Sports are generally good for your health, but they are bad for your joints. Knees are especially often affected. Athletes get them damaged due to injuries and high-intensity loads. These consequences can be avoided by specifically preventing degenerative changes in the knee joints.

What are degenerative changes in the knee joint?

Degenerative changes mean that the joints gradually deteriorate.

There are tissues inside the knees that are poorly supplied with blood or have no blood supply at all – they are nourished only by synovial fluid. Metabolism in such structures is very slow, so the possibilities for self-recovery are limited. They gradually “wear out” but do not regenerate.

As a rule, degenerative changes in the joint are irreversible. Therefore, it is so important to prevent their development. With significant degenerative changes in the knee, it is impossible to restore the meniscus and articular cartilage, and the only radical way to solve the problem is endoprosthetics.

Causes of meniscus degeneration

The risk and rate of degeneration of the menisci and other tissues, such as articular cartilage, depends on several factors:

• the level of stress on cartilage (in athletes it is usually high);
• past injuries (most athletes have a history of knee injuries);
• the condition of the cartilage tissue, which depends on congenital characteristics, age, lifestyle (smoking, obesity, endocrine disorders, toxins and other unfavorable factors have a negative effect on the structure of cartilage).

The risk of degenerative processes (arthrosis) increases with congenital or acquired deformation of the knee, when the joint is deviated inward or outward. In this case, the load on one “half” of the knee increases. A person’s hyaline cartilage and bones can be destroyed in the places where they contact (the femur and tibia).

Also, increased loads in young athletes often lead to degeneration of cartilage tissue in the patellofemoral joint. This is the third component of the knee joint, which is the contact zone of the patella with the femur.

Diagnostics

To examine patients both for preventive purposes and when complaints from the knees appear, the following methods are used:

Clinical examination. The doctor examines the joints, palpates the tissues, evaluates the mobility of the knees, and conducts functional tests. This can identify many diseases and the consequences of injuries, such as a ruptured knee ligament.

X-ray. The images can reveal pronounced degenerative changes in the meniscus and articular cartilage of the knee joint, and establish the severity of arthrosis.

MRI. The most accurate diagnostic method that helps to detect even the initial, asymptomatic stages of degenerative changes. Not only the destruction of cartilage and bone tissue, bone growths and other obvious problems are noticeable, but also swelling, fraying, and changes in the structure of cartilage tissue.

Prevention of the development of degenerative changes in the knees of athletes

The risk of degenerative changes can be reduced by the following methods:

• weight loss in case of obesity;
• quitting smoking, healthy lifestyle;
• reducing impact loads on the knee joints – running on softer surfaces (rubber, grass, boards, sand instead of asphalt and concrete), as well as using high-quality shoes with shock-absorbing soles;
• use of orthopedic shoes or insoles;
• taking dietary supplements, such as chondroitin, glucosamine, collagen;
• compliance with basic rules that protect against injuries: warm-up, adequate loads, avoiding training when tired, intoxicated, etc.

It is important to develop the leg muscles, especially the thigh muscles. Strong muscles reduce the load on the articular cartilage.

A common cause of degenerative changes in the knees at a young age are untreated injuries. If a person has torn a meniscus, torn a ligament or suffered another severe injury, and has waited out the acute period, the main symptoms, such as pain and swelling, go away. It seems that there are no consequences for the knee. But in fact, its stability may be impaired, or fragments of cartilage and meniscus may remain in the knee, which constantly injure other anatomical structures. Untreated injuries lead to rapid “wear and tear” of the knee with the need for endoprosthetics after just a few years.

Therefore, having received any injury, even if it seems minor, it is worth visiting a doctor to at least undergo diagnostics. It is better to spend 1-2 hours to make sure that everything is ok with the knee than to undergo a complex, traumatic and expensive operation to install an “artificial knee” several years later.

Exercises

Although training causes degeneration of cartilage tissue, without exercise, knees also deteriorate because metabolic processes are disrupted. In addition, regular training is important for strengthening muscles.

Doctor Waqas Javed’s Clinic uses therapeutic physical training. You can work with a personal trainer to strengthen your knees, recover from an injury or illness.

Use of orthopedic instruments

Orthopedic products help athletes avoid injuries or reduce the load on the knee, thereby reducing the risk of degenerative changes in cartilage tissue.

Here are some tools you can use:

• knee pads;
• kinesio taping;
• orthopedic insoles;
• orthopedic shoes;
• knee brace

It is better to use individual orthopedic products than universal ones. At Dr. Waqas Javed’s Clinic, you can get individual orthopedic insoles. If necessary, we also select other orthopedic instruments, depending on a number of factors: the type of sport you play, the intensity of the load, age, the condition of your knees, past injuries, the presence of risk factors for degenerative changes in the knee joint. At our clinic, you can also undergo an examination in case of injury, check your knee joints during sports, get individual recommendations for knee protection, and undergo treatment if medical problems arise.

Regular medical examinations of athletes to detect knee problems

By playing sports, you fall into the risk group for developing gonarthrosis (degenerative changes in the cartilage of the knee joint). To avoid this disease, special measures are necessary. They are determined individually by an orthopedic doctor.

If you play sports and live in Moscow, contact a sports medicine specialist at Dr. Waqas Javed’s Clinic:

• once a year, if nothing bothers you;
• in case of any injury, even if it does not seem serious to you;
• if you experience pain, a feeling of instability when walking, swelling of the knee, and other symptoms.

If there are problems with the knees, it is better to identify and solve them at an early stage. Because late-stage gonarthrosis is difficult to treat, and over time the knee is destroyed so much that an artificial prosthesis has to be installed in its place.

At Dr. Waqas Javed’s Clinic, we will help you maintain your knees in good condition while you play sports. Make an appointment with a specialist at our clinic to get examined and receive personalized recommendations on protecting your joints, preventing injuries and degenerative changes.