If you have been diagnosed with Osteoarthritis or know someone who has, you understand the chronic pain you endure on a daily basis. Affectionately known as OA, it is also referred to as degenerative joint disease or “wear and tear” arthritis.
Some days are better than others, but you still must manage the symptoms in varying degrees:
- discomfort, aches, and soreness in the joints
- stiffness in the joints, especially after being inactive
- reduced range of motion impacting flexibility
- tenderness or discomfort to the touch
- inflammation and swelling
- Grating, crackling, clicking, or popping sounds when you move your joints (crepitus)
- bone spurs
These symptoms are caused by joint damage, which can have a cumulative effect over time. Your joints can become damaged through age and repetitive motion, previous injuries, poor posture, joint malformation and even obesity, which puts additional strain on your body.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in your joints gradually deteriorates. Cartilage is a firm, slippery tissue that enables nearly frictionless joint motion. Eventually, if the cartilage wears down completely, bone will rub on bone.
The pain and limited mobility due to the symptoms can cause weight gain, exacerbating the problem with additional stress on your joints. It affects your sleep patterns, can leave you prone to fractures, erosion of ligaments and tendons and nothing positive.
One of the most common and debilitating areas is Osteoarthritic knee pain. Its prevalence will continue to increase as life expectancy and obesity rises. Osteoarthritis is more common in older people. Roughly 13% of women and 10% of men 60 years and older have symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Among those older than 70 years of age, the prevalence rises to as high as 40%. OA affects over 32.5 million US adults.
A healthy knee bends effortlessly and rotates slightly. The joint absorbs stress and moves smoothly. This allows you to walk, squat, and turn without pain. You do not realize how often you move your knee until you feel the pain associated with OA.
Once you are diagnosed with OA, your doctor may tell you to try lifestyle changes like exercise, weight loss, physical therapy, pain medicine, or natural remedies. But, if these do not work, they may suggest surgery.
Pain medication has its own risks, Opioids are addictive, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone in The United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.”
There are other effective options to surgery that you need to seriously consider.
The NJ Knee Pain Center uses a non-surgical approach to the treatment of Osteoarthritic knee pain, known as AARP (The Advanced Arthritis Relief Protocol). This utilizes non-surgical hyaluronic acid injections, using guided fluoroscopy, with specialized knee bracing and a comprehensive physical therapy program. The treatment is covered by Medicare and an FDA-approved therapy.
The NJ Knee Pain Center Provides Advanced Pain Relief Therapy in a 4 Step Program
- Viscosupplementation Therapy- a gel-like fluid called hyaluronic acid is injected enable bones to move smoothly over each other and as a shock absorber for joint loads into the knee joint, acting as a lubricant to
- Hyaluronic Acid Knee Injections– When you have OA, the naturally occurring hyaluronic acid in the affected joint thins. Hyaluronic acid injections add to your body’s natural supply.
- Fluoroscopy (Guiding Injection)- Fluoroscopy is an imaging technique that utilizes X-Ray to obtain real-time moving images of the internal structures of a patient, helping to direct the injection into the joint capsule
- Knee Bracing & Rehabilitation– An Unloading Knee Brace has been shown to increase joint space; reducing pressure on the cartilage of the knee and knee capsule, allows the viscosupplement of choice to bond with the body’s existing synovial fluid with greater ease.
If you are looking for new options to address your knee pain and your Osteoarthritis without the use of Opioids and surgery, please give us a call to schedule a free, no obligation consultation.