What Are My Treatment Options For Knee Arthritis?
Knee arthritis affects millions annually, and you know why it’s a shame? It persists just like the in-laws who will not leave! it is typically a normal part of aging from simple wear and tear osteoarthritis which accumulates over a number of years and then begins to irritate a person like a pebble in a person’s shoe.
There are other causes of knee arthritis as well, such as acute trauma. Mountain biking or motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, etc. One may end up with a cartilage defect and/or a soft tissue injury which may produce arthritis at way too early of an age.
Additional arthritis generators include chronic activities like jogging. Typically this category includes weight bearing activities or sporting activities rather than non weight bearing activities like cycling or swimming.
What are the available treatments for the millions suffering from knee arthritis? There are three goals when dealing with knee arthritis.
1) Pain relief
2) Stop the arthritis and maybe reverse it
3) Prevent Surgery!
Most commonly, knee arthritis pain is insidious. Most people say “How did I get this?” Initial treatment usually consists of over the counter acetaminophen and NSAIDs like ibuprofen and naproxen. These can be taken as needed basis and only according to the bottle dosing recommendations. Narcotics may be used short term, however, using chronically brings several potential side effects.
The 2nd option for treatment is called activity avoidance. For example, if you are an expert skier frequenting black diamond slopes and starting to have painful arthritis, shifting to easier slopes may make skiing tolerable. If you are a frequent jogger and it becomes painful from knee arthritis, then shifting to cross training activities like cycling or swimming may make activities tolerable.
Phoenix physical therapy entails strengthening up the knee area muscles to offload knee stresses. This can lower knee pain a lot and allow the individual to either avoid a knee replacement or potentially lengthen the time until surgery is necessary. Joint replacements do not last forever, so avoiding a potential revision would be optimal.
Using a cane can unload 60% of the weight from a person’s knee. There are also knee braces called unloaders which can take significant pressure off the arthritic region of the knee causing pain. There are 3 “compartments” of the knee which can produce arthritis If a person has arthritis predominantly in one compartment, the unloader can be very effective in relieving arizona pain.
Knee injections currently consist of two types. The most common involves cortisone, which is an intense anti-inflammatory solution that can provide relief potentially for months and can then be repeated at an AZ Pain clinic. The medication doesn’t alter the course of arthritis, simply controls symptoms.
Hyaluronic acid injections, such as Synvisc, provide a “motor oil” substance to the knee and may propel the knee to produce more of its own. This may allow the knee to achieve pain relief for over a year. One potentially promising injection substance may involve stem cells, which could potentially alter the course of the disease and regenerate some of the arthritic cartilage.
