PHYSIOTHERAPY APPROACH IN THE TREATMENT OF KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS

Osteoartritis je najčešća bolest zglobova i spada u skupine bolesti koje nastaju kao rezultat mehaničkih i bioloških zbivanja. Osteoartritis može se pojaviti na bilo kojem zglobu, ali je najčešći u zglobovima vratne i slabinske kralježnice te u kuku, koljenu i zglobovima prstiju šaka. Ipak, najveću važnost imaju osteoartritis kuka i koljena jer oni uzrokuju najnepovoljnije posljedice. Najčešći simptomi osteoartritisa koljena su bol i smanjen opseg pokreta, no oni se često zanemaruju sve dok ne dođe do problema u izvođenju aktivnosti svakodnevnog života. Liječenje osteoartritisa je složeno i dijeli se na više kombiniranih vrsta kao što su farmakološko, kirurško i nefarmakološko liječenje. Fizioterapija spada u nefarmakološko liječenje osteoartritisa te postoje jasni dokazi o njenom povoljnom učinku na smanjenje boli i poboljšanja funkcije. Cilj ovog rada je prikazati fizioterapijske postupke u liječenju osteoartritisa koljenog zglob.Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease and it belongs to a group of diseases that occur as a result of mechanical and biological events. Osteoarthritis can appear at any joint, but it is most common in neck and lumber spine joints, hips, knees and wrist knuckles. However, the utmost importance have hip and knee osteoarthritis because they cause the most adverse consequences. Typical simptoms of knee osteoarthritis are pain and reduced range of movement, but they are often neglected until a problem appears in the performance of everyday activities. Treatment of osteoarthritis is complicated and is divided into more combined types like pharmacological, surgical and nonpharmacological treatment. Physiotherapy belongs to nonpharmacological treatment of the osteoarthritis and there is clear evidence about its favorable effect on pain reduction and function improvements. The main goal of this paper is to show physiotherapy procedures in treating knee joint osteoarthritis