joint. The difficulty is that a person often does not pay attention to pain and decreased range of motion, associating these symptoms with a recent injury. Most believe that the discomfort will go away on its own after some time is needed to recover from the injury. During this time, arthritis slowly progresses, destroying bone and cartilage tissue.
Due to the way the human body distributes stress, traumatic arthritis most often affects the lower legs, knees, and small joints of the feet.
Rheumatoid type of disease
Each code has its own pathology, you should know it before starting treatment.
Rheumatoid arthritis is assigned code M06, but there are also other subtypes that indicate the location of the disease and symptoms (for example, nodules). ICD 10 assigned the following codes to rheumatoid arthritis of the elbow joint:
- seronegative - M06.02;
- inflammatory polyarthropathy - M06.42;
- specified rheumatoid arthritis - M06.82;
- unspecified type of disease - M06.92.
The cause of the rheumatoid type of pathology is hypothermia, viral diseases, injury, heredity, and psycho-emotional disorders. The nosology begins to develop against the background of the Epstein-Barr virus, rubella, herpes, and mycoplasma. This condition is characterized by daily fluctuations in body temperature of 3–4 degrees Celsius, enlarged lymph nodes, and atrophy of the elbow muscles. The seronegative type of the disease is characterized by kidney damage and necrosis. Rheumatoid pathology of the elbow joint is manifested by pain, asthenia, arthralgia, and increased sweating. The disease is characterized by symmetry. It is formed in a person regardless of age category.
ICD-10 code
The classifier allows you to unify diseases
Post-traumatic arthritis, ICD-10 code M19.1, can be classified as post-traumatic arthrosis if the cartilage tissue is affected. The International Classification of Diseases ICD-10 also defines post-traumatic arthritis as M13.8 (“other specified arthritis”).
The exact code of the disease will depend on several factors - the nature, the presence of an inflammatory process and the involvement of cartilage tissue in the inflammatory process.
Signs of the disease
Traumatic arthritis is the result of a traumatic impact on a joint. Its symptoms completely repeat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis or a disease of another nature, with only one difference - the symptoms of post-traumatic arthritis slowly increase some time after the joint injury.
Characteristic symptoms:
- pain in the affected joint;
- crunch in the joint;
- stiffness of movement after sleep;
- swelling and swelling at the site of inflammation.
Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, traumatic arthritis is asymmetrical, meaning it affects only one joint. In this case, the lack of timely treatment can lead to damage to the symmetrical joint due to impaired motor function and improper distribution of the load on the body. For example, if the disease develops after an injury to the left meniscus, arthritis affects the left knee. Due to impaired flexion function of the joint, over time the disease will also affect the right knee.
Pain syndrome in arthritis after injury is moderate. It is aching in nature, intensifies in the morning and weakens in the evening, after the person “disperses.” When flexing and extending the joint, crunching and creaking are noted, indicating an inflammatory process. The affected area may experience swelling and increased skin temperature. Over time, arthritis, which develops as a result of damage and after injury to the joint, leads to limited mobility. If the lower limb is affected, there is a change in gait, pain when walking, which decreases after prolonged load on the affected joint.
A rare form of the disease is acute post-traumatic arthrosis. It occurs in severe form and is accompanied by a general deterioration in health.
If an infection occurs, severe pain in the joint, increased body temperature, and loss of strength are observed. Acute inflammation may be accompanied by symptoms of intoxication.
Diagnostics
Ultrasound and x-ray will show the presence of arthritis
If you experience sudden pain that hinders movement, you should consult a doctor. For joint pain, help is provided by traumatologists or a rheumatologist. The doctor will conduct a survey, focusing on recent injuries, and refer the patient for additional examinations. Minimum required examinations:
- general and biochemical blood test;
- radiography of the joint;
- Ultrasound of the diseased joint.
A blood test will help rule out the infectious nature of the disease, an x-ray will help visualize changes in the joint and joint capsule, and an ultrasound will help identify salt deposits. If the inflammatory process spreads to the surrounding soft tissue, an additional MRI may be required.
Reactive type of disease, its diagnosis
The reactive type of pathology has code M02. The disease is formed only in case of infection. The HLA-B27 gene is often observed in victims. This type of pathology can form after sexually transmitted infections or dysentery. If a disease is detected in the elbow, the code M02.82 (other reactive arthropathy), M02.92 (unspecified reactive arthropathy) is entered on the medical card.
The classic triad of symptoms includes the development of inflammation of the urethra, arthritis and inflammation of the outer membrane of the eye. The disease is manifested by lacrimation, redness and pain in the eyes, frequent urination with pain and burning, swelling of the joints, hyperthermia of the elbow joint, and arthralgia. Detecting this type of disease is quite simple. To make a final diagnosis of the disease, it is necessary to see a urologist, venereologist, ophthalmologist, or rheumatologist. The diagnosis is made on the basis of ESR, RF, ANF, MRI, X-ray, CT, culture of joint fluid, PCR examination of biological material.
Treatment principle
Arthritis treatment should not be started
For traumatic arthritis, treatment should begin when the first symptoms appear. In advanced cases, this disease can lead to severe impairment of the motor function of the joint.
Therapy includes drug and non-drug methods. To restore the elasticity of cartilage tissue and joint mobility, physiotherapy and exercise therapy are prescribed, but only after the inflammatory process has stopped.
Drug therapy and exercise therapy
The following groups of drugs are used to treat post-traumatic arthritis:
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- corticosteroids;
- chondroprotectors;
- vitamins.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are an important part of symptomatic therapy. These are the drugs Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Nimesil. These drugs are taken in the form of tablets to eliminate pain and inflammation. In case of severe symptoms, intramuscular administration of drugs of this group is indicated. To improve joint mobility, ointments with a local irritant effect and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be used.
Corticosteroids are synthetic hormones used intra-articularly. These drugs are indicated for severe inflammation. Betamethasone, Hydrocortisone, Diprospan are used in therapy. Corticosteroid injections can quickly stop the inflammatory process, eliminate pain and restore normal mobility of the damaged joint.
Chondroprotectors for arthritis are prescribed to prevent degeneration of cartilage tissue. These are drugs in tablets, ointments or injection solutions that restore the elasticity of cartilage and protect against its deformation. The drugs in this group are Chondroxide, Artra, Dona.
Additionally, the doctor may prescribe vitamin and mineral complexes that strengthen bone and cartilage tissue. Such dietary supplements are indicated for the speedy recovery of joints after injury.
Additionally, the doctor can refer the patient to a course of manual therapy, physiotherapy and exercise therapy. This is necessary to restore metabolic processes in the joint and normalize the motor function of the diseased joint.
Surgery
How to treat post-traumatic arthritis depends on the symptoms; a detailed prognosis and recommendations can only be obtained from the attending physician. In advanced cases, surgical treatment is used to get rid of lameness and pain.
For post-traumatic arthritis, endoprosthetics may be indicated. This procedure involves complete replacement of the affected joint.
The main disadvantage of any joint surgery is the long recovery period. After endoprosthetics, complete recovery takes about 6-12 months.
If osteophytes are present, they are removed. This is a minimally invasive procedure in which an incision is made and bone growths and growths are removed using a special instrument.
Despite the fact that surgical treatment can effectively get rid of the disease, any operation is unsafe and is performed only as a last resort. Timely initiation of therapy will help restore mobility using medications, without the need for surgical intervention.
