Osteoporosis is a common chronic joint disease, like a “silent killer”, which affects the health of people’s joints and causes many inconveniences and suffering to patients’ lives.
Osteoporosis is mainly caused by wear and tear of the joint cartilage. As age increases, the joint cartilage gradually loses its elasticity and glitter, and becomes crude and thin, like the gravitational wear on the surface of a car tire. At the same time, osteoporosis, glanditis and changes in the composition of joint fluids around the joints are also involved in the development of the disease. Long-term overuse of joints, such as heavy manual labour, long standing or walking, frequent up and down stairs, excessive exercise, etc., accelerates wear and tearing of the joint cartilage and increases the risk of osteoporosis. Obesity is also an important factor, and excessive weight can impose an additional burden on joints, especially on heavy joints such as knees and hips. In addition, genetic, joint trauma and joint malformations are closely related to the occurrence of osteoporosis.
Symptoms of osteoporosis tend to be more hidden at an early stage and may be manifested only in mild pain, acid swelling or rigidity of the joint, especially when it rises in the morning or rises after long sittings, which tends to recede over time. As the condition progresses, the pain increases, the range of joint activities is limited and even the risk of a joint deformity. For example, a person with a knee joint arthritis may experience an internal or external deformity of the knee joint, i.e., a commonly known “loop leg” or “X leg”, which seriously affects walking functions. When the fingers are tired, the joints may swell and deform, and they appear in knots that affect the fine movement of the hand.
When it comes to diagnosis, doctors usually make comprehensive judgments in the light of the patient ‘ s symptoms, signs, medical history and visual examination. The X-rays reveal typical manifestations such as the narrowness of the joint gap, bone growth, and sclerosis of the lower cartilage; the MRI shows more clearly the pathology of the joint cartilage, glitch, lubrication and lactation structures.
For the treatment of osteoporosis, the main objectives are to alleviate pain, improve joint function and slow the progress of the disease. At an early stage, symptoms can be effectively mitigated through lifestyle adjustments, such as weight reduction, avoidance of overwork, and proper joint function exercise (e.g., swimming, cycling, etc.) with lower joint burden. Drug treatment is also an important tool, and commonly used drugs include non-accumulative anti-inflammation drugs, which can reduce joint pain and inflammation; and joint injection drugs, such as sodium glassate, which can function as lubricating joints and nutritional cartilage. In the case of patients suffering from severe advanced conditions and severe loss of joint function, consideration may need to be given to surgical treatment, such as a joint replacement, to improve the quality of life of the patients by replacing the altered joints and restoring their normal function.
Osteoporosis, although not fully rooted, can be effectively controlled through active preventive and scientific treatment, enabling patients to maintain better joint function and life-care capacity. Therefore, in everyday life, attention is paid to the protection of joints, to their health and to early prevention, detection and treatment.
