Osteoarthritis of the knee, also known as degenerative knee disease or age-related knee osteoarthritis, is a common and frequent disease of the middle-aged and elderly, and is a natural and inevitable result of aging and decades of joint movement. The incidence of the disease gradually increases with age, and the incidence increases significantly after the age of 50. The incidence in women is about four to five times higher than that in men. Inside the knee joint, there is articular cartilage that acts as a cushion on the surface of both the thigh and calf bones. As this cartilage wears away, patients experience pain in the knee joint when walking or going up and down stairs. In addition to supporting the weight of the whole body, the knee joint is also used for standing, squatting, jumping, running, walking, etc. Therefore, the knee joint is very active and most prone to knee joint wear and tear, so osteoarthritis of the knee joint is the most common. The main factors that trigger the onset of osteoarthritis of the knee are excessive joint activity, walking too far or walking up and down hills and stairs too often, and poor joint posture, lack of knee movement due to standing or sitting for too long. The main symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee are: 1. Joint pain: initially intermittent pain, pain when walking up and down stairs or pain after prolonged exercise, and in severe cases pain with every step, even at rest. 2. Restricted joint movement: As the cartilage in the joints wears down, the flexibility of the joints decreases, and when standing and walking, you need to move the joints a few times before you can take a step. 3. Joint instability: Usually, the wear and tear of the knee cartilage occurs first in the medial cartilage, which leads to unstable knee joints and the appearance of “O” shaped legs. Most patients are afraid to move their legs and feet because the pain in the knee joint increases when they move, which leads to atrophy of the muscles in the lower extremities, so the stability of the knee joint decreases and the load on the knee joint increases when they move, and the pain only increases. If you are already experiencing some of these symptoms, this means you have osteoarthritis of the knee. When the symptoms are mild, the development of the disease can often be slowed down by the following methods: 1. Avoid strenuous, prolonged exercise, as some older people often experience increased symptoms of knee osteoarthritis after strenuous exercise or prolonged walking, which can be unrelieved for a long time. 2, reduce weight, can reduce the load on the knee joint, to avoid aggravation of the disease. 3, functional exercise, the principle of functional exercise of the knee joint is based on active non-weight-bearing activities, such as straight leg raising exercise, so as to enhance muscle strength and maintain the stability of the joint. 4. Reduce running and jumping, climbing up and down stairs and hills, and change to swimming or cycling. 5. Use rigid knee pads to protect the stability of the knee joint. In general, there are two treatment options for osteoarthritis of the knee: tibial osteotomy and knee arthroplasty. Many patients with osteoarthritis of the knee think of “knee arthroplasty”, which means replacing the knee with an artificial joint. In fact, many patients who have not completely worn out their knee cartilage and still have some cartilage left can be treated with a high tibial osteotomy instead of a “replacement”. What kind of surgery is “high tibial osteotomy”? For example, if we compare “knee arthroplasty” to “replacing false teeth”, then “high tibial osteotomy” can be compared to “tooth filling”. surgery. Generally speaking, the replacement knee has a lifespan and once it is out of service, the patient will need to have it replaced again, which not only increases the risk of surgery and infection but also increases the financial burden on the patient. However, the “high tibial osteotomy” allows patients to keep their own knee joint, which is more comfortable to walk on than a lifeless prosthetic joint because of the proprioceptors in the knee. The tibial high osteotomy is a minimally invasive method in which a small incision is made in the affected knee, the upper part of the tibia is opened at an angle, and a wedge-shaped artificial bone is implanted so that the force on the knee joint is changed and the force line passes through the part of the knee where the lateral cartilage is not worn or is less worn, thus significantly reducing or even eliminating the patient’s pain. Thus, tibial high osteotomy is a less invasive, safer, and less expensive treatment option than knee arthroplasty, and has the same results as the former. Data shows that the 20-year success rate of tibial high osteotomy is 80%, in other words, patients can walk on their own knee for 20 years after surgery! Therefore, tibial high osteotomy is an extremely effective treatment for middle-aged and elderly knee osteoarthritis with fewer side effects, especially when treated early in the disease. After surgery, the patient’s pain improves or disappears significantly, knee mobility increases, and joint function recovers well. Most importantly, the patient can continue to walk on his or her knee. The cause of osteoarthritis is not known and therefore cannot be prevented. Although there is no definitive way to prevent osteoarthritis or slow its progression, certain lifestyle changes can reduce symptoms or delay their onset.