Practical post! "From prevention to treatment" knee protection experts explain knee osteoarthritis in detail

Arthritis is one of the most common chronic joint diseases and the world's leading disabling disease. In my country, patients with knee osteoarthritis account for more than 10% of the total population, more than 100 million, and the incidence rate increases with age. However, the occurrence and development of knee osteoarthritis is staged, and the public should focus on prevention and seek different treatment options based on the cause of knee pain.

To prevent knee osteoarthritis, you should pay attention to these two points

In terms of preventing knee osteoarthritis, what the general public can do is to reduce the wear and tear caused by excessive use of the knee joint . Everyone can consciously avoid long walks, mountain climbing, squatting and going up and down stairs, and avoid long-term, high-intensity and strenuous exercise. However, on the other hand, proper exercise can promote joint health and relieve the symptoms of arthritis.

Enhance leg muscle strength to achieve knee protection purpose

Another important aspect is to exercise the leg muscle strength. If the muscle strength is insufficient, it will cause excessive stress on the knee joint during exercise. Therefore, we must consciously exercise the quadriceps muscle strength and calf triceps muscle strength.

● To train the quadriceps, you can do straight leg raises , either in supine or sitting positions. The key is to do it slowly . After raising your legs, hold for about 10 seconds and then slowly lower them. Repeat this process 20-30 times depending on your physical strength. Friends with stronger muscle strength can do static squats against the wall. The knee flexion should not exceed 90 degrees. Since it is in a static state, the damage to the knee joint can be ignored.

● Heel raise training is a good way to exercise the calf triceps . This method is simple and practical. If you practice it regularly, it will have a good effect. When the muscles are strengthened, the protection of the joints is enhanced, and you can exercise safely.

Special tips from doctors:

Wear knee pads when exercising. Professional knee pads can temporarily increase leg muscle strength, so wearing knee pads can protect the knee joints when doing more intense or high-intensity exercise. However, do not wear knee pads regularly, as this can easily cause the muscles around the knee joints to stop working and cause muscle atrophy. Therefore, the correct way to wear knee pads is to wear professional knee pads when exercising, take them off when not exercising, and actively exercise leg muscle strength.

Different patients with knee arthritis have different treatment plans

Surgical treatment of the knee joint is mainly aimed at: uneven force on the knee joint caused by abnormal force line and pain caused by increased wear.

● Patients with "O"-shaped legs or "X"-shaped legs have unbalanced forces on the inner and outer sides of the knee joint. Taking "O"-shaped legs as an example, pain on the inner side of the knee joint is likely to occur under the same intensity of exercise. This pain caused by pressure will disappear after the pressure is relieved, and it manifests as pain during exercise and relief during rest. After correcting the lower limb deformity, the forces on the inner and outer sides of the knee joint reach a new balance, relieving the abnormal stress on the inner side of the knee joint and effectively relieving the pain. On the contrary, if the pain exists both during exercise and rest, the pain area is more diffuse, or the entire knee joint is painful and uncomfortable, then this pain is related to inflammation of the knee joint and has little to do with pressure. Such patients will be better treated with anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs.

● Patients with advanced arthritis have severe knee wear, cartilage disappearance, meniscus loss of function, and joint space disappearance, so joint replacement is required. However, if the wear is limited to one part of the knee joint (such as the inner side), partial joint replacement, that is, unicompartmental knee replacement, can be performed. Taking the medial unicompartmental knee replacement as an example, this operation only replaces the worn inner compartment, protects the normal cartilage and meniscus on the outer side, and retains the cruciate ligament. Therefore, the kinematics of the knee joint is still guided by the patient's own ligaments, and the patient will feel very natural. Compared with total knee replacement, unicompartmental knee replacement is less traumatic and recovers faster. It is especially suitable for patients whose knee wear only involves a single compartment. For knee joints where most of the structures of the knee joint have been worn and have lost normal kinematics, total knee replacement is a more appropriate treatment.

In short, the occurrence and development of knee osteoarthritis is a gradual process. Everyone should consciously protect the knee joint in daily life, avoid overwork of the knee joint, and strengthen the leg muscle strength training. For patients with abnormal force line, the abnormal stress of the knee joint can be relieved by correcting the force line of the lower limbs. For patients in the late stage with severe knee wear, partial knee replacement can also be performed on the worn part to retain the movement function of the knee joint.

Source: Beijing Science and Technology News