Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

Cracking sound when walking, painful knee joint, and stiffness of the knee joint.  All these symptoms caused by knee osteoarthritis, and they are impaired our quality of life without realizing it.

Knees that are gradually deteriorating and causing people with above symptoms, especially the elderly to avoid walking or exercises.  Many cases cause other complications as a result.

Knowing that you have knee osteoarthritis and to delay the deterioration of it, therefore, is important.

The treatment will depend on the severity of the deterioration as follows:

1.         Drug treatment.  Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs which should be prescribed and follow up on the symptoms and side effects by a doctor.  The doctor will adjust the medicine according to individual's symptoms.

2.         Non-drug treatment, such as physical therapy, exercising the muscles around the knee joint to make it strong and help support the knee joints, search for other factors of knee arthritis and adjust the posture of using the knee joint appropriately or use assistive devices.  It also includes weight loss.

3.         Other treatment, such as hot compresses, acupuncture.

4.         Treatment with surgery or other procedures, such as injections into the joint to reduce pain, having knee replacement surgery.

By treatment, the doctor will plan and adjust according to the knee degeneration, age, congenital disease of each person.

Treating osteoarthritis at early stage will greatly delay the deterioration of the knee.  The sooner we know and treat it, the longer our knees will be functionable.