What is knee arthritis?
Knee arthritis is a group of conditions that cause major damage inside your knee joints. The most common kind of knee arthritis is osteoarthritis, which develops when the cartilage that cushions your joints breaks down.
When your knees lack their cartilage cushion, the bones in your knee joint rub together, leading to worsening discomfort and increasing dysfunction.
Other types of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis and post-traumatic arthritis, can also occur in your knees. Arthritis may occur in one knee (unilateral) or both (bilateral).
What are the symptoms of knee arthritis?
Usually, knee arthritis starts gradually, but it may come on suddenly in some cases. Arthritis symptoms in your knee may include:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Stiffness
- Poor range of motion
- Clicking or grinding when you move
- Knee weakness or tendency to buckle
It’s common to experience notable symptoms when first getting moving after sitting for a period of time, "start-up pain."
When does knee arthritis require treatment?
In the early stages of knee arthritis, your symptoms may be quite mild. But, serious pain and movement issues require attention. Loss of function is the major driver for seeking medical attention.
If knee arthritis causes problems with your daily activities, such as difficulty kneeling or instability while walking, call Total Joint Specialists to find out how treatment can help.
What does knee arthritis treatment involve?
Your arthritis treatment at Total Joint Specialists depends on a few factors, including your symptom severity and the amount of damage your knee joint has incurred.
The skilled surgeons usually recommend a conservative approach to start. Physical therapy, bracing, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may help you manage knee arthritis quite well for months to years.
If your symptoms continue and even worsen, injections of steroids and anesthetics can combat inflammation and pain with relief that can last for months to a year. Once the pain relief lasts for less than three months, other options may need to be considered.
Injections may help you live comfortably with knee arthritis for some time. However, you can only have a limited number of injections per year because they may cause knee arthritis to worsen faster.
For severe knee arthritis, joint replacement surgery is the most effective solution. The skilled surgeons at Total Joint Specialists offer knee replacements, with the lowest length of stay and lowest rate of readmission in the state.
They use the most advanced protocols for knee replacements, including combinations of computer templating, intra-operative analysis, and the Mako® and VELYS™ robotic-assisted surgical systems.
To get personalized knee arthritis treatments from Georgia’s top experts, call Total Joint Specialists or use online booking to arrange your appointment now.
