How is osteoarthritis treated? Why do we need to treat with a specialist?

Osteoarthritis is a common health problem in the elderly and those using their knee joints heavily or excessively, such as athletes or overweight people—the knee joint degenerates when the cartilage that protects it wears out. The patient will feel pain and stiffness in the knee joint. There are a variety of treatments for osteoarthritis, both non-surgical and surgical. However, treating osteoarthritis with an orthopedic specialist will help make the treatment more effective.

This article will introduce how to treat osteoarthritis and why you should treat it with an orthopedic specialist.

Table of Contents

Can knee osteoarthritis be cured on its own?

Self-healing of osteoarthritis is possible in some cases, especially in the early stages of the disease, when the joints have not deteriorated much. There is not much pain and stiffness in the knee joint.

Patients can cure osteoarthritis by regularly losing weight, exercising the muscles around the knee, and adequately using the knee. These methods will help reduce symptoms and slow down the degeneration of the knee joint. However, if the knee joint deteriorates significantly or self-treatment does not improve, patients should consult a doctor for further advice and treatment.

How is osteoarthritis diagnosed?

Diagnosis of osteoarthritis for treatment is done by physical examination and the use of medical equipment such as X-rays, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and laboratory tests. Doctors will consider the patient’s reported symptoms and the results of these tests to decide on the appropriate treatment. The details are as follows:

Symptom history and physical examination The doctor will start by taking a history, examining the patient’s body, and asking about symptoms or problems while using the knee joint in daily life. The doctor will then assess pain and swelling by checking the most painful spot. The doctor will also determine leg flexion and check knee joint movement.
X-ray imaging is the primary examination method and standard for diagnosing osteoarthritis. X-rays can show changes in bone and cartilage, such as narrowing the space between the joints. This indicates that the cartilage on the joint’s surface is thin or worn out or that the osteophytes have increased in the knee joint.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is not the first or primary method of diagnosing osteoarthritis because it provides a detailed picture of the soft tissue around the knee joint (the non-bony part). It helps to see injuries of tendons, muscles, and knee discs and details of cartilage wear in patients with early-stage knee osteoarthritis or mild symptoms that are not visible on ordinary X-ray images.

Laboratory tests For some patients with severe arthritis, laboratory tests, such as blood tests, can help doctors make decisions about diagnosing a disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or arthritis caused by an infection.

Osteoarthritis: Non-surgical treatment

There are many non-surgical treatments for osteoarthritis, especially in the early stages or when the symptoms are not very severe. There are several ways of non-surgical treatment as follows:

1. Weight loss treatment

Weight loss is an important way to cure osteoarthritis on your own because excess weight increases pressure on the knee joint, causing the knee cartilage to wear out faster. By losing weight, it reduces pressure and reduces pain. The recommendation is to lose at least 5 percent of the weight which will clearly improve knee pain.

2. Treat with pain relief medication

Another way to treat osteoarthritis without surgery is to use pain relief medications such as paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to relieve pain and reduce inflammation of the knee joint in the early stages. The drug should be taken according to the doctor’s advice because taking too high a dose or taking the drug for an unnecessarily long time can cause serious side effects to the body.

3.Treatment with steroid injections

Intravenous steroid injections are a treatment for osteoarthritis that is used to reduce inflammation and relieve pain quickly. This method is suitable for patients with severe pain, but it should not be used too often because the use of steroids may affect the cartilage in the healthy part to reduce quality, wear and get injured more easily.

4.Treatment with Hyaluronic Acid (HA) injections

Synovial vitreous is a synthetic hyaluronic acid (HA) that increases lubrication in the knee joint, reduces friction and inflammation, and helps relieve pain. HA injections are suitable for treating moderate knee osteoarthritis or those who do not yet need surgery. The duration of reducing joint pain is shorter or longer, depending on the degeneration of the knee joint and the inflammation in the joint.

5.Treatment with Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injection

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is the extraction of the patient’s blood to obtain plasma, which is rich in platelets and growth factors, and injected back into the patient’s knee joint. PRP has the quality of stimulating the growth of new cells, repairing injured or damaged tissues, reducing inflammation and pain. This treatment for osteoarthritis is popular and effective for patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis.

6.Treatment with physical therapy

Physical therapy includes exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee joint, especially the front thigh muscles, stretching, and the use of therapeutic aids such as shock waves, ultrasound, or PMS machines to help reduce inflammation and pain, increase knee flexibility and improve the use of knee joint.

7.Treatment with the use of knee braces

The use of knee braces such as knee straps or knee braces can reduce pressure and friction on the knee joint, reduce pain, and increase walking stability. You should follow the advice of your doctor or physiotherapist because using knee braces for too long will weaken the muscles around the knee.

Osteoarthritis: Surgical treatment

Surgical treatment of osteoarthritis is a treatment at the root cause that involves removing the worn and damaged part of the knee joint surface and replacing it with artificial joint material. It is a treatment for people with moderate to advanced degeneration and symptoms.

Partial Knee Replacement

Partiale replacement surgery is suitable for patitreatingeoarthritis of the inner hemisphere of the knee joint. This method removes only the degenerated part and replaces it with a partial knee prosthesis. Th, preserving the healthy cartilagertial knee replacement surgeries cause less tissue injury froe less painful, and have a shorter recovery time than total knee replacement surgsurgeries

Total Knee Replacement

The treatment method of osteoarthritis with total knee replacement surgery treats patients with severe joint osteoarthritis. This surgery removes all the bones on the surface of the knee joint and replaces it with a knee prosthesis. This method reduces pain and improves mobility and the quality of life of patients with severe knee osteoarthritis more than other treatments.

After treating osteoarthritis, is there a chance of recurring?

Non-surgical treatment for osteoarthritis is only a treatment for inflammation and pain from worn joints. It does not cause the damaged cartilage to return to normal, so the patient has a chance that the inflammation and pain will return, especially if there are still risk factors, such as being overweight or using the knee joint heavily. Continuing to care for your health and following your doctor’s advice will reduce your chances of recurrence.

How to prepare before surgery for osteoarthritis

Receive medical advice and pre-operative health check-ups for risk assessment and preparation
Prepare your home and environment for post-operative recovery, such as comfortable seating and mattresses
Stop taking certain medications as recommended by your doctor, such as anticoagulants
Refrain from food and water as recommended by your doctor before the surgery day to prepare for anesthesia

How to take care of yourself after surgery for osteoarthritis

Perform physical therapy as recommended by your doctor to restore knee strength and movement
Avoid heavy knee work in the first 1 month after surgery
Follow medication and surgical wound care instructions, keep the wound clean, and not get it exposed to water for the first 2 weeks

What is the best treatment for osteoarthritis at kdms Hospital?

kdms Specialized Orthopedic Hospital has a team of doctors specializing in knee treatment, knee replacement surgery, and partial and total knee replacement surgery. There is robotic technology to assist in joint prosthesis surgery, which is an advanced technology that improves surgical accuracy. It can significantly reduce knee tissue injury during surgery. The treatment here will be closely supervised by the healing team, rehabilitation medicine doctors, nurses, experienced physiotherapists, and specialized experts caring for patients undergoing knee replacement surgery. This makes the treatment highly effective, gets good surgical results, and patients can recover quickly.

kdms has advanced techniques and technology for knee replacement, such as:

obotic-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) is a technology that uses a robotic arm to assist surgeons in performing knee replacement surgery.
Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty (UKA) Surgical Technique

What is Robotic Assisted Surgery for Knee Replacement?

The use of robotics in preoperative planning for knee surgery involves determining the size, position, and angle of the knee joint using data processed from CT scans, which differs from traditional surgery that relies on X-ray images. The results are then transmitted to the robotic arm to increase surgical accuracy and reduce errors during surgery. For example, if the surgeon is about to cut into another area, the robot will immediately stop operating. In addition, robot-assisted surgery allows doctors to adjust the artificial joint balance at the millimeter level to best suit each patient’s body.

How is robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery better than traditional surgery?

Robotic-Assisted Knee Surgery: A New and More Advanced Option for Treating Knee Osteoarthritis

Robotic-assisted knee surgery is a modern alternative to traditional knee replacement surgery, offering several advantages:

✅ High Precision – Minimizes the risk of surgical errors.
✅ Personalized Surgical Planning – Tailored to each patient’s unique knee structure.
✅ Reduced Risk of Complications – Lowers the chances of surgical trauma or post-operative injuries.
✅ Smaller Incisions & Faster Recovery – Less pain and quicker healing for patients.

This innovative approach enhances surgical outcomes, helping patients regain mobility with greater confidence.

In conclusion

Osteoarthritis can be treated in various ways, both non-surgical and surgical. Treatment with an orthopedic specialist will help get a correct diagnosis, including accurate and effective treatment. Continuing to care for your health and following your doctor’s recommendations will help keep your knee joint healthy and reduce the chances of recurrence. When it is necessary to undergo surgical treatment, KDMS Specialized Orthopedic Hospital has expert doctors, advanced technology, and the specialized expertise of a team of caregivers. It provides advice on the preparation process before and after surgery. It allows the treatment to achieve the best results.

Frequently Asked Questions on How To Treat Osteoarthritis (FAQs)

In addition to the content on how to treat osteoarthritis in the article. This article has also collected frequently asked questions with answers to resolve further questions as follows:

Osteoarthritis cannot be cured, but proper treatment can alleviate symptoms and slow down the degeneration of the knee joint.

Non-surgical treatment can relieve symptoms and slow down knee joint degeneration in the early stages or in patients with mild symptoms.

Knee replacement surgery has the same risks as any surgery, but at a very low level, such as infection, venous thrombosis in the legs and lungs, etc.

PRP injections stimulate tissue repair and reduce pain in some patients, but treatment results may vary from person to person. In people with severe joint degeneration, legs are deformed, injections or injections of various substances will have a poor therapeutic effect or may be effective in a short period. It usually works well in younger patients with early joint degeneration, symptoms are not very severe, or cartilage is damaged by injury in a short period.

Physical therapy after knee replacement surgery should be done according to the advice of doctors and specialists to increase the strength and flexibility of the muscles around the knee joint, reduce pain, and increase mobility. Normally, post-operative physical therapy to restore physical fitness should be done continuously. Muscles can still develop and increase strength and flexibility.

Article By Napon Sinthuvanich, M.D.Hip and Knee Replacement Surgeon

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