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Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment That Gets Rid Of Pain Without Surgery

Knee osteoarthritis is premature degeneration of the knee that results in pain and stiffness. Common causes of osteoarthritis in the knee are damaged or worn-out meniscus, cartilage, or natural cushions andÏ shock absorbers of the knee. As the natural shock absorbers or cushions wear out, the bones of the knees and joints may get close enough to rub against one another. Rubbing off bones or joints will result and swelling stiffness, and even pain. An initial symptom of knee osteoarthritis is stiffness and decreased mobility. Also, patients with knee osteoarthritis will have difficulty fully extend or straighten the leg at the knee joint.

 
 

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, and it is commonly referred to as wear-and-tear arthritis, which is often seen in the elderly. However, knee osteoarthritis can happen at any age—younger individuals with knee osteoarthritis or those with frequent knee injuries. Regardless of the cause or your age, osteoarthritis of the knee is treatable without injections or surgery. 

Chiropractic Specialty Center (CSC) offers holistic nonsurgical need treatment programs that can stabilize and get rid of knee pain. CSC’s osteoarthritis knee treatment protocol is through effective therapy and exercise solutions provided by our clinical teams of physiotherapists and chiropractors in Malaysia; contact our main center on 03 2093 1000 for locations and services today.

What Is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is degenerative changes in joints and cartilage. It’s no secret that we degenerate as we get older, and however, some deteriorate faster than others. Premature degenerative knee changes have a lot to do with your body’s ability to heal damaged tissues, including the cartilage. Osteoarthritis is relatively common in persons over 50 but may also occur in younger individuals. Earlier onset osteoarthritis is often linked to injures or hereditary issues, which we have discussed in the next section. 

What Are The Common Causes Of Knee Osteoarthritis?

As mentioned earlier, osteoarthritis of the knees can occur at any age but are more common in patients over 50. The occurrence of osteoarthritis is associated with several risk factors such as obsity, activity level, and male gender or congenital issues that speed up wear and tear. RIsk factors inlude obesity, We have covered some of these below:

  • Frequent Or Repetitive Injuries: individuals with jobs that require frequent bending, twisting, or squatting or are at higher risks of developing osteoarthritis in their knees. Also, repetitive injuries sustained during athletic events are a common cause of early degenerative and arthritic changes in young and middle-aged adults.
  • Advancing Of Age:  Cartilage requires ground substances such as glucosamine sulfate in Chondroitin sulfate. Glucosamine and chondroitin are ground substances produced by the body to nourish and heal soft tissues and cartilage. Age advancement is associated with decreased production and these ground substances, resulting in degenerative changes in cartilage, meniscus, joints, and other connective tissues. 
  • Congenital & Hereditary Predispositions:  Hereditary knee conditions are common causes of premature degenerative changes. For example, varus (bowed legs) and valgus (knocked knees). Patients with knock knees or valgus knees will have accelerated degenerative changes on the outer aspects of their knee joints. Those with bowed legs or varus knee Will have increased stress placed on the knee joint’s inner parts, which results in premature degeneration or osteoarthritis of the knee. 

What Are Your Treatment Options?

Treatment options for osteoarthritis of the knee depend on the specialist you see and the severity of your condition. Orthopedic surgeons may recommend painkillers, and anti-inflammatory is often the first prescribed procedure. However, they are rarely effective. 

If the pain medication fails to produce desired outcomes, your surgeon may recommend Knee injections or knee surgery. 

Osteoarthritis of the knee can be rendered pain-free, but some degree of damage may exist after an entire course of injections, surgery, or conservative care. In short, there are no surgical, injections, or conservative treatments that can make cure osteoarthritis by reversing it 100%. 

 What Are The Common Injections For Knee Osteoarthritis? 

Patients with degenerative and arthritic knees or frequently treated with knee injections. The most common knee injection is a corticosteroid injection, and the second most common is a hyaluronic acid injection. We have provided a brief overview of both below:

  1. Steroid injections: Corticosteroid injections for osteoarthritis of the knee are becoming too familiar. Most surgeons limit the number of injections you can receive in one year to three. however, a published study in the Journal of Radiology discourages patients and surgeons from injecting corticosteroids into joints as they are now linked to the severe progression of osteoarthritis, including the death of bone and cartilage. 
  2. Lubricant or hyaluronic acid injections: Hyaluronic acid and other joint lubricants or common injections provided by surgeons and the hopes of decreasing knee pain. However, the effectiveness is being debated, as most researchers claim the effects are short-lived and mainly due to the placebo effect. Further studies are needed they thoroughly understand the mechanism or feeling and the benefits that it would provide.

What Are Your Surgical Options For Osteoarthritis Of The Knee?

  1. Arthroscopic knee surgery: Arthroscopic knee surgery is a minimally invasive procedure geared more towards meniscus and ligamentous damage. Some surgeons recommend arthroscopic for osteoarthritis of the knee; however, arthroscopic knee surgery is no longer encouraged for patients with osteoarthritis. In fact, a recently published study in the New England Journal of Medicine has questioned the effectiveness of arthroscopic knee surgery altogether. 
  2. Surgically reshaping the knee joint: Osteotomy is reshaping the shinbone (tibia) order thighbone (femur) where the bone is shaved or cut off. Osteotomy is usually done on one side and for patients who present with an early stage of knee osteoarthritis. However, we recommend conservative treatment of knee osteoarthritis for all stages of degenerative changes and that surgery should be the last option.
  3. Partial or total knee replacement (TKR): joint replacement surgery with the last option for patients with osteoarthritis of the knees. Knee replacements can be done partially (only one side) or bilaterally (both sides), known as TKR or total knee replacement surgery. Knee replacement surgeries should only be done on patients with severe osteoarthritis and degenerative changes that are not responding to conservative treatments.

What Are The Best Conservative Treatment For Osteoarthritis Of The Knee?

Knee pain is best treated through non-invasive means that incorporate clinical physiotherapy with evidence-based chiropractic. Therefore, the best treatment option for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee is a combination of chiropractic and physiotherapy. However, for chiropractic or physiotherapy to be effective, they must be focused and targeted on tissues and need of repair. Moreover, advanced therapy devices such as shockwave therapy end high-intensity laser therapy are essential for repairing damaged tissue without injections or surgery.

In Malaysia, Chiropractic Specialty Center® (CSC) offers comprehensive non-invasive therapeutic procedures through manual and breakthrough technologies and therapy devices to eliminate pain by repairing damaged tissues. Our clinical team of physiotherapists and chiropractors in Kuala Lumpur may recommend and perform one of the following procedures:

  • Chiropractic adjustments by activator are specifically performed for osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
  • Shockwave therapy
  • High-intensity laser therapy
  • Electrotherapy
  • Ultrasound therapy
  • Myofacial release and trigger point therapy
  • Soft tissue mobilization by physiotherapists and chiropractors 
  • Customized exercise, stretching, and rehabilitation to strengthen and stabilize your knee

Get the most holistic treatment for knee osteoarthritis when you visit us; please contact our main center on 03 2093 1000 to learn more about our services and locations.  

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