What is the Conservative Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis?

What is the conservative treatment for knee osteoarthritis?

Knee osteoarthritis is progressive and you should start treatment as soon as you get the diagnosis. In many cases, the first thing to do is "conservative treatment" rather than surgery. Conservative treatment refers to "non-surgical treatment." If you are diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis, you will usually receive conservative treatment first. Because this disease is progressive, conservative treatment is positioned as a treatment to prevent its continued development. When the condition worsens, surgery will be the only way.

An important indicator when considering the treatment of knee osteoarthritis is grade, which represents the degree of disease progression. Level 1 is preliminary, level 2 is early stage, level 3 is advanced, and level 4 is final. Although this depends on the condition of the individual's knee, surgery of grade 3 or higher is usually recommended.

A person diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis should have some symptoms, including pain. Usually, the cause of pain is inflammation caused by worn cartilage stimulating the synovium (the membrane that covers the knee joint). The inflammation is usually treated directly by prescribing anti-inflammatory analgesics or injections. If you continue to take it for a while and it doesn't work, you may be prescribed a slightly stronger pain reliever. Initially, hyaluronic acid was a component contained in synovial fluid. It filled the joints and played a role in helping the knee joint to move smoothly. However, hyaluronic acid is reduced in knee osteoarthritis. Gradually, the knees became difficult to move, and the bones collided with each other, causing pain and rattling. In order to eliminate this situation, doctors need to inject hyaluronic acid directly into the knee joint of the patient. It is widely used in orthopedics. In most cases, the injection is given once a week for about a month, and then every 2 to 4 weeks.

In addition to medication, exercise therapy is also very important. The purpose of exercise therapy is to exercise the muscles around the knee, but the most important thing is the quadriceps on the front of the thigh. When the knee is injured, most patients think that they should keep quiet, but if they do not exercise for a long time, the muscles will become weak, and the load on the knee will increase even if you rest. So the purpose of exercise therapy is not to create such a vicious circle, but to create a virtuous circle. Patients should undergo rehabilitation training under the guidance of a physical therapist or trainer. Strength training around the knee is also effective for severe knee osteoarthritis. A research report from a university in Iran showed that patients with knee joint inflammation were divided into exercise therapy group and non-exercise therapy group for observation. The results showed that in the exercise therapy group, the pain of patients was significantly improved.

In addition, wearing knee brace can also obtain better results than using medication alone. There are many types of knee brace, which can be selected according to the progress and symptoms of knee osteoarthritis and your own situation. Xiamen Ortosport International Trade Co., Ltd. have a variety of knee braces for you to choose from. There are soft and easy-to-wear knee braces, the main purpose is to delay the pain response and warm the affected area. Like these products below

There are also knee braces of the brace type, which can stabilize the knee joint and provide support. Like the following products

If the pain does not improve or worsens after conservative treatment for 6 months or more, surgery is usually considered.