Knee Osteoarthritis
Cartilage wears away and causes pain, and the causes are many.
When cartilage wears down from aging or injury, bone meets bone, causing severe inflammation and pain. Most people show degenerative changes by 40, and more than half of people over 60 have symptoms. It can also develop secondarily from congenital joint problems or other joint disease.
Common causes
01
Age-related degeneration
02
Severe impact or injury
03
Poor posture
Stages
Signs to watch for
- Aching knee that hurts whenever you use it
- A creaking feeling or sound in the knee
- Difficulty standing up, and more pain on stairs
How we diagnose
X-ray
The basic first test. Further tests may be added for a definite diagnosis.
MRI
Shows soft tissue that X-ray cannot, such as muscles, ligaments, discs, cartilage, nerves and blood vessels.
How we treat it
Treatment is chosen by stage. Symptoms usually appear from stages 2 to 4, and surgery is considered from stage 3 or 4, but most patients improve with conservative care and rehabilitation. Early on, non-surgical treatment alone can relieve symptoms well.
Non-surgical injection therapy
Prolotherapy injects directly into weakened ligaments or tendons to reinforce the fibrous tissue, or a hyaluronic acid injection, a main component of joint fluid, is placed into weakened cartilage.
Manual & exercise therapy
A specialist physical therapist uses hands-on techniques based on anatomy, such as relaxation methods and joint mobilization, to reduce pain and improve function.
Arthroscopy
Through a minimal incision under about 5 mm, an arthroscope with a tiny camera and special instruments is inserted into the joint. It shows areas that are hard to see on X-ray, allowing accurate diagnosis and treatment at the same time.
Stem cell regeneration
Stem cells can become many kinds of cells. Applied to damaged cartilage, cells that can turn into cartilage cells are used to treat it.
Joint replacement surgery
The damaged joint is removed and an artificial joint is inserted. It has the most reliable results and is the most common operation. For older patients, replacement is often better than preserving the joint, even in early disease.
When surgery is consideredJoint replacement is the last resort for end-stage arthritis. We use implants that are as light and long-lasting as possible and rarely cause allergies. The material matters: it affects lifespan, weight, range of motion and allergic reactions, so review it carefully before surgery. Except for high tibial osteotomy and joint replacement, almost all knee arthritis surgery is done arthroscopically.