A physical examination and x-rays are most often used for patients showing knee arthritis symptoms, mainly to establish a baseline for future examinations and diagnosis. Typically, osteoarthritis is the main culprit of the knee arthritis symptoms, and develops slowly as the cartilage in the knee is slowly disappears. While this form of arthritis, often referred to as being caused by the wear and tear of the joints, can be very painful and offer limited mobility to the patient.

Persons suffering the early stages of osteoarthritis may ignore the knee arthritis symptoms in the beginning, since they include pain in the knees during or following activities. They can also feel stiffness in the knee joints, sometimes associating it with standing or sitting too long or, if after strenuous activity, blame it on the activity. While osteoarthritis is usually blamed in patients over 50 years of age, an injury or infection can bring on knee arthritis symptoms in patients of almost any age.

Other knee arthritis symptoms include a limited range of motion, often accompanied by pain when the knee is bent, and swelling in the knee joint on one or both legs. The knee may also feel sore and may feel as though it will give out at any moment or they knees may become deformed, either knocking together or bowing outwards.

Long-Term Treatment May Be Required

Currently, there is no known cure for osteoarthritis but many of the knee arthritis symptoms can be lessened by appropriate arthritis treatment. Of course, the type of treatment will depend on many factors including the cause of the arthritis, the type of arthritis from which the patient is suffering and response of the patient to the treatment being administered.

Some of the most common medical treatments that have shown to relieve knee arthritis symptoms include Glucosamine that is claimed to restore lubrication in the joint cartilage and restore mobility and corticosteroids for reducing the pain associated with knee arthritis symptoms. Once the cartilage has degenerated to where the bones are actually coming into contact with each other during movement, narcotic pain reliever may be used to ease the pain.

The are many forms of alternative treatments available that claim to reduce the pain and stiffness of knee arthritis symptoms. Botanicals and herbal medicine has been used for many years to ease the stiffness as in some areas, holistic medicine and acupuncture are being used to treat the knee arthritis symptoms in some patients.