I often encounter a group of patients in the clinic: most of them are women older than 50 years old who complain of knee pain, especially when walking and going up and down stairs. I would tell her: you are probably suffering from osteoarthritis. With the aging of our population, the number of patients with osteoarthritis is increasing. However, there is a lack of understanding of osteoarthritis among the general public, and patients are not aware of the dangers of the disease and have concerns about surgical treatment. In severe cases of osteoarthritis, the function of the joints is limited or even disabled, causing inconvenience to daily life or inability to take care of oneself, and seriously reducing the quality of life. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis is an issue that deserves attention. The occurrence of osteoarthritis is related to many factors: 1. Age: Osteoarthritis rarely occurs before the age of 40, but is generally common after the age of 50 or 60. 2, gender: women are more common, and osteoarthritis is often more severe. 3, obesity: some studies show that if you are 20% overweight, the chances of developing the disease will increase by 40%. At the same time, once osteoarthritis occurs, obesity will be further aggravated by reduced activity. 4, joint injury: joint trauma or surgery at a later stage can lead to osteoarthritis. Abnormal development of the joint itself can also lead to osteoarthritis in later stages. Strong repeated joint activities can also cause damage to the joints, so heavy workers and professional athletes are more prone to osteoarthritis. 5, genetic: some parts of osteoarthritis have a strong familial tendency, such as nodular osteoarthritis of the end of the fingers, also known as Hebden’s (heberden) nodes. Other studies have shown that the genetic predisposition of the spine, hip, knee and hand are more than 50%. 6, other joint diseases: such as wind-like off, synovial chondromatosis, secondary osteoarthritis. How to slow down the osteoarthritis condition: Although it is not yet possible to completely prevent the occurrence of osteoarthritis, but there are ways to reduce or delay its onset. First, pay attention to keeping your joints warm. Cold can aggravate inflammation, which can cause joint pain. It is therefore very important to keep your joints warm. Knee pads can be worn, even in the summer, in an air-conditioned room. Next, you should protect your joints, pay attention to your walking and working posture, avoid squatting for long periods of time, and prevent your knees from being fixed in a fixed position with too much force. Do not wear high heels when walking long distances, but wear thick-soled, flexible, soft-soled shoes to reduce the impact on the knee joint. Avoid weight-bearing exercises such as climbing stairs, walking long distances and even playing tai chi. Because the load on the joints during stair climbing is three times greater than when walking on flat ground, it can be very damaging to the joints. For early treatment of osteoarthritis, crutches can be used to reduce the load on the joints, and physical therapy can also be used to relieve pain, maintain a certain degree of joint mobility, maintain muscle tone around the affected joints, and increase joint stability. Many medications are available to treat osteoarthritis, including analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), glucosamine sulfate, hyaluronates, and superoxide dismutase.