Arthritis (knee, hip joint, spine, shoulder, ankle, wrist, etc.)
Arthritis is one of the most popular diseases, as its outbreak and disease rate takes up no.1 in rank. Especially, due to the increase of elderly population, about 10~15% of the entire population are suffering from degenerative arthritis. Also, since about 80% of population at the age of 55 or above and all elders at the age of 75 or above have degenerative arthritis, it can be called as a ‘national disease.’
Arthritis refers to all diseases that occur due to disorders in joints, and among them, degenerative arthritis is a disease that creates infection and pain because of the damage in bones and cartilage that compose joints, caused by the gradual damage of joint cartilage or degenerative changes due to aging. Joint cartilage wears out and the synovial fluid from cartilage dries, and from then the bones touch each other, making one not able to move freely and suffer from severe pain. The most common causes are aging, obesity, strenuous exercise that is too heavy on joints, injured joints from one’s youth, wrong life habits such as squatting, and more.
Especially, it is known that arthritis is about 3 times more common to middle-aged women than men, and arthritis occurs more frequently for women because of 1) sedentary posture in Korea and 2) working in a squatting posture.
Symptoms of Arthritis by Stage
| Stage | Symptoms |
|---|---|
| Early Arthritis | 1) You have pain on a cold or very humid day. 2) You feel easily tired while exercising. 3) Joint disorder, edema, and pressure keep repeating. |
| Middle Arthritis | 1) The pain in joint gets extremely severe. 2) It is difficult to climb up and down the stairs. 3) You cannot strengthen your joints. 4) You feel that your joints don’t fit. |
| Late Arthritis | 1) The knees get severely twisted. 2) The joints are severely damaged according to radiation diagnosis. 3) The pain is not alleviated despite going through general treatment methods. |
Treatment of Arthritis by Stage
There is still no way to completely prevent or stop degenerative changes that occur as time goes by. However, an obvious fact is that arthritis is not an incurable or obstinate disease anymore. Arthritis needs an accurate diagnosis and phased customized treatment based on the symptoms of patients, clinical opinions of medical specialists, and MRI scan.
| Stage | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Early Arthritis | Aerobic exercise, Muscle exercise, Weight management, Medication (injection), Physical therapy |
| Middle Arthritis | Arthroendoscopy, Angular deformity correction, Osteochondral autograph transplantation |
| Late Arthritis | Artificial joint surgery |
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