KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS - THE BASICS

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a degenerative disease caused by the progressive wear and tear of the joint cartilage. It often occurs in older age.

Osteoarthritis is broadly classified into two categories. In the first category, the degeneration of the cartilage occurs without a known cause and is called primary osteoarthritis.

In the second case, osteoarthritis is due to a specific cause which has led to wear and degeneration of the knee (such as rheumatoid arthritis, hematological diseases, disorders of blood supply to the joint, previous fractures in the joint, etc.). When this occurs, we refer to knee arthritis as secondary osteoarthritis.

Knee osteoarthritis inevitably leads to some form of mobility impairment. The severity of symptoms and the speed at which they progress vary from person to person. As a general rule, however, symptoms worsen, become more frequent, and affect movement. The most common symptoms are knee pain that increases with activity, stiffness, swelling of the joint, pain during prolonged standing, and in more severe cases, pain at rest. As the disease progresses, pain becomes the predominant symptom and is the one that continually worsens.

The treatment of osteoarthritis begins conservatively with medication, physical therapy, exercises, and modification of the patient's habits, always aimed at relieving pain, improving the individual's mobility, and ultimately, but primarily, slowing down the degeneration of the joint as much as possible. It is also evident that we must address any secondary causes of osteoarthritis that lead to the worsening of the clinical and radiological state of cartilage degeneration.

Particular attention is given to the importance of the patient's body weight in the progression of osteoarthritis. It has been confirmed that the forces exerted on a normal knee during simple walking are double to triple the body weight with each step. If we also consider the existing wear of the cartilage and the age (and therefore the...

decreasing healing capacity), and the fact that movement in life is not limited to simple walking, we understand that increased body weight is, in itself, an independent and significant factor accelerating the degeneration of the knee.

As degeneration progresses, and particularly as symptoms worsen, the orthopedic intervention becomes more invasive. In these cases, we proceed with intra-articular injections of agents that reduce inflammation (e.g., cortisone), induce healing processes (e.g., PRP), or provide components of normal cartilage to the area of damage (e.g., hyaluronic acid).

When conservative treatment fails,or when the initial clinical or/and x ray imagingpresents a severe condition that does not respond to conservative treatment, total knee replacement is recommended for the patient. This is one of the most significant surgeries in orthopedic practice, but it offers a definitive solution to this chronic situation.

In our clinic, we have the capability to provide the specialized treatment that the patient needs, depending on the stage of the disease, ranging from simple maintenance of good functionality to surgical intervention.