General Measures
- Avoidance of:
- Overloading of the joints, e.g., due to competitive and high-performance sports in the power sports sector (e.g., bodybuilders) or long periods of heavy physical stress, e.g., at work (construction workers, especially floor layers)
- The arm should not initially be raised above 90°.
- Avoid movements of the arm in front of the body (“bracket movement”).
- Lack of physical activity, since the cartilage gets its micronutrients from the synovial fluid, it depends on the joint being moved
- Overloading of the joints, e.g., due to competitive and high-performance sports in the power sports sector (e.g., bodybuilders) or long periods of heavy physical stress, e.g., at work (construction workers, especially floor layers)
Conventional non-surgical therapy methods
- Therapy with chondroprotectants (cartilage protection preparations) – supplements (vital substances) containing glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are considered suitable chondroprotectants.
Nutritional medicine
- Nutritional counseling based on nutritional analysis
- Nutritional recommendations according to a mixed diet taking into account the disease at hand. This means, among other things:
- Daily total of 5 servings of fresh vegetables and fruits (≥ 400 g; 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruits).
- Once or twice a week fresh sea fish, i.e. fatty marine fish (omega-3 fatty acids) such as salmon, herring, mackerel.
- High-fiber diet (whole grains, vegetables).
- Selection of appropriate food based on the nutritional analysis
- See also under “Therapy with micronutrients (vital substances)” – Taking a suitable dietary supplement.
- Detailed information on nutritional medicine you will receive from us.
Sports Medicine
- Endurance training (cardio training).
- Strengthening the muscles surrounding the joint can relieve arthritis symptoms.
- Water gymnastics
- Preparation of a fitness or training plan with suitable sports disciplines based on a medical check (health check or athlete check).
- Detailed information on sports medicine you will receive from us.
Physical therapy (including physiotherapy)
Physical therapy can help alleviate symptoms. It offers a wide range of treatment methods that support the therapy of osteoarthritis:
- Exercise therapy
- Thermotherapy, this consists of heat and cold therapy (cryotherapy):
- Heat therapy in the form of balneotherapy (warm water baths with mineral salts dissolved in it) or electrothermotherapy has analgesic (pain-relieving) effects and improves mobility and health-related quality of life.
- Cryotherapy is used only in active, inflammatory osteoarthritis.
Complementary treatment methods
- High-intensity ultrasound (HIU) – The procedure is used for localized, noninvasive delivery of therapeutic compounds (pharmaceuticals) by ultrasound to articular cartilage and subchondral bone. [The procedure is still in testing.]
- Pulsed Magnetic Field Therapy (PMT) – physical procedure that usually uses pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) to improve microcirculation and stimulate and regulate cellular and energy balance.
