Delaying Knee Osteoarthritis Prior to Advancing Age

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis is a chronic disease of the musculoskeletal system, which tends to be found among middle and old aged people continuously. This problem affects the physical, psychological, and economic aspects of patients. They may suffer from knee pain, joint stiffness, and difficulty in movement. When persons with knee osteoarthritis do not receive the proper treatment, the symptoms may be more severe, resulting in disability, stress, anxiety, and depression among patients, as well as the high cost for treatment. From a literature review, although the disease occurs gradually, continuously, and irreversibly, the strategies have been found to prevent and delay knee osteoarthritis since adulthood. These methods include a screening of the disease, finding related factors of knee osteoarthritis, and providing knowledge for proper care of knee joints. The purposes of this article was to review and summarize research studies about current knowledge on knee osteoarthritis and approaches to slow the disease. It is expected that knowledge summarized in this article can be applied to advise those at risk, especially middle-aged people, for performing healthy practice in delaying the onset of knee osteoarthritis before advancing age