1.What is osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis, a common chronic arthritis, is a long-term degenerative change in cartilage, also known as degenerative arthritis or proliferative arthritis. In the attachment of the joint ligaments, often due to bone growth after the formation of bone superfluous, commonly known as “bone spurs”. The whole body can be involved in large and small joints, mostly involving the knee, hip, interphalangeal joints, and synovial joints of the spine (often accompanied by degenerative disc disease of the spine.) 2.What is the onset of osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis mostly develops after middle age, the incidence increases with age, and the incidence is significantly higher in women than in men after menopause. Obese patients with increased joint weight, often earlier onset of osteoarthritis. Some special occupations such as miners are in a semi-squatting or squatting position for a long time and need to use the elbow joint, which causes an increase in the occurrence of osteoarthritis of the knee and elbow joint. Many occupational sports and excessive strain can also cause osteoarthritis, such as playing soccer, weightlifting can lead to knee osteoarthritis. 3. How are bone spurs formed? Articular cartilage covers the joint surface and acts like a cushion to keep the joint surface smooth. Disease, trauma, excessive activity or wear and tear can cause damage to the cartilage, causing its smooth surface to become damaged and rough. Our body attempts to repair the damage by producing new bone, but this often backfires with the formation of a proliferation of bone fragments (spurs), which can impede joint movement and cause pain. At this time, the bone beneath the cartilage begins to deform, the joint space narrows, and symptoms such as joint weakness, immobility, pain, stiffness and inflammation occur. 4.What are the symptoms of osteoarthritis? Common symptoms include joint pain, stiffness, limited or unstable movement; pain that increases during activity or after fatigue and relieves after rest; sometimes stiffness and pain at the beginning of activity, but after a little activity, the pain is reduced. There is a feeling of friction when the joint moves, and when the cartilage falls off and becomes free in the joint, the patient has a sudden strangulation of the joint (the feeling that the joint is stuck). In some patients, bone spurs are found only during x-ray without any symptoms, which is called asymptomatic osteoarthritis. 5. What are the changes in the joints of women during menopause? Due to the decline of ovarian function and imbalance in the ratio of estrogen to progesterone, menopause can lead to damage and destruction of joint cartilage, while the loss of bone mass is significantly accelerated, leading to osteoporosis and thus accelerating the onset of osteoarthritis. In turn, the pain caused by osteoarthritis and the patient’s fear of moving the affected limb will also produce or aggravate osteophytes, thus creating a vicious circle. Therefore, women during menopause should pay more attention to the protection of the joints, and at the same time to treat osteoporosis. 6.What are the surgical treatment methods for arthritis? Surgical treatment includes joint debridement, osteotomy, joint fusion, artificial joint replacement and arthroscopic surgery. Arthroscopy can observe, diagnose and treat diseases in the joints. Artificial joint replacement is a good treatment for joint lesions with extensive joint destruction, obvious deformity, restricted movement and serious impact on daily life, which can eliminate joint pain, improve joint function and enhance quality of life. However, various surgeries have their own indications, so be sure to listen to the advice of a specialist. 7.How do patients with osteoarthritis take care of themselves and exercise? Most patients with early osteoarthritis can improve their pain and movement discomfort by adjusting their lifestyle and exercising correctly and moderately without the need for injections and medication. When exercising, the principle of no or little weight should be mastered to reduce the estimated wear and tear to enhance muscle strength and increase joint movement, so as to increase tolerance, reduce fatigue and enhance the ability to resist the disease, thereby preventing the progression of the disease. To pay attention to the following points: (1) should not climb mountains or reduce climbing stairs; (2) avoid squatting horse stance, squatting to support the object to lend strength; (3) advocate bicycle walking and swimming; (4) joint parts to keep warm, avoid cold and moisture. 8.Can I wear out my bone spurs through exercise? Some old friends always hope that the bone spurs can be worn off through exercise. In fact, this is a wrong idea, because the bone spurs themselves are formed by chronic wear and tear of the joints and degeneration. Inappropriate exercise will not remove the spur, but will only increase the wear and tear and aggravate the formation of the spur. Appropriate exercise can help to reduce the patient’s symptoms and ease the degeneration of the joint. Pain occurs only when there is inflammation of the periosteum. The size of the bone spur is not directly related to the pain, but the inflammation can subside. Once the periosteal inflammation is eliminated and the exudation and swelling are reduced, the pain is eliminated. Some people boast that there is a special medicine that can dissolve or eliminate the “bone spur”, but this is not true. With the current level of medical care, no other medication or method, except surgery, can remove a spur that has been produced. But not all “bone spurs” should be surgically removed, only a very small number of “bone spurs” that cause pain should be considered for surgical removal. 9. Is climbing hills or stairs good for the knee joints of the elderly? The load on the knee joint varies greatly with the body’s movement and gait pattern, and when climbing hills or stairs, the weight on the joint is four to five times higher than normal. Therefore, when middle-aged or elderly people with osteoarthritis must take the stairs, they must hold onto the railing or wall and not stride up the stairs, but wait until both feet are all on one step before taking the next step to reduce the load on the joints. In life, remind middle-aged and older friends with osteoarthritis that they should not take climbing hills or stairs as a way to exercise. 10.What are the non-surgical treatment methods for osteoarthritis? Avoiding causative factors, such as rest, weight loss, avoiding trauma, using a cane to reduce load, muscle exercise to increase joint stability, wearing knee pads to keep warm, etc., are all beneficial to recovery. Traditional treatments such as Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese herbal fumigation, Chinese herbal hot amniotic pack, and Chinese herbal seal pack are effective for early to mid-stage treatment. Medications include oral analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs, chondroprotective agents (disease-modifying drugs) and intra-articular injections of joint lubricants. The elderly are prone to adverse reactions to various drugs, especially the gastrointestinal tract, heart, liver and kidney side effects should be noted, so they must be used under the guidance of a doctor. 11.What is an artificial joint? It is a common misconception that artificial joint replacement is the removal of all the joints and the installation of an artificial joint made of steel, which is as stiff and inflexible as a robot after surgery. In fact, artificial joint replacement is like repairing a worn out table top by removing the rough surface and putting a new smooth surface on it. Artificial joint replacement is therefore the removal of a damaged joint surface and the implantation of a special material to restore a normal smooth joint surface, thereby eliminating pain during walking and weight bearing and restoring joint function. Currently, more and more patients are undergoing artificial joint replacement. 12.What is the best age for artificial joint replacement surgery? It is generally accepted that an artificial joint replacement between the ages of 60 and 75 is more appropriate, but with the improvement of surgical techniques, the age range for surgical indications has been relaxed. Many elderly patients are over the age of 75, but are in good general condition and are fully eligible for joint replacement. Many patients with very severe osteoarthritis who are under 60 years of age, but whose pain and dysfunction greatly affect their lives and work, may also be considered for joint replacement. Therefore, joint replacement or not should be decided after a comprehensive evaluation of the patient. 13.How many days after the artificial joint replacement to get down? How long can I walk? In principle, you should get off the ground as soon as possible after the artificial joint replacement, so that you can get up early to exercise and recover as soon as possible. If the joint is fixed with bone cement, the limb can be weight-bearing and walking immediately after surgery, and the crutches can be used for a shorter period of time. If the joint is not cemented, a walker or crutches are usually used for six weeks to three months after surgery, during which time full weight-bearing on the joint is avoided to allow the bone to bond firmly to the surface of the artificial joint. In general, normal daily activities can be resumed three months after surgery. 14.How long will the artificial joint last? In fact, there is no exact answer to this question, for the service life of the problem, there are many factors that determine, such as the patient’s exercise, the choice of artificial prosthesis, the surgeon’s surgical techniques and their own bone conditions.