Knee osteoarthritis is a relatively common joint disease. The occurrence of knee osteoarthritis has some relation to the aging of our body. After 40 years old, with the increase of age, it gradually deteriorates into degenerative arthritis and lasts for life. Among people over 60 years old, about 3/4 show signs of knee osteoarthritis in X-ray examinations. Moreover, knee osteoarthritis also begins to appear in younger groups, so what factors cause it? Experts pointed out that the occurrence of knee osteoarthritis is mainly due to the degeneration and wear of knee cartilage, and female patients are more common.
I. Symptoms of Knee Osteoarthritis
(1) Initial Stage: As a chronic joint disease, knee osteoarthritis initially has no obvious symptoms, or the symptoms are relatively mild. In general, patients will feel stiffness or discomfort in the knee joint, which improves after slight movement. During strenuous activities, acute inflammation may occur, but as long as they rest properly and receive timely treatment, the symptoms can be relieved. Therefore, many friends tend to ignore the warning signals issued by the knee joint at this time.
(2) Middle Stage: When knee osteoarthritis develops to the middle stage, patients will feel pain in the knee joint when getting up from a seat. Going up and down stairs or squatting and standing up will feel difficult and painful, requiring the use of tools such as handrails to shift force and reduce the load on the knee joint. Besides frequent knee joint clicking, some knees may also show redness and swelling, and some patients have fluid accumulation inside the knee joint, resulting in synovitis or free bodies inside the joint cavity, seriously affecting the activity of the knee joint.
(3) Late Stage: In the late stage of knee osteoarthritis, the patient's knee joint will experience joint deformity, such as O-shaped legs, X-shaped legs, or knee flexion contracture. Some need to walk with the help of crutches, and even some patients find it extremely difficult to take a step.
II. Treatment Methods for Knee Osteoarthritis
As the saying goes, "three parts treatment, seven parts care." Patients with knee osteoarthritis who want to recover early must not only undergo regular treatment but also daily self-care and targeted exercise. Only through multi-aspect cooperation can the condition be alleviated, and even ultimately recover.
In daily life, knee osteoarthritis patients should pay attention to:
(1) Control weight. Studies have shown that obesity is a significant risk factor for knee osteoarthritis.
(2) Pay attention to keeping warm. Cold weather can easily induce or aggravate the condition of knee osteoarthritis, so keeping the knee area warm is very important.
(3) Exercise moderately and avoid strenuous activities. It is preferable to exercise without causing knee pain. Activities like cycling, Tai Chi, swimming, etc., are good choices.
(4) Focus on nutrition and maintain a balanced diet. You can eat more foods rich in calcium, protein, and collagen, such as milk, soy products, seaweed, black fungus, etc.
Of course, for mid-to-late-stage knee osteoarthritis patients, combining treatments is also necessary. Currently, based on the severity of each person's condition, multiple treatments are adopted, including conservative pain-relief therapy, minimally invasive surgery, and joint replacement. For those with relatively mild knee osteoarthritis symptoms, conservative pain-relief therapy can alleviate their pain and restore normal life and work. However, for those with severe conditions, minimally invasive surgery or even artificial joint replacement might be required. When adopting these treatment methods, side effects and economic investment must be considered. More importantly, since knee osteoarthritis affects the cartilage, these therapies cannot restore the cartilage and thus cannot fundamentally restore the health of the patient, which is undesirable for patients.
With the limitations and side effects of chemical drugs and surgical treatments increasingly questioned, alternative medicine (Alternative Medicine) has emerged. This medical concept emphasizes the natural self-healing ability of the human body without harming health and has gained popularity in many developed countries due to its unique advantages. Advanced countries like the United States and Japan have successively established similar institutions, making alternative medicine popular worldwide.
In the field of knee joint health, there have been many breakthroughs in alternative medicine, among which pure natural shark cartilage powder stands out. International renowned medical institutions such as Nippon Medical University, Showa University, and Doshisha University, along with industry leader Baoshao Company, have jointly researched shark cartilage powder, proving that by taking 7.5g/day of pure natural shark cartilage powder, it is possible to achieve the re-splitting and growth of cartilage cells within half to one year. In other words, shark cartilage powder can realize the regeneration of human cartilage! Nearly 20 years of clinical use have also verified this point! Currently, using shark cartilage powder to treat knee osteoarthritis has become a new choice for knee osteoarthritis patients in developed countries like Europe, America, and Japan! We also hope that this new medical concept can be popularized and benefit more knee osteoarthritis patients!
Article Source: XYWY Medical Network: http://news.xywy.com/news/zh/20120217/713251.html