What is the best treatment for Knee osteoarthritis?


what is the best treatment for knee osteoarthritis

Hello!

This is Dr. Abdul Salam, and in this post, we are going to discuss on…

What is the best treatment for Knee osteoarthritis?

So, honestly what is the best treatment for Knee osteoarthritis?. The answer is not a straightforward one at all!.

Aging is a major risk factor for knee osteoarthritis. However, this degenerative joint disease can also affect younger individuals. Osteoarthritis is a chronic disorder that affects the knee joint and can result in significant pain, stiffness combined with joint swelling

Your orthopedic surgeon will recommend different treatment options depending on a number of factors that are unique to your health. This will include your medical history, pain level and also most importantly the impact of OA on your day to day life

Most common treatments usually include a combination of therapies that include active lifestyle modifications combined with medications.

The most important step for managing OA effectively first includes the adoption of regular exercise. Exercise is probably the single most important action you can incorporate in your daily life to reduce OA progression. The advantage of regular exercise is that it helps with

A. Weight loss, which in turn reduces the load on your joints

B. Helps improve the range of motion/movement

C. Exercise also helps improve muscle strength and also significantly reduces joint pain/swelling

Simple exercises like walking, biking, and swimming are usually excellent in nature. Cycling is particularly beneficial as it helps maintain the strength of both your quadriceps and hamstring muscle group. The advantage of this exercise is that strengthening these 2 muscle groups helps in greatly stabilizing the knee joint.

Reducing body weight:-

It becomes highly important that you lose your body weight, losing even a small amount of body weight can drastically help reduce strain on your joints thereby alleviating symptoms

Quick tips on eating a balanced diet include:-

1. Taking a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables

2. Restricting sugars, fats, and salts

3. Avoiding fried foods at all costs

Painkillers:-

Many individuals who suffer from OA usually take over the counter pain killers for pain relief. Some common drugs include paracetamol, aceclofenac or other combination based painkillers.

Some surgeons would use Hyaluronic acid based injections. This is used as a joint replacement fluid to both absorb and lubricate the joint. There are some side effects and this treatment modality should be used only with caution

Alternative OA therapies:-

There exist numerous alternative therapies for OA knee, not all of them are however proven. Hydrotherapy, acupuncture, massage and a host of other interventions have been tried with variable results

Viscosupplements:-

These injectable preparations are directly injected into the knee. They usually replace the joint fluid with a gel like substance. This gel-like substance can then provide cushioning and lubrication for the joint and thereby relieve pain

Joint Surgeries:-

Arthroscopy

Arthroscopy is a procedure used to clean debris from the joint. If you are under 40 years of age, this procedure can be of tremendous benefit in relieving joint pain. However, what is not known is whether the procedure will help prevent further joint degradation

Joint Replacement surgery

Joint replacement is a much more complex procedure that involves replacing injured parts of the joint. Joint replacements, in general, have been studied extensively and are also well researched. Most joint replacement procedures give excellent long-lasting benefits to patients. At our orthopedic hospital in Coimbatore, we specialize in giving patients the absolute latest in terms of joint replacement procedures

OA of the knee, if left untreated eventually worsens over time as you age. If you are suffering from severe pain and notice a reduced range of motion, you should visit your orthopedic surgeon.

I hope you enjoyed reading this short article “what is the best treatment for knee osteoarthritis”. Do share this article with your friends and loved ones!

Stay healthy and stay happy!

Cheers

References:-

  1. https://www.everydayhealth.com/osteoarthritis-pictures/natural-osteoarthritis-treatments.aspx
  2. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/osteoarthritis/treatment/

 

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