What is Knee Arthritis?
Arthritis is the wear, or degeneration, of cartilage inside the joint that occurs over time. Cartilage acts as a shock absorber and allows the joint to move smoothly and without pain. The wear of cartilage in the knee can lead to joint inflammation, stiffness, decreased range of motion and, most importantly, pain. Arthritis is not all or nothing, there is a range of joint wear spanning from no or little wear, to a joint that has no cartilage remaining and bone rubs on bone. No one is too young or too old to have joint wear.
Watch the video below to see how knee arthritis affect the body.
Watch the video below to see how knee arthritis affect the body.
About Knee Arthritis
Injections
How Does Arthritis Happen?
- Normal wear and tear of life
- Genetic predisposition
- Anatomic abnormalities
- Autoimmune disease
- Contributing factors: weight, age, activity level
Risk Factors
- Anatomic Predisposition
Knock kneed: More prone to developing arthritis in the outside part of the knee.
Bow-legged: More prone to developing arthritis in the inside part of the knee
Deformities can occur as arthritis develops - Prior injury such as a torn meniscus or torn ligaments.
- Being overweight
- Lack of exercise
What are the Symptoms of Knee Arthritis?
- Pain, pain, pain! Pain can be in the whole knee or, in some cases, localized to just a part of the knee.
- Grinding, snapping and popping sensations
- Stiffness and swelling
- Difficulty going up and down stairs or hills (particularly going down)
- Limping
- Bowlegged or knock knee deformities
Care for Knees
- Remember: Arthritis is not all or nothing, not all patients need to start with surgery!
- At the Bone and Joint Center we grade how much cartilage you have in your joint. From normal, to moderate, near end stage and end stage (or bone on bone). This is key as even if your joint is near end stage and only has a sliver of cartilage remaining, many times you can still undergo conservative (non-operative) treatment for a long time.
- When your knee becomes bone on bone, while not as successful, conservative treatment is still an option. Again, not all patients need to start with surgery! We provide patients with a full spectrum of care options to help patients with bone on bone arthritis maintain an active lifestyle without surgery.
- At the Bone and Joint Center we develop a treatment plan that is individualized for you and your goals.
Early Evaluation is Important
- Getting your bone and joint pain evaluated early is an opportunity to first determine the cause of your pain, and then to develop a treatment plan to help you feel better and be more active but also potentially to slow down the development of worsening arthritis.
- Even though you are seeing an orthopaedic surgeon, we have many non-surgical in-between treatment steps to help patients experiencing knee pain. Many of our patients are able to maintain an active lifestyle and reduce their pain with non-operative treatments.
Evaluation of Knee Pain
The first step in your journey to a customized treatment plan is a thorough evaluation. An evaluation of your knee is a combination of your chief complaint, such as pain and other symptoms, followed by a physical examination and simple X-rays. All of this is completed in just one office visit!
Chief Complaint:
- When you are a patient at our office, we try and gather as much information on you as possible.
- We start with a survey to identify your “chief complaint.” By far, the most often chief complaint we hear is pain.
In our surveys, we want to know where you pain is, how bad it is and how it impacts your function. - Knowing the type of pain you are experiencing and when is key to proper evaluation of your joint.
Physical Exam:
- Understanding your range of motion, your gait (how you walk) and mobility are the key objectives of our exam.
- Questions we ask include:
"How far can you extend or straighten your knee?"
"How far can you bend it?"
"How does your knee pain impact your ability to walk?"
X-rays:
- We take weight bearing views of your knees in order to simulate how you walk on your knees. It shows us the worst case scenario of how much cartilage you have remaining
- We take multiple X-rays of your knees so that we can look at all areas of your knee that may have joint wear.
- Knowing exactly where and how bad your joint wear is allows us to provide the most appropriate treatment.
Watch this video to learn more about knee X-rays:
Deciding on a Treatment Plan
- Your treatment plan will depend on the wear seen in your X-rays as well as your level of pain and how your pain affects the activities you would like to do and your general quality of life.
- After your evaluation, you and your physician will review and discuss your evaluation and arrive at a shared decision on your individualized treatment plan.
Treatments
- While joint wear cannot be undone, there are ways to slow down the wear in the cartilage.
- Not all patients, even those with advanced arthritis, need to start with surgery. There are in-between, non-operative steps that can be taken.
- Non-operative treatments such as physical therapy, injections, diet and weight management can be very effective and are usually tried out first before moving to operative treatments.
- In addition, starting these steps will prepare you in case surgery is needed down the road. The patients that are best prepared have the fastest and best outcomes!
We will work with you to develop an individualized treatment plan that aligns with your goals so that you can get back to the activities that matter most to you!
