Improving joint mobility without surgery. Before deciding on knee surgery, your doctor may try a variety of non-surgical options to ease your knee pain and inflammation.
MODIFICATION OF LIFESTYLE
Most doctors explore lifestyle changes first as an alternative to knee surgery. Weight loss, avoiding activities like sprinting and twisting that might worsen the knee injury, adjusting exercise to no- and low-impact, and making other changes to your daily routine to reduce stress on your knee are all possible ways to lessen stress on your knee.
PHYSICAL THERAPY AND EXERCISE
Strength and flexibility can be improved with exercise and physical treatment. Stretching activities include flexing the ankle up and down, tightening and holding thigh muscles, moving the heel forward on the floor, leg lifts, and knee extensions, as well as strengthening exercises like riding a stationary bike.
MEDICATIONS TO PREVENT INFLAMMATION
Inflammation in the knee causes arthritis pain as the bones scrape against each other due to damaged cartilage. Reducing tissue inflammation in the knee can provide brief pain relief, postpone knee surgery, and help in movement. Anti-inflammatory drugs may be used to help reduce joint swelling. Cox-2 inhibitors, a new class of drug, may be used to lower inflammation and pain temporarily. A corticosteroid injection, in which a potent anti-inflammatory medication is administered directly into the joint, may also be used to relieve pain and improve mobility.
GLUCOSAMINE/CHONDROITIN
Glucosamine/chondroitin, a dietary supplement, may help to increase joint mobility and reduce pain associated with knee arthritis. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate can help to reduce bone-on-bone discomfort by slowing cartilage degeneration. Both of these compounds are found in the human body. Glucosamine is thought to aid in the formation of new cartilage and the repair of damaged cartilage, whereas chondroitin is thought to aid in water retention, cartilage elasticity, and the inhibition of cartilage-degrading enzymes.
FLUID THERAPY IN COMBINATION
While drugs and supplements can help you delay or prevent knee surgery by lowering inflammation and pain, there are drawbacks. There are risks associated with drug therapy, and there is a limit to how much pain may be reduced.
A series of injections are made directly into the knee joints in a process known as joint fluid therapy. This therapy aims to relieve discomfort in the knee by enhancing lubrication and refilling the lubricating synovial fluid. Hyaluronate is used to treat arthritic knee pain in people who haven’t gotten enough relief from over-the-counter pain relievers or exercise and physical therapy.
As you can see, there are a variety of non-surgical treatments for osteoarthritis. These techniques can help to postpone knee surgery by giving temporary relief and improving knee mobility. Any drug therapy regimen, however, is likely to have adverse effects that should be considered. Non-surgical methods may likewise have limited results when compared to knee surgery’s long-term outcomes.
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