”Fifty shoulders”, “mouse elbow”, “old cold leg” …… these joint diseases are becoming more and more common in life These joint diseases are becoming more and more common in life. China’s joint disease patients have reached more than 100 million; joint disease patients account for 80% of people over 50 years old. Joint diseases have become “the biggest killer of human beings in the 21st century”. Although joint diseases are not fatal, they can cause long-term pain, incapacity and even disability, and greatly reduce the quality of life. For this reason, the World Health Organization has identified it as “the number one disease with the highest disability rate”. In response to the high incidence and low cure rate of joint diseases, Guo Shuya, director of the Department of Bone and Joint Surgery at Jinan Central Hospital of Shandong University, told reporters that minimally invasive arthroscopic techniques and joint replacement technology are the “two driving forces” that “pull” our joints to move freely. We walk, sit, stand, eat, dress and so on, so flexible and at ease, all because of the coordinated movement of many bones and muscles. So, how are they connected to make the body appear to move so freely? Director Guo Shua told the reporter that there is a special device between the bones, called a joint, which connects the bones to each other and allows the person to move freely, making his or her movements coordinated and graceful. The main function of the joints is movement, and their forms of movement are diverse, and the range of motion varies greatly. The range of motion of each joint is often influenced by a person’s age, gender, fatness and exercise. The contradiction between the need for movement and the need for stability of the joint is perfectly unified by the special structure of the joint. A joint with good stability is limited in its mobility, and a joint with high mobility is affected in its stability. But once the device is “rusted” or damaged, then the ensuing pain is really “unbearable”. Young people often sprain their joints during strenuous exercise, while the elderly often unknowingly find joint discomfort, joint pain, swelling, restricted movement, stiffness is a common symptom, some patients can also appear fever and other systemic symptoms, generally referred to as arthrosis. Prevention: debug mood, less high-heeled shoes In the interview, Director Guo told reporters, the clinical see many patients, joint pain for a long time to bear not to see a doctor, or their own simple take some painkillers to treat, to unbearable when the hospital to seek medical attention. “When we do arthroscopic surgery, we find that the lesions in the joint have developed to a very serious degree, and we always lament that if we had come to see them earlier, the surgery would have been better.” Director Guo said. In China, there are more than 100 million patients with various types of joint diseases, and there is a trend toward younger patients, the most common of which are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The latest data show that the incidence of joint disease is second only to coronary heart disease, ranking high in the “top”. Joint disease not only affects the quality of life of patients, but most of them are disabled, which is a terrible consequence. Director Guo pointed out that early prevention, early detection and early treatment are the keys to stay away from joint disease. “A balanced diet, consistent exercise, adjusting mood, maintaining weight and wearing fewer high heels are all proven methods.” Director Guo said. “The earlier it is detected, the easier it is to treat.” When you feel joint pain and pressure, stiffness, swelling, weakness, ringing, bone friction sounds, and weakness in your legs when you walk, it’s important to go to the hospital for a checkup. “These are all early signs of joint disease, and timely treatment can greatly improve the quality of life. It is important for patients to get a clear diagnosis early and receive the correct and appropriate interventional treatment as soon as possible to control the progression of the disease, protect joint function and minimize the degree of disability.” The knee joint is the most complex and most prevalent joint in the body, and knee pain is perhaps one of the most difficult conditions to diagnose in all joints. Patients commonly respond to knee pain as being difficult to treat and prone to recurring episodes. According to Director Guo, this is mainly due to the patient’s lack of understanding of the causes and types of knee pain that cause it and improper treatment methods, and patients are advised to receive professional treatment at a specialized medical structure. Treatment: Minimally invasive arthroscopic technology is the best strategy A “mirror” that can be dynamically observed Early stage joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis, are treated mainly with conservative treatment, such as proper exercise therapy, physical therapy, and standardized use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs to slow down the rate of joint aging. If conservative treatment is ineffective, with occasional swelling of the joint, frequent pain, and symptoms of strangulation, which affects life to some extent, then arthroscopic treatment is the best option. If significant deformity has developed, joint replacement surgery should be undertaken. The patient, Mr. Shao, had frequent and severe pain at the right knee joint in recent years, sometimes on the inside of the knee, but sometimes on the outside of the knee, and the joint also felt like it was stuck in something. He had several tests but could not find the root of the problem. He finally sought treatment from Director Guo, who found a soy-sized cartilage free body in his right knee joint after arthroscopic examination. He performed an arthroscopic removal of the free body, cutting two small 0.5cm-long incisions in the knee joint, and was discharged from the hospital three days after the surgery. Mr. Guo said that, like Mr. Shao, cartilage fragments or bone spurs have fallen out into the joint cavity and formed free bodies, which are commonly referred to as “joint rats” and can be removed by arthroscopic surgery. Arthroscopy, as a dynamic observation, can clearly detect the location of the lesion, so as to identify and estimate the extent of the joint lesion, lavage and clean the joint cavity, which can remove the free body in the joint cavity and improve the patient’s mobility significantly. Because the images obtained by arthroscopy are magnified, they can be seen more accurately, and the incision is small, resulting in less trauma, less scarring, quicker recovery, and fewer complications, and in some cases the patient can move around after anesthesia. Arthroscopic surgery can often have an immediate effect on the diagnosis of difficult joint conditions and the treatment of joint injuries that have plagued patients for years. In the past, any serious patient undergoing surgery often required a large incision and a long hospital stay, placing a heavy burden on the patient. In recent years, with the development of arthroscopic surgery technology, it has been possible to make the surgery safer and also shorten the hospital stay, allowing even difficult surgeries to be done arthroscopically. According to Director Guo, an arthroscope is an optical instrument used to look at the internal structure of a joint, with a central rod-mirror system that collects images, surrounded by optical fibers that introduce a light source, and a protective metal sheath on the outside. When applying arthroscopy for examination and treatment, the surgeon creates a tiny incision of about 0.8 mm to 1.0 cm on the skin surface under local anesthesia, then places the arthroscope into the joint and connects a camera and display device behind it, allowing direct observation of intra-articular morphology and lesions and, through the use of special instruments, treatment of intra-articular diseases, thus avoiding many joint incision procedures . The reporter also learned that in 2002, the Department of Bone and Joint Surgery introduced advanced arthroscopic equipment from the United States to carry out minimally invasive surgery, and now the technical level of the department is advanced in China. In recent years, it has carried out minimally invasive treatment of knee meniscal injury, free body, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthrosis cleanup, cruciate ligament reconstruction, tibial plateau fracture, comprehensive correction of patellar instability, etc. Based on the comprehensive development of knee arthroscopy technology, it has carried out ankle arthroscopy technology, which has continuously broadened the application field of arthroscopy while perfecting the technology. Late stage? Joint replacement surgery is the savior If the patient’s disease has developed to a serious stage, with serious loss of joint cartilage, small joint gaps, loss of joint function, and serious impact on daily life, and if conservative treatment is ineffective, artificial joint replacement should be considered, mainly artificial knee and artificial hip joint replacement surgery. These include age-related osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, congenital hip dysplasia, and ischemic necrosis of the femoral head, etc. Joint replacement surgery can be performed. For example, artificial joint replacement is a classic procedure for the treatment of advanced osteoarthritis in patients who are generally older than 60 years of age, but not absolutely. As long as the patient meets the indications for joint replacement, such as severe intolerable pain or functional impairment and imaging changes, artificial joint replacement surgery can be considered. “After joint replacement, pain will be significantly reduced and function will be significantly improved. Early post-operative rehabilitation such as functional exercises can be performed to aid in rapid recovery.” Director Guo said. Artificial joint replacement involves removing the aging cartilage and installing a prosthesis and “rest” made of metal or ceramic on the trimmed bone surface. Director Guo said, artificial joint replacement is only the removal of the worn and damaged joint surface, like braces, implantation of artificial joints, so that the normal smooth joint surface, bone and bone can not rub against each other, so that the patient’s symptoms are relieved, joint function is improved, the quality of life is improved, 95% of patients can use more than 15 years. The reporter also learned that in terms of joint replacement, the Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, under the leadership of Director Guo, has actively and diligently researched and successfully carried out artificial hip, knee and shoulder joint replacement for the treatment of femoral neck fracture, femoral head necrosis, osteoarthritis and other diseases, which has benefited countless patients. In the future, Director Guo’s team will continue to focus on “arthroscopic diagnosis and treatment of sports trauma”, “comprehensive prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis” and “comprehensive prevention and treatment of femoral head necrosis”. “as the key development direction for a period of time in the future, applying multimodal analgesic methods and MIS minimally invasive total hip and knee joint replacement technology, eliminating the fear of elderly patients to surgery, carrying out surgical treatment of osteoarthritis, relieving patients’ pain and improving their quality of life.