Beware of knee osteoarthritis!

Do you often feel stiffness, discomfort or even pain in your waist and legs? Doctors remind you: Be careful about knee osteoarthritis!

What to do if you have back and leg pain? Doctors remind you: Be careful of knee osteoarthritis!

Doctors say

Knee osteoarthritis is a common degenerative disease of the knee joint. It often occurs in middle-aged and elderly people and is characterized by chronic cartilage wear. The early symptoms are mild, manifested as joint discomfort and stiffness. Vigorous activities can easily cause acute inflammation and even limited joint movement.

Osteoarthritis is mostly related to age. As we age, joint aging gradually worsens. The synovium in the joint and the cartilage on the surface of the joint are the "elastic coating" of the bearing contact surface. Normal synovium and cartilage can absorb shock, bear load, and increase joint flexibility. However, once the synovium and cartilage are lost, it will lead to serious consequences such as knee swelling, pain, bone hyperplasia, and even joint deformation.

Is joint pain really caused by freezing?

Because the subcutaneous tissue around joints is relatively thin, joints are often more sensitive to temperature changes. In addition, there are abundant nerves around joints, and the relatively low temperature of the joints directly stimulates the sensory nerve endings around the joints, causing pain over time.

Cold joints can also cause local capillary contraction, affecting blood circulation around the joints, resulting in insufficient local blood and oxygen supply and pain. In addition, as osteoarthritis wears out, a large amount of inflammatory cytokines are released while secreting joint effusion. These inflammatory cytokines can directly stimulate or accelerate the progression of arthritis through immune inflammatory reactions, while causing increased pain. Cold weather can also directly stimulate the synovium, reducing the amount of synovial fluid it secretes, which increases joint friction. Whenever you suddenly stand up or walk from a resting state, the dryness or soreness of the knee joint becomes more obvious.

Osteoporosis is also a problem that cannot be ignored. Since osteoarthritis is mostly a disease of the elderly, and osteoporosis is also the most common among the elderly, osteoporotic bone pain will aggravate the symptoms of osteoarthritis to a certain extent.

It can be seen that joint pain caused by cold weather is often caused by multiple factors. If you want to avoid leg pain, keeping warm is the most important thing.

The joints are most susceptible to cold, so it is important to maintain a suitable temperature in the joints, and try to avoid getting the joints cold, damp, or blown by cold wind. We can use warming measures on the joints, such as wearing long pants, socks, knee pads and elbow pads to protect the joints. For patients who have already experienced joint pain, hot compresses and physical therapy also have a significant effect on improving blood supply around the joints and promoting the disappearance of inflammatory cytokines. Exercise after the weather gets cold also needs special attention. For people with joint pain, it is recommended to avoid joint weight-bearing exercises.

Doctor's reminder

[Doctor's reminder] For obese people, a healthy diet combined with moderate exercise to return weight to normal is the key to relieving joint pain. In addition, climbing stairs less and carrying less heavy objects are also important means to reduce the burden on joints. At the same time, some actions that are not good for joints should be avoided as much as possible, such as squatting to pick vegetables, washing clothes, mopping the floor, and crossing your legs, which will cause muscle strain around the joints and aggravate inflammation. For elderly people with osteoporosis, not only do they need to ensure a balanced intake of nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, protein, magnesium, and zinc, but they should also choose a personalized osteoporosis treatment plan to strengthen their bones. If symptoms such as joint pain, swelling, and difficulty in joint movement occur and gradually worsen, you should still seek medical attention in time and treat the cause.