Early Osteoarthritis — A Korean Medicine Approach to Slowing Progression

Once cartilage wears down, it is hard to regenerate

Degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis) is a condition in which joint cartilage gradually wears away, causing the bones to come into contact and producing pain, swelling, and limited movement. In the early stages it may only feel like knee stiffness when going up and down stairs, but if left untreated it can progress to the point where walking becomes difficult.

The composition and principles of Gwanjeoldan

• Achyranthes root (牛膝): A herb specialized for the knee and lower-body joints; promotes blood flow around the joint.
• Eucommia bark (杜仲): Tonifies the liver and kidney (肝腎) to strengthen bones and tendons.
• Deer antler (鹿茸): Helps protect cartilage and stimulates growth factors that aid regeneration of the surrounding tissues.
• Dipsacus root (續斷): A herb that strengthens the connection between bones and tendons (its name itself means "to reconnect what is broken").

Why you should start in the early stage

Cartilage itself has no blood vessels, so once it is damaged natural regeneration is nearly impossible. The key, therefore, is to optimize the environment around the cartilage early on (blood flow, synovium, surrounding muscle strength) to slow the progression. Gwanjeoldan together with acupuncture and pharmacopuncture serve this role.

Lifestyle rules to slow arthritis progression

• Weight management: losing 1 kg reduces the load on the knee by about 4 kg.
• Joint-friendly exercise: swimming, cycling, and indoor walking.
• Avoid squatting and cross-legged sitting — pressure concentrates on the knee cartilage.