Osteoarthritis is also known as age-related arthritis, or osteophytes, which is mainly caused by premature aging of joints, especially the aging of articular cartilage, so can you tell us specifically what factors are involved in its development? Osteoarthritis is a chronic, non-infectious joint inflammation characterized by degeneration, ulceration and loss of articular cartilage and osteophytes at the joint edges. Osteoarthritis is generally divided into two types: primary and secondary. The former mainly refers to osteoarthritis whose etiology is not very clear and is related to factors such as joint aging, wear and tear, and genetics, and is mostly seen in the elderly; the latter is due to trauma, infection, development, and metabolism, and is mostly seen in young adults. Age, gender, obesity, joint overuse and injury are important factors in the occurrence of osteoarthritis. 1) Age: The incidence increases with age, especially over 60 years old. 2) Gender: In people aged 45 to 55 years old, the frequency of incidence is equal for men and women, while after 55 years old, there are obviously more female patients, and on the whole, women are twice as likely to suffer from osteoarthritis as men. 3) Obesity: In addition to the mechanical factors caused by obesity, the incidence of osteoarthritis is also higher than that of men. 3) Obesity: In addition to the mechanical factors caused by obesity, it is also related to posture, gait, change in exercise habits and systemic metabolic factors caused by obesity. Some data show that the incidence of knee osteoarthritis in obese women is four times that of normal weight women, and if the weight reduction of 5 kg in 10 years can reduce the incidence of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis by 50%; 4) race: Westerners have a high incidence of hip osteoarthritis, while Easterners have a high incidence of knee osteoarthritis; 5) joint overuse and injury: some special occupational personnel are susceptible to Osteoarthritis, such as miners, heavy laborers, professional athletes, dancers, etc., mainly due to long-term wear and tear of joint cartilage by high-intensity stress or injury; in addition to wearing high-heeled shoes with sharp or wide heels, nutritional disorders of joint cartilage, metabolic abnormalities, neurological abnormalities and changes in the biomechanical environment of the joints can trigger osteoarthritis. What are the diagnostic methods for osteoarthritis? The diagnosis of osteoarthritis mainly relies on clinical manifestations and X-ray examination, including: 1. Pain. In the early stage, the pain may be manifested as pain during activity, obvious when walking for a long time, physical labor, going up and down stairs, squatting and standing up, and the pain can be reduced after rest. But it is impossible to rest all the time, so it appears that the pain is endured to continue the activity, while the condition progresses and worsens unknowingly. When the condition progresses to a certain level, it may appear to be painful when you move to the ground, and even when you rest. This seriously limits the normal life and labor of the patient and affects the quality of life of the patient. 2. Restriction of knee joint activities. In the early stage, due to knee pain, patients are afraid to move or are reluctant to move, and the knee joint is in a relatively comfortable flexion and extension position for a long time; as the disease progresses, the soft tissues around the joint adhere and contracture, and patients can’t reach the normal range of motion even though they endure painful activities; worse still, the knee joint is fixed in a certain position for a long time, forming a stiff joint. 3. Deformity of the knee joint. In the middle and late stages of joint lesions, the long-term process of lesions causes structural changes in the bone, force lines, joint space and surrounding soft tissues, and common knee deformities include: knee flexion contracture, internal and external rotation deformity, and knee subluxation. At this time, the knee joint has partially or completely lost its activity function, and the joint deformity directly affects the appearance and gait. 4. Psychological disorders. It is the pain, functional limitation and joint deformity that torments patients, making them feel a strong psychological pressure, and many patients feel inferior, irritable or depressed, and even lose confidence in life. 5, X-ray: subchondral bone sclerosis, cystic degeneration, collapse, joint space narrowing, joint edge bone superfluity formation, free body, joint deformation (knee inversion or knee valgus deformity), joint subluxation, etc.