Patients with early-stage osteophytes in the knee often have no obvious discomfort and no specific treatment is required for asymptomatic osteophytes, which can be observed clinically; when patients develop obvious symptoms of knee osteoarthritis they are often treated conservatively, with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics to reduce symptoms. In the chronic phase, patients should actively exercise the muscles around the knee joint to enhance its stability. In more severe cases where conservative treatment has failed, surgical treatment such as arthroscopic debridement, medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction and osteotomy may be considered. In severe cases, patellofemoral arthroplasty, unicondylar replacement or total knee replacement may be considered.