TV Chosun’s ‘Ha Hee-ra’s Mom Mom Mom’ shed light on the connection between arthritis and cartilage health by looking at the case of King Sejo, the 7th king of the Joseon Dynasty.
In the episode aired on the morning of the 17th, the show covered the importance of cartilage care and methods for managing inflammation that leads to knee pain.
Under the subtitle “The Bad King with a Bad Body,” the program analyzed King Sejo’s medical records. Sejo, who ascended to the throne after ousting his nephew Danjong, is recorded to have suffered from declining health in his later years due to various ailments, including arthritis.
According to the show, King Sejo frequently visited hot springs to ease his severe arthritis pain, making him the king known historically for enjoying hot springs the most.
A medical specialist analyzed that “while the warm water of the hot springs might have provided temporary pain relief by relaxing muscles and improving blood circulation, it would have had limits in fundamentally treating arthritis.”
Ultimately, King Sejo passed away at the age of 51 after suffering from arthritis and its complications. Ha Hee-ra noted, “He was able to seize the throne of Joseon, but he could not escape the disease of arthritis.”
The specialist identified the condition of the “cartilage” as the root cause of arthritis. Since the cartilage that absorbs shock between bones is only 3mm thick, it wears down through daily walking and activity even without a specific injury. The issue is that once cartilage begins to wear, inflammation inside the joint spikes, which in turn accelerates the wear and tear, eventually leading to chronic arthritis where the cartilage tears.
The specialist emphasized that “to fundamentally solve knee pain, the vicious cycle of inflammation originating from damaged cartilage must be stopped.”
Meanwhile, TV Chosun’s ‘Ha Hee-ra’s Mom Mom Mom’ airs every Sunday at 9:40 AM.
