At the end of each busy clinic session I review the day’s experience. The most common question from patients is: How do I get rid of that bone spur? What medicine will get rid of the spur and so on. It seems like the bone spur is the cause of all the knee pain. In fact, the symptoms of bone spurs are not the same for different joints. In the shoulder joint, subacromial spurs often lead to narrowing of the subacromial space, “subacromial impingement”, and intractable pain due to rotator cuff wear; in the hip joint, acetabular spurs can cause “hip compression” or “hip impingement”, causing hip impingement. The acetabular spur in the hip joint can cause “hip compression” or “hip impingement”, which causes chronic pain and limited movement of the hip joint. However, in the knee joint, the spur is often not the source of pain. In severe osteoarthritis of the knee, X-rays can reveal a large number of bone spurs around the edge of the joint, and because of their conspicuous location, patients often feel that they are the source of the pain, the root of the problem. Every time they want to take some kind of “miracle drug” to get rid of those spurs. This has given rise to a variety of bone spur patches, bone spur spirits and other drugs. In fact, the root cause of degenerative pain in the knee joint is the wear and tear of the cartilage on the joint surface and the imbalance of the force lines. Bone spurs, on the other hand, are not the source of pain, but may be an adaptive response by the body to avoid pain and stabilize the joint. The development of bone spurs around a joint makes the joint more stable and less mobile. In a sense, inactivity makes the joint less painful. Osteoarthritis is also characterized by pain in the joints when walking and less pain, or even no pain at all, when resting and not walking. Therefore, the fundamental treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee is not the removal of bone spurs, but the restoration of the flatness of the cartilage surface of the joint and the restoration of the smooth movement of the joint. Unfortunately, the ability of articular cartilage to repair and regenerate is weak, especially in the elderly, and cartilage regeneration is almost impossible, and there are no medications available to help repair the degenerated and worn out articular cartilage surfaces. Although various amino acid glucose or chondroitin sulfate are advertised to repair cartilage, there is no uniformly conclusive evidence in the professional literature to support that such drugs can help restore worn-out degenerative joint cartilage and reduce joint pain in the elderly. As a result, the American Orthopaedic Association’s 2014 updated guidelines for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee no longer recommend these drugs for the treatment of osteoarthritic pain in the knee. The high cost of these medications can also add significantly to the financial burden of our underdeveloped and relatively under-resourced country. So, is there no cure for osteoarthritis? Of course not. Current treatment focuses on the maintenance of joint function and pain control, with the patient’s quality of life as the first priority. In mild cases, topical creams and ointments from regular manufacturers can be applied. For more severe cases, oral anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs can be added, but here it should be noted that they are anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, not “anti-inflammatory drugs (antibacterials)” as they are commonly known. There are many different types of these medications, and you can go to a professional joint surgeon for guidance in choosing the right medication for you. Also, weight loss, regular warmth and muscle strength training for overweight people, as well as a reduction in climbing and stair climbing, are key measures. In severe osteoarthritis, the knee joint, for example, can be painful, and even more painful with every step. However, walking is too important for us. The familiar words of clothing, food, housing and transportation are an important component of our lives. How can we talk about “walking” when every step we take hurts? How else can we live? Although the majority of people with osteoarthritis are elderly, the brevity of life makes it necessary to cherish every day of our lives. The happiness of our later years is a reward for our life’s work. A pain-free old age is the basic of happiness. Even if the joint has become deformed, with spurs and spines, it is often curable in the face of modern medicine. At present, not only is total joint surface replacement surgery available for the knee, but also targeted partial joint replacement options such as unicondylar joint replacement (or commonly known as hemi-knee replacement), patellofemoral joint replacement, etc. Despite the inevitable risks of surgery, the vast majority of seniors with severe osteoarthritis who choose joint replacement achieve a pain-free old age. In conclusion, it is important to consult with a specialist joint surgeon for more specialized guidance on painful joints in order to achieve a pain-free old age.