Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time.

Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint, the disorder most commonly affects joints in your hands, knees, hips and spine.

According to experts, osteoarthritis is the result of a mechanical and biological process that imbalances the synthesis and destruction of cartilage and bone below cartilage. This imbalance can be triggered by many factors: genetics, development, metabolism and trauma, the ultimate manifestation of osteoarthritis is morphological, biochemical, ulcerative, and cartilage loss. joints, fibrosis of bones under cartilage, creating spines and cavities under cartilage. When moving, bones are rubbed, even eroded each other, making the patient feel extremely painful.

We just mentioned a very typical symptom of osteoarthritis of the knee, which is pain. However, many people confuse this pain symptom with other joint problems, such as arthritis. So what features can help us recognize and accurately diagnose knee osteoarthritis?

Dr. Pham Chi Lang, Head of Department of Trauma and Orthopedics, City International Hospital, said: We have degenerative knee joint in an early stage, we still walk almost normally without feeling pain. However, we will feel knee pain in some positions or some activities such as: when we squat up, we will see a pain in the knee, we have to stand for a while to walk. OK. Either we get up the stairs and find it difficult. If we do not cure anything, the disease continues to progress to the later stage, then we call it the middle stage. Then we will feel pain in the knee, we also feel pain on flat ground. If the disease continues to progress to a late stage, we classify osteoarthritis in a severe stage, and this stage becomes difficult to walk. We can only walk a few tens - hundred meters back, limping, and need regular painkillers. Regarding the cause of the disease, the disease often occurs in the elderly.

The location and severity of osteoarthritis depends on many causes. Degenerative knee disease is divided into 3 stages:

• Early stage: This is when the knee joint begins to kick in.
• Middle stage: When taking X-rays at this stage, scans can show bone development, cartilage is normal and the space between bones is normal, so no friction occurs.
• Severe stage: In this stage, the patient will experience spasticity, pain and unable to walk.

Degenerative knee disease, when not treated in time, can cause decreased motor function. Such as stiffness, difficulty walking, many people even have to use crutches for support. In addition, the patient often suffers from excruciating pain, leading to difficulty walking. In addition, osteoarthritis of the knee also causes deformity of the joint, the lower limb may be crooked or bent. Some cases also suffered muscle atrophy, disabled in a wheelchair.

That is why doctors recommend that, when there are abnormal manifestations in the knee joint, it is necessary to see a specialist early for prompt treatment.

What is the treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee?

When the disease is in an early stage, it is only necessary to change lifestyle that is good for bone and joint health, take medicine in combination with physical therapy as directed by your doctor. In the severe stage, doctors will prescribe knee replacement surgery with the aim of reducing pain, improving motor function and restoring other functions of the joint.

According to Dr Pham Chi Lang, if we have a mild stage, it can be treated with oral medicine and physical therapy, combined with weight loss.

If in the average stage, then it is necessary to do stronger measures such as injecting drugs to increase the smoothness in the joints, helping the joint cartilage to be regenerated, combined with physical therapy.

If the stage is more severe, it is necessary to endoscopy the knee, combined with intra-joint injection. And finally, if we have a severe osteoarthritis at that time, it will be very painful then there is only one method left, which is artificial knee replacement. It is surgery to remove the damaged joint cartilage and replace it with an artificial joint made of a special alloy that can be placed in the joint for a long time.

It is known that, in recent years, the Department of Trauma and Orthopedics City International Hospital has received successful treatment and surgery for many cases of patients with severe stage osteoarthritis. However, according to Dr. Pham Chi Lang, not all cases of joint pain require joint replacement surgery. The doctor must exploit the medical history, consider the subclinical results such as X-rays, tests ... from there he will evaluate whether knee replacement surgery is the best method to help relieve pain. and improve the patient's motor ability or not.

Hopefully, this article helps us better understand osteoarthritis of the knee, and has a great place to go if you have degenerative knee disease.

 Especially, the hospital has a promotion program for knee and hip replacement surgery services with only 150 million VND (saving 15 million compared to before), applied until September 30, 2020.

Take charge of your health and schedule an appointment with City International Hospital today. We offer a wide variety of services for exceptional treatment and care for you and your family. Contact us today at  (028) 6280 3333 or 0906 48 31 34 to schedule an appointment.

City International Hospital

• Address: No. 3, 17A Street, Binh Tri Dong B Ward, Binh Tan Dist. (Next to AEON Mall Binh Tan). Ho Chi Minh City.
• Operator: (+8428) 6280 3333, ext. 0
• 24/7 Emergency: (+8428) 6290 1155
• Website: https://cih.com.vn/en/
• Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/BenhVienQuocTeCity/
• Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

General disclaimer

 Always consult your doctor regarding any concern about your health. Your doctor will be in the best position to give the appropriate medical advice. For suspected undesirable drug reaction and seek medical attention immediately.