Non-Surgical
Knee Surgery Alternatives
Before
deciding on knee surgery, your physician may try several knee surgery
alternatives to relieve the pain and inflammation in your knee.
Knee Surgery Alternatives: Lifestyle Modification
The first alternative to knee surgery most physicians try is lifestyle
modification. This may include weight loss, avoiding activities such as
running and twisting which can aggravate the knee injury, modifying
exercise to no- and low-impact, and other changes in your daily routine
to reduce stress on your knee.
Knee Surgery Alternatives: Exercise and Physical Therapy
Exercise and physical therapy may be prescribed to improve strength and
flexibility. Exercises may include strengthening exercises such as
riding a stationary bike, and stretching exercises such as flexing the
ankle up and down, tightening and holding thigh muscles, sliding the
heel forward on the floor, leg lifts, and knee extensions.
Exercise can strengthen your leg muscles and reduce your
pain. If you really need knee surgery, this may not provide enough
help, but many forms of knee pain can be mitigated by exercise.
Knee Surgery Alternatives: Anti-inflammatory Medications
Arthritis pain is caused by inflammation in the knee as the bones rub
against each other due to eroded cartilage. Reducing the inflammation
of the tissue in the knee can provide temporary relief from pain and
delay knee surgery.
Anti-inflammatory medications may be prescribed to decrease
swelling in the joint. A corticosteroid injection may also be
used to reduce pain; in this procedure a powerful anti-inflammatory
agent is injected directly into the joint.
Knee Surgery Alternatives: Glucosamine/Chondroitin
A dietary supplement called glucosamine/chondroitin may improve the
joint’s mobility and decrease pain from arthritis of the knee.
Glucosamine and chondroitin are naturally occurring molecules in the
body. Glucosamine is thought to promote the growth of new cartilage and
repair of damaged cartilage, while chondroitin is believed to promote
water retention, improving the elasticity of cartilage, and also to
inhibit cartilage-destroying enzymes.
Knee Surgery Alternatives: Joint Fluid Therapy
In a procedure called joint fluid therapy, a series of injections is
made directly into the knee joints. This therapy is designed to reduce
pain by improving lubrication in the knee, replacing the synovial fluid
that lubricates the knee. Hyaluronate is used for the treatment of
osteoarthritis knee pain in patients who have failed to get adequate
relief from simple painkillers or from exercise and physical therapy.
Learn more about knee surgery
alternatives and joint fluid therapy from the Smith & Nephew Web
site…
Bracing
A brace may be used to provide external stability to the knee joint.
Braces are devices made of plastic, metal, leather and/or foam and are
designed to stabilize a joint, reduce pain and inflammation and
strengthen the muscles of the knee. By putting pressure on the sides of
the joint, the brace causes the joint to realign, which in turn
decreases the contact between the two rough bone surfaces and reduces
the pain while increasing mobility.
As you can see there are several non-surgical options for
treating osteoarthritis. These methods can delay knee surgery by
providing short-term relief. However, any drug therapy program is
likely to have side effects which should be taken into consideration.
Non-surgical procedures may also have limited results compared to the
long-term results of knee surgery.
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