The most common type of osteoarthritis in the lower extremities is osteoarthritis of the knee joint, and most patients have problems with the joint. This is a model of the right knee, with the thigh bone, also called the femur, at the top and the lower leg bone at the bottom. If you turn over the patella, you can see that the smooth end of the joint is cartilage. There is also a cartilage liner between the thigh and calf bones. In short, the structure of the knee joint is very complex. The knee has a fixed pattern of motion, such as walking for long periods of time, which can cause wear and tear on the joint. In young people, the cartilage is very good and wear-resistant, while in older people the degree of wear is relatively poor, as shown in the figure long-term wear and tear is likely to produce softening, fragmentation, and detachment. In more serious cases, this can lead to swelling of the synovial membrane, pain, joint deformity, and long bone spurs.
It should be said that people walk almost every day of their lives, so is it possible to cause such wear and tear when you get older?
The earliest metamorphosis occurs on the cartilaginous surface of the thigh bone and the cartilaginous surface of the patella, for example, when walking up and down stairs. Relatively speaking, women in their 40s and 50s who are fat are more likely to experience such metamorphosis because the cartilage structure and tolerance of people are basically the same, and when people are fat, the pressure will increase and wear and tear will be more. There are also some genetic factors. In addition, there are genetic factors, such as knee injuries when you are young, such as athletes, the knee joint, waist, neck and other parts of the metamorphosis may occur earlier. It usually starts with patellofemoral and femoral problems, and these patients often have significant pain when going down stairs. Further progression of the condition is often pain in the medial portion of the knee, and the incidence is high. Further progression may result in the manifestation of O-leg, and the patient’s daily life is seriously affected, and a few patients are even only able to sit in a wheelchair. Therefore, the metamorphosis of the leg must be treated as early as possible, and whatever the treatment should be a stepwise treatment, such as the early symptoms can be strengthened after active exercise, according to statistics, the patella accounts for 60-70% of the role of joint movement, and 30% of the role is compensated by the muscles of the thigh.
Since the kneecap is prone to wear and tear, is it possible to minimize the movement of the kneecap?
This argument sounds like it makes sense in theory, but this idea is definitely wrong. Just now we only talked about this aspect of metamorphosis, but in fact there is also the problem of osteoporosis in the elderly. The more and more reasonable the exercise, the less chance of osteoporosis.
Can osteoporosis be relieved by calcium supplementation?
This statement is a misconception. Nowadays, a large number of media are promoting the role of calcium supplementation. In fact, we can get enough calcium by drinking milk and eating eggs and other reasonable diets every day, and only some elderly people need calcium supplementation. In addition to calcium supplementation there is a very important factor is the absorption problem, if only pay attention to calcium supplementation without exercise not only can not play a role in calcium supplementation, but also lead to high blood calcium, increase stones and other diseases.
Can deep-sea fish oil be helpful for arthritis patients (elderly)?
Deep-sea fish oil was first introduced from the United States, but no medicine has the effect of rejuvenation. After joint metamorphosis, we should first slow down the metamorphosis process by exercising and compensate for some joint movements after muscle strength increases. For example, early pain can be treated with non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs, which mainly eliminate the swelling of the synovial membrane around the joint.
What specific exercises are appropriate for the elderly
There are many different types of exercises that can slow down the development of osteoarthritis, such as swimming, walking, tai chi, and radio gymnastics. These exercises not only work out almost all parts of the body, but also exercise the heart and lung function of the elderly without causing joint damage. There is also a misconception that many media often promote mountain climbing for the elderly. In fact, climbing is the most inappropriate exercise for the elderly, as it increases the wear and tear on the joints.
If the knee degeneration is already serious, is there any good solution?
The concept of ladder therapy has already been mentioned, which means that different treatments are used depending on the stage of development of the lesion. In some cases, the cartilage in the knee has already been removed, so it is impossible to grow good cartilage and to stop the lesion and make it progress in a positive direction. However, there have been many experimental studies in this area, such as cartilage regeneration and chondrocyte culture, but they cannot be applied on a large scale in clinical practice yet.
At present, for patients with severe joint degeneration who have no effect after changing their living habits, functional exercises and improving their living environment, we can use some oral drugs, which are non-carrier (non-hormonal) anti-inflammatory drugs. Patients can choose to use the drugs according to their physical condition and financial ability, which can relieve joint pain to some extent. Another type of medication is glucosamine, which plays a role in nourishing cartilage. If there is still no effect, intra-articular closure injections can be performed. If there is still no effect, we can take surgical treatment, the simplest is arthroscopic treatment, as shown in the figure, this treatment can be very good to deal with the hyperplastic synovial membrane and eliminate some hyperplastic scarring. If there are still no good results, joint replacement is required.
However, many people still have many concerns about the surgery.
These concerns are understandable. In fact, arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure with only two very small openings, which allow the joint to be seen clearly through fiberoptic fibers, and the risks of arthroscopic knee surgery are minimal compared to other arthroscopic procedures because of the small openings and the use of local anesthesia in most cases. Arthroscopic surgery can greatly delay the development of joint metamorphosis and provide significant relief from symptoms.
Ms. Liu is 43 years old and my knees are very painful, with redness and swelling, and I am receiving injections.
First of all, the diagnosis should be clear. Osteoarthritis should be said to be a rare phenomenon of redness and swelling, and it should be considered whether it is other inflammatory diseases such as gouty arthritis. If it is determined to be osteoarthritis and in the acute attack period, arthroscopic surgery can be done. It is recommended to let the doctor decide the specific treatment according to the development of the specific condition.
What kind of treatment is arthroplasty
Joint replacement is an ultimate treatment that has no alternative when it reaches an advanced stage. Joint replacement is also generally called surface knee replacement, where the cartilage that has broken down is cut away and replaced with a metal layer of femoral and tibial prosthesis. Joint replacement is one of the most established techniques of all organ transplants. Depending on the design, the life expectancy varies. It is estimated that 95 percent of patients will still have an intact joint after 10 years and 75-80 percent of patients will still have an intact joint after 20 years. It is recommended that this type of joint replacement must be done in a specialist hospital because of the high technical requirements of the procedure.