Knee osteoarthritis, also known as proliferative arthritis and age-related arthritis, is a degenerative disease that occurs when primary or secondary degeneration and structural disorders occur in the cartilage of the knee joint surface, accompanied by subchondral bone proliferation and cartilage exfoliation, resulting in gradual destruction and deformation of the joint and eventual knee joint dysfunction.
One, the occurrence of knee osteoarthritis causes
1, muscle weakness: it is generally believed that osteoarthritis leads to the disuse of leg muscles, causing muscle weakness and atrophy. Recent studies have confirmed that weakness of the quadriceps muscle can cause early osteoarthritis.
2, anatomical abnormalities: for example, inversion or valgus of the knee can cause an imbalance in the weight-bearing surface of the joint, often resulting in the destruction of cartilage on one side while the cartilage on the other side is intact.
3. Trauma: Trauma to the joint or its vicinity can sometimes produce osteoarthritis. For example, fractures that affect the joint surface, ligament tears that cause joint instability, and meniscal injuries can cause abnormal wear and tear of the knee joint. In addition, certain activities that repeatedly stress the joint, such as frequent or repeated lifting of heavy objects, squatting, kneeling and other actions can cause damage to the joint and cause degeneration of the cartilage.
4, genetic factors: A study found that 30% of hand osteoarthritis and 65% of knee osteoarthritis are related to genetic factors. Another study showed that the correlation of osteoarthritis between parents and children or between siblings is much higher than between couples.
5. Obesity: Overweight, especially overweight women, have a greater likelihood of developing osteoarthritis of the knee. Recent studies suggest that there is a causal relationship between obesity and osteoarthritis of the knee in women.
6. Changes in hormone levels: Declining estrogen levels in women after menopause can cause changes in cartilage composition. Osteoarthritis is mostly seen in middle-aged and older women, especially around menopause, indicating that the disease may be related to changes in hormone levels in the body.
7, other diseases: such as joint infection may change the chemical composition of the cartilage and lead to osteoarthritis.
Second, osteoarthritis of the knee 4 red flags
Knee osteoarthritis a rheumatic disease with a high incidence, and aging, trauma, inflammation, obesity, metabolic disorders and genetics and other factors. Self-diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the knee is important for early detection of the disease and taking timely and effective preventive and curative measures, while pain, stiffness, swelling, and making friction sounds are all early red flags of osteoarthritis of the knee. If measures are taken in the early stages of the joint lesion, treatment will be more effective, and permanent loss of function is likely to occur as the disease worsens. Therefore, some of the following symptoms should be taken very seriously.
1. Whether joint movement is restricted. If a joint or joints begin to appear to be moving uncomfortably, you should think that you may have osteoarthritis, and that it may be in its early stages.
2. Stiffness of the joints. People with osteoarthritis often feel stiffness in their arms and legs, and some people suddenly feel as if some joints are “locked” after sitting for a long period of time, especially after waking up in the morning or after a long period of inactivity.
3. Whether there is a clicking sound or other frictional sound when the joint moves. In the later stages of osteoarthritis, as the cartilage in the joint degenerates and peels off, the bone under the cartilage is exposed, and when the joint is moved, the bones under the cartilage at both ends are exposed and make a sound when touching each other.
4. Whether the joint is enlarged and deformed. Since there are many nerve endings distributed on the synovial membrane as pain receptors, after the information of pain is transmitted to the cerebral cortex, the synovial membrane will secrete more synovial fluid to lubricate and nourish those damaged synovial tissues. The increased fluid accumulation in the joint space causes swelling and makes the pain worse, even if the joint is difficult to rotate.
Third, the clinical manifestations of knee osteoarthritis.
1. slow onset: mostly seen in middle-aged and elderly obese women, often with a history of exertion.
2. Pain increases with knee activity: it is characterized by paroxysmal pain at first, then persistent, worse with exertion and at night, and obvious pain going up and down stairs.
3. Restriction of knee movement or even limping: very few patients may develop interlocking phenomenon or knee effusion.
4. There may be popping and grinding sounds when the joint moves: some patients have swollen joints, and joint deformity can be seen over time.