Osteoarthritis of the knee: As China gradually enters an aging society, osteoarthritis of the knee, as a common and frequent disease of the elderly, has seriously affected the quality of life of the elderly. Although osteoarthritis of the knee does not kill, as a disease with a high disability rate, it is gradually affecting the happy life of the majority of middle-aged and elderly patients in their later years (unable to square dance, travel, and even basic activities such as shopping for groceries in the street at the end of arthritis are affected). As a bone and joint surgeon, I would like to bring you some suggestions and opinions for your reference. First of all, I would like to talk to you about the causes of osteoarthritis of the knee, and to understand this so that we can better prevent the progression of the disease further. Epidemiology shows that: 10% of cartilage metamorphosis starts at the age of 30, and 1/8 of clinical symptoms appear at the age of 55, with a male to female ratio of 1:2 Incidence is related to age, gender, occupation, and genetics, and is the second cause of work incapacity in the United States after heart disease over the age of 50. What is osteoarthritis of the knee? Osteoarthritis of the knee is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by degenerative changes in the cartilage of the knee joint, mainly osteophytes at the edge of the joint, involving cartilage, subchondral bone, synovium, joint capsule and other important structures of the joint. The main manifestations are knee pain and varying degrees of dysfunction, with some having joint swelling and fluid accumulation, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. It occurs mostly after the age of 50 and is more common in women than men. There are four stages of arthritis based on clinical manifestations and imaging: Grade 1: suspicious narrowing of the joint space with a small amount of osteophytes. Grade 2: There is already a narrowing of the joint space and a small amount of osteophytes. Grade 3: There is moderate osteophytes with clear narrowing of the joint space and subchondral osteosclerosis or bony deformities of the knee, such as inversion or valgus. Grade 4: A large amount of osteophytes can be seen, along with severe narrowing of the joint space, significant subchondral osteosclerosis, and joint deformity. With the advent of an aging population, more and more elderly people are suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee, resulting in limited mobility and reduced quality of life. It is the trend to treat osteoarthritis by giving standard stepwise precise treatment according to the different degrees of osteoarthritis progression. Today, we will focus on the conservative treatment of early and mid-stage osteoarthritis of the knee, with the aim of slowing down the progression of the disease and further improving the quality of life. 1, early treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: (1) dietary changes, more high-calcium diet, obese people to reduce weight to protect joint cartilage, local physical therapy, etc. (2) Avoid strenuous activities, avoid movements or sports that increase the weight of the knee joint, such as climbing, climbing, squatting, kneeling, etc. Moderate exercise, muscle strengthening exercises such as: quadriceps exercise, walking, swimming, cycling, etc. 2, if exercise can not be solved, it is necessary to rely on drugs to help, with cartilage degeneration inhibiting drugs, such drugs can not repair the damaged cartilage, but can slow down the process of cartilage degeneration. Of course, this type of drug because of the role of delaying cartilage degeneration, and cartilage degeneration is a chronic osteoarthritis is the degeneration of joint cartilage, the form of expression is pain. (1) analgesic drugs: divided into oral drugs and topical drugs, oral, such as ericiclib, meloxicam, topical indomethacin Babu cream, flurbiprofen gel, etc.. (2) Drugs that promote the synthesis of articular cartilage: such as glucosamine sulfate capsules, ampicillin, etc. (3) Intra-articular injection of sodium vitrate in the knee joint is an option.