Osteoarthritis of knee of joint (KOA), also known as knee proliferative arthritis and knee osteoarthropathy, is a chronic joint disease characterized by degeneration and destruction of degenerative joint cartilage and osteophytes, mostly seen in middle-aged and elderly people, and is an age-related disease. The main lesion is the destruction of articular cartilage and the formation of osteophytes at the joint edges. It is characterized by joint pain, stiffness, restricted movement, and frictional sound when moving. Zhang Ruichun, Department of Tui-Na, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2. What are the common treatments for osteoarthritis of the knee?
Osteoarthritis of the knee is a complex disease with a long course. The treatment in modern medicine is mostly symptomatic. For early to mid-stage knee osteoarthritis patients, education, physical therapy, weight loss, physical exercise and assistive devices are the basis; for those who are ineffective, general analgesics are administered, and for those who are ineffective again, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and even narcotic analgesics are considered; for late stage knee osteoarthritis, surgical treatment is considered when medical treatment is ineffective. For patients with early to mid-stage knee osteoarthritis, early intervention with traditional Chinese medicine methods such as tui na and acupuncture is effective.
3. How is osteoarthritis classified?
(1) Primary osteoarthritis: Generally related to age and chronic injury, the joint gradually degenerates and develops the pathological features and clinical manifestations of osteoarthritis.
(2) Secondary osteoarthritis: is secondary to osteoarthritis caused on the basis of some cause. Common causes include: a congenital or acquired joint deformity: such as excessive joint movement. The causes of osteoarthritis include: a congenital or acquired joint deformity, such as excessive joint motion, abnormal joint surface shape or structure, and abnormal joint force lines. b osteoarthrosis occurring in childhood, such as slipped femoral epiphysis. c trauma or mechanical irritation, such as poorly repaired fractures within the joints, resulting in uneven joint surfaces, articular cartilage damage, habitual joint dislocation, meniscectomy, or sequelae of joint trauma in athletes. d aseptic necrosis of joint bones caused by mechanical and chemical factors, such as necrosis of the femoral head, carpal navicular, and carpal lunate. e. Metabolic diseases of articular cartilage: such as brownish yellow disease. f. Crystalline deposits in the joint: such as gout, pseudogout, etc. Pseudogout, etc. g After joint cartilage injury: such as rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilic arthritis, etc. h Endocrine disorders or obesity, etc.
4. How can tui na treat knee osteoarthritis?
The knee joint is the larger joint in the human body, bearing weight, range of motion, sports function and shock absorption more than other joints, so the incidence is higher. When the knee joint is diseased, the normal circulation of the meridians around the joint will be affected and changed to varying degrees, resulting in obstruction of the meridians and the normal operation of qi and blood; in addition, as we age, the internal organs become diseased, the liver and kidneys become deficient, the qi and blood become out of balance and cannot nourish the tendons, bones and joints, making the joints less able to resist evil. With the use of Tui-Na techniques, the circulation of Qi and blood is normalized, the joints are moistened, the muscles and tendons are restored to elasticity, the stasis is removed and the swelling is reduced, so the inflammation and edema caused by osteophytes is gradually relieved, the joint pain disappears and the function is restored.
The purpose of TCM treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee is to relieve symptoms and improve joint function; slow down the progress of the disease and promote self-repair of damaged joints. The improvement of this disease by Tui Na treatment is sufficient to fully illustrate the characteristics of Tui Na treatment to seek the root of the disease, and modern research shows that Tui Na treatment can inhibit synovial inflammatory changes, reduce the release of synovial inflammatory substances from the synovial membrane into the synovial fluid, thus blocking the inflammatory synovial fluid on the cartilage and synovial membrane, and smooth the joint.