Knee arthritis is a degenerative disease in which the symptoms such as knee pain, stiffness, swelling, redness, inflammation, pain while changing positions is normal. This arthritic pain makes a person unable to climb stairs, walk, or even stand for longer durations in the chronic stage. Knee arthritis treatment depends upon the stage of arthritis, such as medicines and modification of activity in initial stages and injection and knee replacement in later stages of the disease along with knee strengthening exercises.
Anatomy of Knee Joint
The knee joint is formed with two main bones and a knee cap (patella). Two main bones are thigh bone (femur) and tibia (the shin bone), these bones are aligned in such a way that the knee can be folded and straightened easily. The knee-cap allows smooth activity with less muscle effort. The internal sides of these bones are filled with a slippery substance known as articular cartilage and have a synovial fluid and hyaluronic acid (joint grease) in it that ensures friction-free movements.
Types of Knee Arthritis
1. Knee Osteoarthritis
With aging and trauma, the cartilages start to wear off and the synovial fluid starts decreasing. This leads to pain in the movement of the knee joint, which can be treated with various treatment measures such as medicine, injecting joint grease (viscosupplementation), stem cell treatment and knee replacement surgery, etc.
2. Knee rheumatoid arthritis
Unlike osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis does not affect just one joint, but other small joints such as fingers, toes, etc. This is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its own healthy cells present in joints and makes them inflamed. This results in swelling, pain, and stiffness in the joints.
3. Arthritis due to Trauma
Injuries like a fracture, severe sports injuries, and internal derangement of the knee, etc can lead to arthritis in the future. Even the soft tissue injuries in the knee such as a meniscal tear or ligament tear etc can lead to arthritis in the upcoming years.
Symptoms of Knee Arthritis
The most common symptoms of knee arthritis include
- Pain while moving the joint or even at rest
- Swelling is more noticeable around the knee cap
- Stiffness can be felt while moving the joint
- Difficulty in climbing stairs
- Trouble walking
- Inability to stand for longer durations
- Pain while sitting to standing or vice versa
- Joint may feel like ‘giving-way’ while walking
- Some people may experience the ‘locking’ of the knee joint, this generally happens because of a loose body getting stuck between the joint surfaces.
Diagnosis of Knee arthritis is mostly made by just a digital x-ray, however, if the orthopedic doctor is suspecting rheumatoid or any other pathology then, blood tests may also be required.
Treatment of Knee Arthritis
Knee arthritis can be treated by an experienced and qualified orthopedic doctor such as Dr. Sumit Badhwar, the best orthopedic doctor in Noida.
The treatment depends upon the type of arthritis and its stage. The most common treatment measures of knee arthritis treatment are –
- Medications – The medicines are very important to get rid of swelling, pain, and other signs of inflammation in the knee joint. Calcium supplements, joint repairing agents, and topical ointments are given in order to ease out the symptoms and start the repairing process in the joint. DMARDS are given in case of rheumatoid arthritis along with novel medicines.
- Lifestyle Modifications – Dr. Sumit stresses on lifestyle modifications as well, as it helps in creating a better and more permanent pain relief system. Lifestyle modification includes diet changes, knee exercises, weight management, and decreasing any high impact or harmful activities for your joints.
- Viscosupplementation – This process involves injecting the joint grease (hyaluronic acid) inside the joint surface that helps in easing out the symptoms by reducing the friction between them. Get more details about viscosupplementation treatment in Noida here.
- Stem-cell Treatment – Stem cell treatment is one of the best alternatives to knee replacement surgery. The stem cells are injected inside the knee joint to start a joint repairing process naturally. This helps in delaying the knee replacement treatment for a good time period.
- Knee Replacement Surgery – This is a misleading term, it should be known as knee resurfacing surgery as only the bony surfaces are capped with the smooth implants that ensure pain-free activity. Know more about knee replacement surgery in Noida here.
Still have questions? Book an appointment with the best orthopedic doctor in Delhi NCR, Dr. Sumit Badhwar, and visit us at Bone & Joint Clinic, B-84A, B-block, Sector-31 Noida. You can call us at +919958611221, +91 7428951221.
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