The Arthritic Knee – Treatment Options

One form of arthritis in the knee joint occurs because of degeneration of the cartilage in your knee. It commonly refers osteoarthritis to as “wear and tear” arthritis or degenerative arthritis and is the most common cause of total knee replacement surgery. Because of osteoarthritis, the cartilage in the knee breaks down over time and the result damages joint surface with bone rubbing on bone. This process may occur because of previous trauma to the joint, ligament instability, or abnormal stresses to the joint.

Treatment of the Arthritic Knee

• Lifestyle Modification: losing weight, avoiding aggravating activities, changing exercises to low impact activities only.
• Exercises: specifically prescribed to improve strength and flexibility without exacerbating your pain.
• Anti-inflammatory Medications: designed to decrease swelling in the joint and provide temporary pain relief.
• Corticosteroid Injection: Powerful anti-inflammatory agent injected directly into the joint.

• Joint Fluid Therapy: A series of injections directly into a knee, designed to improve lubrication in the joint.
• Glucosamine/chondroitin: dietary supplement that may relieve arthritic pain.
• Bracing: used to provide external stability to the knee joint.
• PRC ( Platelet Rich Concentrate) injection: Which improves healing process of damaged cartilage and delays the progress of arthritis. It is helpful in early arthritis.
• Joint Preservation Surgeries.

a. High tibial Osteotomy: Corrective surgery for abnormal limb alignment to re-distribute the load on different portions of knee joint .

b. Arthroscopy: minimally invasive procedure to remove debris or repair torn cartilage.

• Partial replacement /unicodylar knee replacement Surgery
• Total knee replacement Surgery: a surgical procedure that replaces all three compartments of the knee.