Treatment Methods for Knee Arthritis
Disease description:
Recently, my knees have been hurting frequently, making it difficult to go up and down stairs, and sometimes they even swell. I would like to know what I should do if I have arthritis in my knee joints? Are there any effective treatment options available?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Chen Jian
Knee arthritis is mainly manifested as knee pain, stiffness, and functional impairment. The treatment methods for knee arthritis mainly include the following aspects:
1. Pharmacological treatment: Includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen capsules and celecoxib capsules, used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation; intra-articular corticosteroid injections can provide short-term symptom relief; sodium hyaluronate injections into the joint cavity help improve joint lubrication and reduce pain.
2. Physical therapy: Includes heat therapy, cold therapy, ultrasound therapy, iontophoresis, and other treatments. These physical therapies can promote local blood circulation, reduce inflammatory responses, and alleviate pain and swelling. At the same time, they can also strengthen the muscles around the joint and improve joint stability and function.
3. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment: Includes acupuncture, massage, and herbal steam therapy. Acupuncture can unblock the meridians, regulate qi and blood flow, and relieve joint pain and stiffness; massage can relax muscles and meridians, reduce swelling and relieve pain; herbal steam therapy can warm the meridians, dispel cold, and remove dampness.
4. Rehabilitation exercises: Guiding patients to perform appropriate muscle-strengthening exercises and joint mobility training to enhance muscular support and improve joint function.
5. Arthroscopic surgery: Clearing debris or repairing cartilage damage within the joint via arthroscopy, suitable for early-stage knee arthritis.
6. Knee replacement surgery: In late-stage knee arthritis, when joint damage is severe, partial or total knee replacement surgery can be performed to restore joint function and relieve pain.
