Massage and exercise to treat osteoarthritis of the ankle

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh - Rehabilitation Doctor - Department of General Surgery - Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.
Osteoarthritis of the ankle is a common musculoskeletal disease. Osteoarthritis of the ankle joint is not life-threatening, but it greatly affects the quality of life. If you do not pay attention to care and treatment, it can affect your ability to walk and move. Massage and exercise are effective treatment measures, reducing disease recurrence.

1. Overview of ankle osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the destruction of joint cartilage, the bone below the cartilage, and the synovial membrane. The disease can occur in any joint in the body, but most often in load-bearing joints such as the hip, knee, ankle, and spine. The risk of disease increases with age, in which the age group over 60 is the most affected, women have a higher risk of osteoarthritis than men
Ankle osteoarthritis has many causes, including overweight and obesity Obesity due to loss of body weight control is one of the important causes because too much body weight puts excessive pressure directly on the ankle joint when moving
Age is also a common cause caused by aging of the joints. As we age, the cartilage cells begin to degrade and cannot regenerate. In addition, the elderly, if they have even mild trauma, will affect the joints more.

Regularly doing vigorous movements related to the ankle such as running, playing sports, kicking your feet too hard, often having to stand for a long time, walk, wear high heels for a long time... can lead to injury to the muscles, tendons and cartilage of the ankle joint. Over time, the cartilage will wear down, leading to osteoarthritis. In particular, joints are used too much in cases where the joints are deformed from birth or due to diseases that change the joint morphology, which will cause premature degeneration.
Some diseases in the ankle joint such as: septic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout can make ankle osteoarthritis appear earlier
Manifestations of ankle osteoarthritis:
Neck pain Legs: pain ranges from mild to severe, increasing with movement. These pains reduce the mobility of the ankle joint, if prolonged, it will lead to muscle atrophy and may cause deformity of the ankle joint. There may be inflammatory reactions such as swelling, redness, pain in the ankle joint, or worse, joint effusion. When moving the ankle joint, a crunching sound can be felt from the joint.

2. Treatment of ankle osteoarthritis with massage and exercise

Osteoarthritis cannot be cured completely, but applying treatment measures helps reduce symptoms and limit the risk of complications and disability for patients.
Treatment is mainly for the purpose of reducing pain, limiting complications such as muscle atrophy and stiffness, increasing joint range of motion, improving and improving the tolerance of the soft tissues around the joint to help prevent disease.
Treatment methods include:
Medical treatment: Diet and rest, medication, physical therapy... Surgery: Indicated in some cases with serious complications importance to the patient's ability to walk and move. Depending on the severity of the disease, there are specific treatment measures, treatment measures can be combined.
The treatment with ankle joint massage and exercise is an effective measure to help reduce disease symptoms and prevent disease recurrence.

Massaging helps to increase local circulation and increase muscle nourishment to limit muscle atrophy. Accordingly, technicians massage areas from the patient's shins, ankles and toes. In addition, the patient can self-massage with his hands or use his feet to massage the opposite leg. Use your hands to gently squeeze from the shins, to the ankles and feet. Use your feet to rub the soles of your feet together and rub on the insteps to help dilate blood vessels and improve local circulation.
Exercise is the best method to help limit the development of the disease, prevent recurrence and limit complications of muscle atrophy and stiffness. Some exercises to mobilize the ankle joint are as follows:
Ankle rotation exercise: The patient lies on his back, the technician stands next to the leg; one hand holds the patient's heel, the other hand holds the top of the foot; Gently rotate the patient's ankle up to 2-3 times, then push the foot into the shin, then extend the foot to the fullest. Ankle shaking exercise: The technician stands below, holding the patient's neck with both hands, two thumbs on the inner and outer ankles, using the base of the hand to push the patient's heel inward and out. out 2-3 times. Do the same with the opposite side. Stretching the ankle: The patient is still lying flat, the doctor stands next to him, one hand holds the heel, the other hand holds the foot, at the same time pulls both hands down to stretch the ankle, pull 2-3 times . Then switch sides. Patients self-exercise the exercises of maximum ankle flexion and extension and ankle rotation to help limit stiffness. The patient sits with both legs extended, then flexes the foot toward the maximum leg and extends it to the maximum 5-10 times.

3. How to prevent ankle osteoarthritis

Preventing and preventing disease recurrence is very important in the treatment of disease. Some measures should be applied to prevent ankle degeneration such as:
Avoid excessive activities often and be careful to avoid trauma to the joints. For people over 40 years old, it is necessary to pay attention to their lifestyle and follow a gentle and regular exercise regime such as walking and swimming. Limit standing for a long time, excessive movement on the ankle joint for a long time. When suspecting that they have joint disease, patients should see a doctor immediately for treatment and advice on the most reasonable regimen. Regularly practice gentle ankle joints such as: Gently rotate the joints, move the joints, massage the ankles, walk gently. Reasonable care and rest. Especially when sick, a reasonable rest for a few weeks is very good for the recovery of the disease. Osteoarthritis of the ankle is the most common condition in the elderly. Self-massage and exercise at home are essential to limit the complications of the disease.
Vinmec International General Hospital is equipped with a system of modern machinery and equipment, effectively supporting the treatment process to achieve a high success rate, helping musculoskeletal, spinal, neuromuscular, can rehabilitation and mobility. At Vinmec, there are many good, highly skilled doctors with full practice certificates, along with a team of well-trained technicians who are very dedicated in the actual treatment and rehabilitation process. perform the treatment and rehabilitation process for good results, meeting the needs and desires of the customer.

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