According to the latest statistics, more than 1/4 of the elderly over 55 years of age in China suffer from knee pain all year round, the majority of which is due to osteoarthritis of the knee joint. Myth #1: It is normal to have some knee pain as you get older. Osteoarthritis of the knee is also known as degenerative arthritis or age-related arthritis because it often occurs in the elderly. In fact, in addition to age being a major factor in the formation of knee osteoarthritis, it is also related to joint injury, weight, inflammatory damage, genetics, etc. It is not simply the traditional belief that aging or degeneration is the cause. Therefore, the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis in the elderly are not normal and should be seen by a doctor in a timely manner. Myth 2: People with knee osteoarthritis should exercise hard. Since the disease is caused by wear and tear of the articular cartilage, blindly squeezing and rubbing the so-called hard exercise will aggravate the wear and tear of the cartilage lesion and even make it peel off. The surface of the knee joint in normal people has about 3-5 mm thick white transparent cartilage, which is elastic, although the cartilage will gradually wear thin with age, but if excessive activity will accelerate the wear and tear of the cartilage. Therefore, exercise should pay attention to the protection of articular cartilage, should avoid or limit the following exercises, such as squatting with weight, rapid walking up and down stairs, high-intensity confrontation sports, climbing, weight lifting, sprinting and other strong abrasive sports. Myth 3: It is better not to move because of knee pain. Patients are often afraid to move because of knee pain, which over time will lead to stiffness of the knee joint, disuse atrophy of the muscles around the knee joint, which in turn will lead to instability of the knee joint, and will easily occur or aggravate the damage to the articular cartilage. Therefore, even if the knee joint pain should be properly exercised, the right way is to walk, swim, etc., practice leg lifting exercise quadriceps, can improve the disuse atrophy of the muscles around the knee joint; in the case of non-weight-bearing (such as sitting), gently move the knee joint, can improve the mobility of the knee joint, the key is to exercise the right way. Myth 4: Knee pain is caused by bone spurs. Bone spurs are not the cause of knee pain. They are the result of the body’s compensatory growth when the edges of the knee cartilage lack stability due to cartilage wear. In a sense, a certain degree of bone growth can increase the joint contact surface and improve the stability of the joint, so bone spurs have their positive side and there is no need to blindly remove them at all. In fact, one of the main causes of knee pain is the involvement of the sural nerve under the cartilage due to wear and tear of the cartilage. Protecting the articular cartilage is the main goal of pain relief. Myth #5: Oral medication can cure knee osteoarthritis Because knee osteoarthritis is caused by structural changes in the cartilage of the joints, it is also closely related to aging and degeneration of the human body, and the joints are like bearings in a machine that wears out over time. At this time, there are no drugs that can regenerate the cartilage, so there are no drugs that can turn a degenerated joint into a young joint, which means there is no ‘rejuvenation’ drug. Drugs are only one of the ways to reduce symptoms and slow down degeneration. The treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee varies with the course of the disease. Early appropriate joint care and oral medication can slow down the development of the disease, but in the middle of the disease, if there is significant pain, frequent locking, or free bodies, arthroscopic minimally invasive surgery should be performed to clean up the joint. This method is not a complete cure, but it is like cleaning a rusty bearing, cleaning out the debris and free bodies in the joint through two small holes, repairing the broken meniscus, and flattening the worn cartilage surface. To achieve the purpose of delaying the development of lesions and improving symptoms. Myth 7: Artificial joints are not as good as your own joints, so it is better to wait until you can’t walk before replacing them. If the pathological process of knee osteoarthritis reaches an advanced stage, with deformation of the joint and difficulty in movement, artificial joint replacement is needed. You should not wait indefinitely and delay a good opportunity for treatment. This is because after a long period of bed rest, the autologous cardiopulmonary function decreases significantly and the body’s tolerance decreases, which will not only greatly increase the difficulty of surgery, but will also significantly affect postoperative rehabilitation. In addition, prolonged knee pain, weakness or deformity affects the walking gait of the lower extremities, which will gradually lead to strain on the lumbar spine and other joints of the lower extremities. Awareness of osteoarthritis of the knee will determine your attitude towards it, and the opportunity to grasp the treatment is in your hands!