What are the early symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee? What are the early signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee? It used to be thought that osteoarthritis of the knee was a disease unique to the elderly. However, recent studies have found that, along with changes in lifestyle and exercise patterns, human joints can develop degenerative changes with no or mild symptoms as early as the thirties or even younger, with symptoms appearing in the forties and fifties, but by then the degeneration of the joint has already invaded the bone extensively, resulting in extensive cartilage loss, and it is too late to start paying attention to treatment. The only thing that doctors and patients can do is to try to protect the cartilage of the joint that has not yet been invaded and to slow down the rate of continued degeneration of the joint, so the best way to prevent and treat arthritis is to pay enough attention to the symptoms when they first occur. Osteoarthritis of the knee is a common degenerative articular cartilage disease that develops in a chronic process from quantitative to qualitative changes, and often gives us some “warning” signs before it occurs. If you experience any of the following symptoms for more than 2-3 weeks, you should consult a specialist as soon as possible. For patients with osteoarthritis, early detection and treatment is especially important. 1. “Weak legs” when walking up and down stairs. If you are still very young, but often when going up and down the stairs, “weak legs”, feel weakness in the knee joint, and sometimes feel joint pain, in medical terms is called chondromalacia patella, also known as chondromalacia patellae, chondromalacia patellae, is one of the common causes of anterior knee pain. 2. Pain. The pain of early knee osteoarthritis is characterized by: appearing after a night’s rest, heavier in the morning, may be accompanied by a feeling of joint stiffness, but not more than 15 minutes, the pain stiffness disappears with a little activity, and then it will occur again when the activity increases, joint pain is related to weather changes. The cause of pain is due to bone growth and bone spurs rubbing the surrounding tissue. 3. Difficulty in joint movement. Difficulty in joint flexion and extension and joint stiffness are characterized by sensitivity in the morning and when air humidity increases. As the disease progresses, unfavorable joint flexion and extension and stiffness occur frequently and worsen progressively. 4. Joint swelling and fluid accumulation. Synovitis, after the synovial tissue in the joint is damaged by strain and other factors, produces a large amount of fluid in the joint, resulting in increased pressure in the joint and swelling and pain in the joint. Most of the above early symptoms of the knee joint are due to long-term forceful and rapid flexion and extension of the knee joint, which increases the wear and tear of the cartilage in the joint, such as fast fitness walking, bicycling, badminton, mountaineering, stair climbing and other activities, which are common causes of this disease. If the above symptoms occur, the following treatment should be done First of all, the knee joint should be stopped for 1-2 weeks, while active functional exercises of the quadriceps muscle should be performed to increase the stability of the knee joint. In case of severe swelling and pain, ice therapy (not with ice, but with an ice-water mixture) should be performed twice a day for about 20 minutes each time, followed by a switch to physical therapy twice a day for 2-3 weeks. Glucosaminoglycans help the synthesis of proteoglycans in cartilage, and shrimp, shellfish, and crab are rich in glucosaminoglycans, which are beneficial for cartilage repair. Intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate, through viscoelastic supplementation therapy, can increase the viscosity and lubricating function of joint fluid, relieve pain and increase joint mobility. Avoid smoking, alcohol, high fat and sugar. Smoking and alcohol abuse can lead to severe osteoporosis, which then promotes or aggravates the development of osteoarthritis. Ask a specialist for examination and clear diagnosis as soon as possible. In daily life, strengthening the body, keeping warm and not cold, adding and removing clothing at the right time and season, reducing obesity, and regulating the mind will help to prevent the development of osteoarthritis of the knee.