Knee Osteoarthritis
- Posted on: Jan 19 2017
Cold weather have your joints feeling achy? Perhaps your knees are experiencing pain, stiffness, swelling and constantly cracking? If you are over 50 and these are common symptoms with prolonged walking, standing or climbing stairs, then you may have a degenerative condition known as osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis affects more than 51 million people in the US according to a National Health Interview Survey. Arthritis in the knee occurs from inflammation due to bone on bone grinding as a result of a degenerative or traumatic loss of cartilage. The cartilage functionally acts to cushion and protect the surface of the bones. Through normal wear and tear, it breaks down and allows bone on bone grinding that can sometimes cause bone spurs to develop which causes further pain and inflammation. Some of the symptoms that you may experience as a result of osteoarthritis are: redness to the area, hot to the touch, pain and swelling that is worse in the morning or after sitting or resting, flare ups due to vigorous activity, and knee buckling or weakness due to pain.
Total Knee Replacement? Surgery is typically a last resort for people suffering from the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Physical therapy offers a conservative, effective option that can help relieve pain and restore function in your life. An individualized program tailored to your lifestyle and designed to increase strength and stability in the knee and improve flexibility is prescribed by your physical therapist to regain function.
source: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00212
Posted in: Knee
