Health Care : Current Reviews

Abstract

Osteoarthritis Of The Knee: Assessing The Disease

Przemyslaw Tomasz Paradowski

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease. It affects about 12% of adults 60 years of age but its prevalence is expected to rise. The incidence of OA increases with age but the disease can be stable for a long time and could reactivate some years later. Diagnosis of OA is primarily based on history and physical examination and on radiographic findings, including joint space narrowing (JSN), osteophyte formation and subchondral sclerosis. The radiographic examination of involved joints is also useful in assessing the severity of the disease. However, considerable discrepancy may exist between symptoms and the radiographic findings. The review gives proposed approaches to define symptomatic, progressive and end-stage knee OA. It focuses on the available scoring methods and their various advantages and disadvantages.