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Knee Pain? Is It Arthritis?
t is often difficult for those who may have arthritis to determine whether they actually have the disease, and only a physician can positively identify its onset and what type of arthritis a patient has. Anyone can develop arthritis, including children. However, most likely to suffer from the disease are people older than 55, overweight individuals, and those who have previously injured a joint or who have family members with the disease. One overriding guideline — pain, stiffness and/or swelling in or near a joint and lasting for more than two weeks — suggests possible arthritis.
Often, patients present with various aches and pains, including bruises and pulled muscles in the knee area. In fact, one overriding guideline — pain, stiffness and/or swelling in or near a joint and lasting for more than two weeks — suggests possible arthritis. Other common symptoms include limited range of motion, tenderness along the joint, or a feeling of weakness in the joint. A physician’s diagnosis, based on a physical exam and an x-ray, will include the specific type of arthritis that a patient has — not simply “arthritis.”
Many therapies have proven successful for patients with osteoarthritis in the knee. Nonsurgical therapies — exercise, pain medication, and the injection of cortisone into the joints — are useful. Cortisone, or corticosteroid, injections into knee joints has been a primary nonsurgical treatment used to relieve arthritis symptoms for many decades. Even so, few well-designed scientific studies have been initiated to determine who might benefit from this treatment or how long relief might last.
Cortisone shots are used to relieve arthritis symptoms temporarily by reducing inflammation in the joint, often enabling some patients to avoid joint replacement surgery for years. However, cortisone is a pain treatment and never alters the course of — nor cures — arthritis.
Self-management remedies also have proved helpful: minimizing activities that aggravate the condition (such as climbing stairs) to prevent further damage, using a cane to relieve pain, exercising to strengthen the muscles around the joint, losing weight to reduce pressure on the knees, and even wearing knee braces. A massage, an ice pack or a warm bath are other ways to care for aching joints. Although none of these is curative, the goal of self-management is to minimize pain, increase movement and reduce fatigue.
One common therapy for severe osteoarthritis and significant cartilage loss accompanied by chronic pain is surgery. Common surgical options include knee replacement, often to relieve pain as well as damage visible on x-rays; arthroscopy, designed to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms and repair joints that are locked due to loose cartilage or bone fragments; osteotomy, used to correct abnormalities in younger patients (those under 60) with mild disease; and arthrodesis — a surgical procedure that fuses the bones in diseased joints. Total knee replacement is often the preferred method of treatment for patients with osteoarthritis in the knees accompanied by chronic pain.
Not all people with arthritic knees require surgery. In fact, many people live normal, active lives by following a doctor’s orders, adjusting their types and level of activity, and undergoing nonsurgical therapy to manage the condition. EVENTS Healthy Night Out: Acupuncture and Arthritis
Wednesday, September 5, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Deidre Braun, MS, LAc Held at Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower
Call 760-773-4535 for information and reservations.