Table 1. Summary of currently available OA therapies.

Type of treatment	Example	Pros	Cons	Reference
Non-pharmacological	Exercise, therapeutic ultrasound, phototherapy, thermotherapy, electrical stimulation, acupuncture	Analgesia, joint function restoration, wide access, recommended to all patients	Long-term treatment, large variation in therapeutic effects	85, 86
Pharmacologic	NSAIDs (e.g., glucocorticoids, COX-2 inhibitors), Chondroprotective drugs (e.g., chondroitin sulfate, HA)	Affordable, analgesia, anti-inflammation, wide access, effective on most OA patients	Side-effects on brain, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems, little pro-regenerative and disease-modifying effects	87-92
Biological	Platelet-rich plasma, MSC-based therapy	Providing necessary factors to aid cartilage regeneration, improve OA injury and patient’s life quality	Complex manufacture, expensive, fibrocartilage formation, more effective in symptom relief than regeneration	93, 94
Surgical	Microfracture, autologous graft, partial/total knee arthroplasty	Effective end-stage OA therapies, necessary for late-OA patients to reduce pain, prevent disability and improve life quality	Invasive, costly, some require re-surgeries	95-97

Note: COX-2: cyclooxygenase-2; HA: hyaluronic acid; MSC: mesenchymal stem cell; NSAIDs: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; OA: osteoarthritis.