Knee degenerative arthritis diagnosis, must it be treated?
Jan 12, 2025
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Shim Jae-ang, an orthopedic surgeon at Gachon University Gil Hospital, explained that degenerative arthritis of the knee can cause functional and mental problems as the elderly population explodes, so special attention is needed as it can be a social problem.
◇1 in 3 women over 65 years of age 'Knee degenerative arthritis'
Knee degenerative arthritis is a kind of wear-resistant disease, and is common in the elderly because it is worn out when widely used. In addition to inconvenience of movement, systemic diseases such as osteoporosis, diabetes, and dementia and depression due to long-term pain are accompanied, leaving personal diseases and emerging as family and social problems.
One of the most common diseases in Korea, which has rapidly entered an aging society, is degenerative arthritis of the knee, or osteoarthritis. One in three women over 65 years of age and one in ten men occur.
According to national health statistics in 2013, the radiological prevalence of knee joints in women over 65 years of age was 65.9%. This is a high number, equivalent to two out of three women over the age of 65. It means that the prevalence of osteoarthritis in simple radiation diagnosis (X-ray) is very high.
However, according to national health statistics, the actual prevalence of osteoarthritis was reported as 33.4%. In other words, only 1 out of 3 people were treated with actual symptoms. In the end, half of people with osteoarthritis on X-rays have no or minimal symptoms, meaning they have no major problems in their daily lives. In other words, just because osteoarthritis is seen on radiation diagnosis or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), surgery is not necessary.
Professor Shim Jae-ang said, "If degenerative arthritis is suspected, it is often subjected to imaging tests such as radiation diagnosis or magnetic resonance imaging." "However, even if an imaging test diagnoses it as degenerative arthritis, not all patients actually suffer from symptoms such as pain and discomfort in behavior or need treatment."
◇Improve lifestyle habits and exercise to strengthen thighs
The treatment of knee degenerative arthritis is largely divided into non-surgical treatment and surgical treatment.
Non-surgical treatments include lifestyle improvements, exercise, and drug treatment. Korea is very familiar with squatting as a sedentary culture, but this posture is a representative posture that causes arthritis because the load on the knee is 15 times greater than the usual standing posture. Therefore, it is most important to improve lifestyle habits that use beds, tables, etc. and avoid squatting.
Thigh strengthening exercises are also very important to provide knee stability. In particular, it is recommended to do exercises such as walking, swimming, and cycling for functional improvement.
There are medication or injection treatments to reduce pain and inflammatory responses. Injection treatment is highly effective in reducing pain such as cartilage injection and collagen injection, excluding steroid injection, and improving functions such as lubricating oil.
In addition to artificial joint surgery, surgical treatment is very diverse, so it should be selected in consideration of the individual's knee osteoarthritis stage, symptoms, and activity.
Arthroscopic surgery cannot treat or slow down the progression of osteoarthritis itself, so it can only be used limitedly when there is mechanical pain such as cartilage rupture. In the case of cartilage regeneration surgery, it is effective when the patient is relatively young and the range of defects is small.
Proximal tibia osteotomy is an operation that delays the timing of artificial joint surgery by changing the shape of the leg to use the less damaged side. Cartilage regeneration surgery or arthroscopic surgery can be performed together. However, because bones are cut and corrected, it can be a burden for elderly patients.
Artificial joint surgery is the most commonly performed operation in osteoarthritis of the knee. The biggest advantage of artificial joint surgery is that you can walk and move right after surgery. There are concerns about the life of artificial joints, but recently, long-term use of more than 20 years has been reported, and artificial joint reoperation has been developed, so there is no need to worry too much. Daily life or sports activities are possible after artificial joint surgery, but you should avoid squatting or breaking artificial joints.
Professor Shim Jae-ang said, `Although good treatments have been introduced due to the recent development of medicine and science, it is best not to break it rather than to break it and to prevent it.' `We need to avoid bad postures such as squatting, which is usually loaded on the knee, and exercise to strengthen the thigh to increase the stability of the knee to reduce the incidence of osteoarthritis.'
He then advised "Osteoarthritis of the knee is an inevitable disease as part of aging, so it is important not to try not to get old, but to try to get old well."
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
