Table 1.

Management and mechanisms of KOA.

Management of KOA			Mechanisms of KOA
Pharmaceutical approaches	Non-pharmaceutical approaches	Surgical management	Pathogenesis	Molecular mechanisms of KOA
NSAIDS	Health education	OAK	Excessive proliferation of chondrocytes	MMPs, ADAMTS↑
Analgesics	Regular exercise including aerobic, strengthening, and resistance exercises	UKA	Abundance of ECM	IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α↑
Glucocorticoids	Weight loss	TKA	Synovial inflammation	NF-κB, MAPK, PI3K/Akt signaling pathway
Targeted therapy strategies	Physical therapy including therapeutic ultrasound, electrical stimulation, phototherapy, hydrotherapy, magnet therapy, acupuncture and moxibustion	–	Breakdown of cartilage tissue	–

ADAMTS = a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs, ECM = extracellular matrix, IL-1β = interleukin-1, IL-6 = interleukin-6, KOA = knee osteoarthritis, MMPs = matrix metalloproteinases, NSAIDs = nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, OAK = osteotomy around the knee, TKA = total knee arthroplasty, TNF-α = tumor necrosis factor-alpha, UKA = uknee arthroplasty.