Knees are important part of the body’s organs that manage mobility and movement of the body. It is one of the largest joints in the human body. A slight injury or sprain caused to it by way of accidental trauma or while playing contact sports makes you immobile for weeks and at times months on an end. Also, knee osteoarthritis is a condition that makes wear and tear of knees a reality. Likewise, replacing the knee cap because it has degenerated becomes necessary in senior citizens. At such times, the degeneration gets stiffness and swelling with itself. The knee pain also worsens over time reducing their ability to move and do things on their own. Thus causing them to rely heavily on their care-takers or family members.
These are the conditions when a knee replacement becomes absolutely imminent:
Disrupted daily activities
If your knee pain does not allow you to do the simplest of your routine activities, it may be a sign of danger. Also, if you experience pain while alighting or climbing stairs, a knee replacement could be on the prescription by your orthopedician.
Instable feeling in the knee
Do you often feel that your knees are gonna dismantle just like that? Or a feeling that they are going to open up with every single movement of yours? If yes then, knee replacement to regain your old stability is the solution.
Failure of alternative methods
Alternatives to knee replacement surgeries are plenty. Few of them are injections, medicines, physical therapy. When they do not show any signs of working out, knee replacement becomes the last resort.
Knee replacement surgeries are an expensive way to get firm and strong knees. However, alternative treatment methods for knee replacements are not only cheaper but also very effective. Following listed are alternatives that can be availed by patients suffering from conditions that necessitate knee replacement.
Regulating your weight
Losing weight and having a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) is the shortest and surest way to reduce the stress from the knees. Trying out weight loss before opting for knee replacement is a helpful endeavor. Symptoms of knee pain reduce drastically, once the person looking for knee replacement reduces weight.
Physical therapy
Physical therapy or physiotherapy sessions taken from experienced physiotherapists greatly helps in alleviating knee pain. Knee pain is relieved and also the functioning of the knee is improved to a great extent.
Osteotomy
This is an alternative for young people who had been active before getting arthritis. Since, they are ineligible for knee replacement, an osteotomy is the perfect alternative for them. It is a treatment method for young people having knee aches and troubles and a way to delay knee replacement.
Healthy diet
A healthy diet takes your knees a long way, literally and figuratively! Stash your food cabinet with fish and vitamin C rich fruits for healthy and pain-free knee joints. Fish has omega 3 fatty acids that reduce inflammation in knees. Foods that are high on sugars and saturated fats do not do any good to your knees. They aggravate knee pain since they have inflammatory properties.
Injections
Steroids injected in the body every 3 months can play a big role in alleviating knee pain. When taken routinely, replacement surgery can be put off for a long time ahead for patients having arthritis. Hyaluronan injection also known as viscosupplementation is an injection type for relieving knee pain. This not only delays knee surgery and also reduces inflammation in knees. Cortisone or corticosteroid injection is also for similar purposes. The corticosteroid acts to reduce pain and swelling in the knee joint.
Medication
Medication given mostly for controlling joint pain and inflammation is mostly Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Medications (NSAIDs) type. If you have any other health issues, you may not be prescribed with these anti-inflammatory tablets as they are likely to cause side-effects compounding the other health issue.
Exercise
Do not miss your daily exercise routine at any cost even when your aching knees don’t allow you to leave the soft terrains of your blankets. Instead stick to a single routine- say swimming, brisk walking, skipping or anything that comes under the low-impact exercises category. That does not bring a lot of pressure on your knees and are also effective at the same time. This increases the strength of your knees and the endurance power as well.
Patients looking to undergo a knee replacement surgery owing to the unbearable knee pain should weigh all their options before deciding on the surgery. There are equal risks and benefits associated with each of the available treatment whether it is alternative therapy or the traditional knee replacement surgery. It is better to have a detailed discussion with the doctor before deciding on one.
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