What to do about degenerative osteoarthritis

The elderly suffer from various discomforts as they age, due to their advanced age and some due to overwork when they were young. Especially the legs and waist, lumbar disc herniation, osteoporosis and other common diseases among the elderly. Osteoarthritis is also divided into many different types. I wonder if you know about degenerative osteoarthritis. So what should you do if you suffer from degenerative osteoarthritis? Please see the introduction below.

Degenerative osteoarthritis, also known as osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis, senile arthritis, and hypertrophic arthritis, is a degenerative disease caused by many factors such as aging, obesity, strain, trauma, congenital abnormalities of joints, and joint deformities, resulting in degenerative damage to articular cartilage and reactive hyperplasia of the joint margins and subchondral bone. This disease is more common in middle-aged and elderly people, and is prone to occur in weight-bearing joints and joints with high activity (such as cervical vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, knee joints, hip joints, etc.). Excessive weight bearing or use of these joints can promote degenerative changes. The clinical manifestations include slowly developing joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, joint swelling, limited movement and joint deformity.

Clinical manifestations

The main symptom is joint pain, which is often pain at rest. The pain occurs after rest and is relieved by a short movement. However, the pain worsens after excessive activity. Another symptom is joint stiffness, which often occurs when you wake up in the morning or after the joints have been in a certain position for a long time during the day. Examination of the affected joints may reveal joint swelling and tenderness, and a friction or "clicking" sound during movement. In severe cases, muscle atrophy and joint deformities may occur.

treat

The main treatment for this disease is to reduce the weight on the joints and excessive large-scale activities to delay the progression of the disease. Obese patients should lose weight to reduce the load on their joints. When there are lesions in the lower limb joints, crutches or a cane can be used to reduce the burden on the joints. Physical therapy and appropriate exercise can maintain the range of motion of the joints. When necessary, splints, braces, and canes can be used to help control acute symptoms. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs can alleviate or control symptoms, but they should be used with caution after assessing the patient's risk factors and should not be taken for a long time. Chondroprotective agents such as glucosamine sulfate