Living with knee pain can make even the simplest daily activity a painful chore. The knee is the largest joint in the body and when it isn’t working properly, almost every part of your life is affected. The most common cause of knee pain is arthritis, where the cartilage that cushions the bones in your knee is worn down and bones begin to grind on one another.
Common causes of knee pain:
How do you know it’s time for replacement surgery?
If anti-inflammatory medications, cortisone injections, lubricating injections and physical therapy are no longer helpful in relieving the symptoms listed below, it might be time to talk with your doctor about replacement surgery.
Total knee replacements are one of the most successful procedures in all of medicine. More than 600,000 knee replacements are performed each year in the U.S. It is a safe and effective way to relieve pain, correct deformity and allow patients to resume normal activity. Less than 2 percent of patients experience serious complications and more than 90 percent of replacement recipients have dramatic pain reduction and significant improvement in the ability to perform common activities that were difficult or impossible before.
A key to satisfaction with your knee placement is to have realistic expectations. Knee replacement surgery won’t transform you into a bionic superhuman. Your new joint can wear out, too. Doctors advise against high impact activities such as running, jumping or playing football. However, there are many activities you will be able to enjoy once again; walking, swimming, golf, hiking, biking, ballroom dancing and other low-impact sports.
If you experience knee pain, talk with a Riverview Health orthopedic specialist. They will help assess whether you are a good candidate for total knee replacement surgery and help you smooth out the daily grind of living with knee pain.
Ready to meet with one of our orthopedic and sports medicine doctors? Call us at 317.565.0505 to request an appointment.
Sources: AAOS.org, OrthoInfo.org