Many middle-aged and elderly people experience knee pain, especially when going up and down the stairs, buying groceries, doing housework, taking walks, going to the bathroom, etc. It is very inconvenient, and women are afraid to wear high heels. The vast majority of this is due to osteoarthritis. What is osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis, also known as osteoarthrosis, is actually one of the manifestations of arthritis, and is more common in middle-aged and elderly people, especially women. Obesity, heavy physical activity, excessive exercise, inappropriate exercise, advanced age, and genetic factors are all risk factors for the onset of the disease. Multiple joints throughout the body can be involved, mainly the knee, hip, small finger joints, shoulder joints, and small joints of the spine. In China, osteoarthritis of the knee joint is the most common. Why does the knee hurt? There is a layer of cartilage that protects the joint at the contact surface of the two bones. Unlike bone, cartilage is difficult to regenerate once it wears out, while bone can be regenerated, even if an old man in his nineties breaks a bone, it can grow back. Without the protection of cartilage, the bones grind against the bones when walking, and the nerves are abundant in the outermost periosteum and surrounding synovial membrane, so it is very painful. In the long run, the knee joint will be deformed and become an O-leg or X-leg. The specific manifestations of knee pain are: 1. Some people experience constant dull pain in the knee joint, some have swollen joints, and some experience sudden, severe pain when moving around, resulting in “weak legs”. 2, joint pain is usually aggravated after more activities, and reduced by rest. 3. The joint pain is episodic at first, usually after cold, overexertion or minor sprains. Some people only have one attack in the first year or two, but as the disease progresses, the attacks become more frequent and finally become persistent pain. 4. If a joint remains stationary in a certain position for a long period of time, such as after sitting for several hours, the joint feels stiff when you start to move, and the joint feels like it is frozen or stuck, and is accompanied by pain, and the “sticky feeling” disappears after a short period of movement. 5. Most people also have difficulty squatting. Over the years, joint deformation may occur, most often in the form of “O-leg”. How to treat osteoarthritis? 1. Early conservative treatment Early osteoarthritis should be treated conservatively to effectively reduce symptoms and slow down the progression of the disease. First, pay attention to the protection of joint cartilage, try to avoid strenuous, excessive and weight-bearing activities, such as repeated squatting, climbing stairs, walking long distances, lifting heavy objects, climbing mountains, etc. Obese people should control their weight. At the same time, strengthen the muscle strength around the joint: for example, lying flat on the bed to practice leg lifts, straighten the leg, hook the foot, raise one leg to about 45 ° to 60 ° (feet from the bed about 40 ~ 50 cm), adhere to 10 ~ 15 seconds and then put down, alternating between the two legs, each time to do 3 ~ 4, every morning and evening several times a day, as a way to strengthen the quadriceps muscle strength. If the joint pain is obvious, you can take oral anti-inflammatory and analgesic medication, local topical medication, or joint cavity medication injection. If the joint swelling is significant, high frequency physical therapy can be performed. However, if the osteoarthritis is advanced and the cartilage is severely worn, conservative treatment is no longer effective. Surgery is the only way to relieve the pain and suffering of the disease. 2. Knee replacement This surgery is called knee arthroplasty, which is commonly known as knee replacement. In simple terms, it is a thin layer of cartilage that is broken and replaced by an artificial one, with a wear-resistant spacer made of special plastic in between. For example, if you have a table and the table top becomes pockmarked, instead of throwing away the entire table and replacing it with a new one, we remove the broken table top and replace it with a new one, leaving the rest of the table intact. In some patients with more unusual conditions, where the cartilage is more worn on just one side of the joint, we can choose unicondylar surface plication to obtain the same result with less trauma. What are some common questions about knee arthroplasty? 1. How long do I need to stay in the hospital and can I move around like a normal person after the surgery? Generally speaking, you need to stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 days after knee arthroplasty, and you can walk on the floor and go to the bathroom two or three days after the surgery. After two or three months of rehabilitation, you can walk up and down the stairs, do housework, take a walk, ride a bike, swim, dance, and travel without any problems, and you can fully meet the activity requirements of middle-aged and elderly people. 2. Is knee arthroplasty a risky procedure? As long as the surgical technique is excellent, there is no post-operative infection and scientific and effective rehabilitation is carried out, the surgical results are very good. At the same time, the risk of surgery has a lot to do with the patient’s own physical condition. High blood pressure, diabetes, and coronary heart disease can tolerate surgery if they are well controlled. 3.How long can artificial joints be used? As long as it is not infected and not broken, it can last for more than 15-20 years, and according to the literature, some have lasted for more than 40 years. However, for elderly people with severe osteoarthritis, who usually suffer from pain, the sooner they have the surgery, the sooner they can enjoy the benefits.