Treating Knee Osteoarthritis with Arthroscopy

What is Knee Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis, commonly known as tear arthritis, is a condition in which the natural cushioning between the joints – cartilage wears away. When this happens the bones of the joints rub more closely against one another with less of shod absorbing benefits of cartilage.

What causes Knee Osteoarthritis?

There are five major predisposing factors for Osteoarthritis of the knee:

Gender: Women above the above the age of 55 yrs are most likely to get affected by the Osteoarthritis of the knee.

Age: As one gets older, the knee cartilage loses its ability to heal and that’s the reason why old age is one of the factors why you may be affected.

Heredity: Genetic mutation may be one of the factors responsible for knee Osteoarthritis

Repetitive Stress: This could be one of the main reasons for people getting affected by Osteoarthritis of the knee.

Athletics: Sportsmen playing high intensity sports like Kabaddi, Tennis and Football areprone to knee injuries.

How is Knee Osteoarthritis Treated?

Weight Loss

If you seriously decide to lose weight then it will definitely do a deal of good to your health.

Exercise

Consult a good physiotherapist and strictly follow the exercises prescribed by him; in this way… you’ll feel better about your physical health.

Pain Relievers

If you want to avoid going for a surgery then pain relievers are probably the best option for you… take your medicines as prescribed by your doctor.

Treating Knee Osteoarthritis with Arthroscopy

Arthroscopy

Arthroscopy is a surgical procedure orthopedic surgeons use to visualize, diagnose and treat problems inside the joint.

Arthroscopy for Arthritis?

Arthroscopy cannot treat arthritis and hence its use is very limited in osteoarthritis. It may be required in acute conditions when there is a meniscus tear or a locked knee in a patient with osteoarthritis.

How is Arthroscopy performed?

Arthroscopic surgery although much easier in terms of recovery than open surgery still requires the use of aesthetics and special equipment’s in a hospital operating room or outpatient surgical suite. A small incision about the size of a buttonhole is made and then the arthroscope inserts several incisions to see other parts of the joint or insert other instruments.

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Effectiveness of Total Knee Replacement

Total Knee Replacement

Long considered as the “gold standard” surgery for knee arthritis, total knee replacement is still by far the most commonly performed joint replacement process. It is appropriate for middle-aged and older people who have arthritis in more than one compartment of the knee and who do not expect to return to high-impact athletics or heavy labor work. Results of this process are usually outstanding with 95% of total knee replacements continuing to function well for more than 10 years after operation.

Effectiveness of total knee replacement

Current research suggests that when total knee replacements are performed well in right selected patients, success is achieved in large majority of patients and the implant serves the patient well for several years. Many researches show that 90-95 percent of total knee replacements are still functioning very well even after 10 years of surgery. Most patients walk without the help of a cane, most of them can climb stairs, sit and get up easily from chairs, and most of them resume their desired level of recreational activity.

In many cases, the total knee replacement requires re-operation sometime in the future; it can always be revised (re-done) successfully. However, results of revised knee replacement are usually not as good as first-time knee replacements. There is good evidence that the experience of the knee surgeon correlates with outcome in total knee replacement surgery. It is best to have the initial surgery done by an experienced surgeon. Surgeons with several years of experience have been shown to have fewer complications and better results. It is therefore significant that the surgeon performing the technique just not be a good orthopedic surgeon, but a specialist in knee replacement surgery.

Precaution to be taken after knee replacement surgery

After operation, you’re wheeled to a recovery room for at least one to two hours. You’re then moved to your hospital room, where you usually stay for a couple of days. You might feel little pain, but medications prescribed by your surgeon should help to control it. During the hospital stay, you’re encouraged to move your ankle and foot, which will increase the blood flow to your leg muscles and will help to prevent swelling and blood clots. You might need blood thinners, support hose or even compression boots to further protect against swelling and clotting.

The day after operation, a physical therapist shows you how to exercise with your new knee. During the first few weeks after operation, a good recovery is more likely to take place if you follow all the orthopedic surgeon’s instructions which are concerned with wound care, diet and exercise. Your physical activity program will comprise of:

• A graduated walking program: first indoors, then outdoors, will help to increase your mobility
• You need to slowly resume to other household activities, which include: walking up and down stairs
• Knee-strengthening exercises which are recommended by the hospital physical therapist, should be performed several times a day

The Role of Orthopedic Surgeons

Orthopedics is the branch of medicine related to diseases, damages and conditions of the musculoskeletal system or the body’s muscles and skeleton. This structure also comprises of the joints, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Meanwhile, orthopedic surgeons are the medical specialists who are responsible for preventive and surgical treatment of the musculoskeletal system.

About Orthopedic Surgery and Surgeon

Experts insist that the exact name of this medical specialty is actually orthopedic surgery and not orthopedics. However, orthopedics is the commonly known and accepted term for the purpose. As a line of specialists, orthopedic surgery is made up of surgeons (knee specialist, shoulder specialist and so on) and other healthcare professionals who provide comprehensive orthopedic services.This line of expertise provides treatment for diseases, damages, fractures and pain. In addition, orthopedists also take care of rehabilitation programs for the physically disabled and participate in ongoing musculoskeletal study.

Orthopedic Surgeons/Physicians – Key Roles

The main roles of an orthopedic surgeon/physician can be divided into the following sub-heads:

Diagnostic and assessment technique Treatment Research

Here we have discussed each and every role in detail to facilitate a better understanding of an orthopedic surgeon/physician’s role and functions.

Diagnostic Role

A vast number of patients visit their orthopedic surgeon/physicians every year for a series of ailments, disorders and medical conditions. There are a vast number of conditions that have an impact on our body’s musculoskeletal system, which need clinical care by an orthopedic surgeon.

What does an Orthopedic Surgeon Treat?

An orthopedic surgeon treats musculoskeletal conditions without operation, by using medications, exercise and other rehabilitative or alternative therapies. If required, he/she may also recommend surgical treatment.

Some of the conditions and diseases an orthopedic surgeon treatment includes:

• Abnormalities of the fingers and toes
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Ruptured disks, Back pain, sciatica and scoliosis
• Bone tumors, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy
• Fractures and dislocations
• Growth abnormalities
• Tendon injuries, pulled muscles, bursitis and torn cartilage
• Torn ligaments, sprains and strains
• Club foot, bunions, bow legs, knock knees and unequal leg length
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sports or work-related injuries

Knee Pain Relief: an ACL Injury & the Role of Reconstructive Surgery

Tears or ruptures of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) are common damages in athletes of different ages and activity levels.  ACL tears are treatable using arthroscopy and nominally invasive surgical methods. The medical success rates for ACL reconstruction exceed 95%. The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the main supportive ligaments in the knee. It runs from the lower leg bone (tibia) to the thigh bone (femur) at the knee. This ligament provides knee immovability by preventing extreme forward movement of the tibia in relation to the femur and is also significant in controlling rotation of the two bones.

While the ACL is not the most usually injured knee ligament, tears of this ligament normally lead to chronic knee instability or “giving way. Anterior cruciate ligament tears most commonly result during athletics from vital cutting, landing, deceleration or twisting damages. It is less common for ACL tears to happen as a result of physical contact or collisions during athletics.Many patients who undergo an ACL tear will know immediately that something “feels wrong” with the knee. Several patients report feeling or hearing a “pop” linked with pain and a sense of the knee “giving out”. The joint will usually swell within several hours which results in limited motion of the knee. It will become painful to bear weight on the damaged leg, and the patient will prefer to walk with assertive devices for added support, such as crutches or a cane. Sometimes, the patient may know-how the knee “giving way” when stressed with simple activities such as walking or changing directions.

What Causes an ACL Injury?

An ACL injury is generally sports-related knee damage. About 85% of sports-related ACL tears are “non-contact” damages. This means that the damage occurs without the contact of another player, such as a tackle in football. Most often ACL tears happen when pivoting or landing from a jump. Your knee gives-out from under you once you tear your ACL. Female athletes are known to have a higher risk of an ACL tear, while contributing in competitive sports. Unfortunately, understanding why women are more inclined to to ACL injury is uncertain. There are some suggestions it is bio mechanical, power and hormonal related. In truth, it is possibly a factor of all three.

What are the Symptoms of an ACL Injury?

The diagnosis of an ACL tear is made by numerous methods. Patients who have an ACL tear generally sustain a sports-related knee injury. They may have felt or heard a “pop” in their knee, and the knee generally gives-out from under them. ACL tears cause knee swelling and pain.

How is an ACL Injury Diagnosed?

On clinical knee checkup, your physiotherapist or sports surgeon will look for signs of ACL ligament instability. These special ACL tests places stress on the anterior cruciate ligament, and can notice an ACL tear or rupture.

How is an ACL Injury Treated?

Many patients with an ACL tear start to feel healthier within a few days or weeks of ACL injury. These individuals may feel as though their knee is normal again, as their swelling has started to settle. However, this is when your problems with knee instability and giving way may start or worsen. ACL tears do not essentially require ACL reconstruction operation. There are several significant factors to consider before deciding to undertake ACL reconstruction operation.

1. Your age
2. If you regularly perform sports or activities that normally require a functional ACL
3. If you experience knee instability
4. You need to plan for the future

If you don’t contribute in a multi-directional sport that requires a patent ACL, and you don’t have an unstable knee, then you may not need ACL operation.

Know All About Knee Joint Replacement Surgery

What is a Knee Joint Replacement?
The orthopedic technique of knee joint replacement is also called as the Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). This surgery involves replacing the current knee joint with a man made one. Orthopedic Mumbai knee surgeons replace knee joints in order to end ache, painfulness, and loss of function.

Are you a candidate for a Knee joint replacement?
Both prolonged osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis usually cause people to lose knee function and harm the joint to the degree that they require a knee joint replacement (total knee arthroplasty or TKA). But knee injury may also stem from damage or infection. Sometimes, people with stark rheumatoid arthritis of the knee can need a TKA at an early age.

What are the current advances in Knee Replacement Surgery?
Minimally invasive surgery has transfigured knee replacement surgery as well as several fields of medicine. Its key characteristic is that it uses specified techniques and instruments to allow the knee surgeon to achieve major surgery without a large incision. Nominally invasive knee joint replacement needs a much smaller incision, 3 to 5 inches, versus the normal approach and incision. The smaller, less intrusive approaches result in less tissue injury by allowing the knee surgeon to work amid the fibers of the quadriceps muscles instead of needing an incision through the tendon. It may lead to less aching, reduced recovery time and better gesture due to less scar tissue formation.

How do Mumbai knee surgeons accomplish a Knee Joint Replacement? How long does the process last?
The surgery for total knee replacement may last around 45 mins to one hour and involves an incision over your knee. The thighbone and shinbone will be cut to formulate them for the new pieces. The patella will be stimulated at the beginning of the technique, and later bone cement will be used to secure the prosthesis to it. This is the customary way the procedure has been performed. Some modifications to the process can be made and partial knee replacements are options for certain joints, as well. You will generally leave the hospital within a few days of the process and attend a rehabilitation flair that will help you get used to your current knee and ultimately help you return to all your activities and expectantly many that you gave up due to aching or incapability of your “old” knee to grip.

How long will the patient require physical therapy after Knee Replacement?
After knee replacement surgery, you are generally sent home or to a rehabilitation clinic, depending on your state at that time. If you are sent to a rehabilitation facility, the average rehabilitation stay is around five to ten days. If you are sent straight home from the hospital, your doctor will generally have a physical therapist come to treat you at your home. Your doctor also may have you go to a casualty physical rehabilitation facility as the final stage of the rehabilitation procedure. Outpatient treatment may last from one to two months, depending on your development. Remember, every person is diverse and the course of rehabilitation will be dogged on an individual basis with the assistance of your knee surgeon and physical therapist.

Joint Replacement Surgery in India: Common Misconceptions

It’s believed that a huge percentage of Indian population suffering from chronic joint pain have never consulted a joint health specialist, and a major amount of people who are diagnosed are not getting proper treatment for their affliction. Over half of the patients who could really benefit from a total joint replacement procedure simply do not go for it, suffering in pain unnecessarily.

There are a lot of misconceptions about joint replacement issues across the country. Many people still think that joint problems are limited only to the elderly. Following are some of the more prominent mistaken beliefs we Indians are known to harbour about joint replacement:

• Not old enough: If you’re 50 years old or above and joint pain is stopping you from enjoying an optimum quality of life, you are perfectly eligible to get relief. Today, incredible scientific advances in prosthetics have made it possible to elongate the lifespan of prosthetic joints. It has made replacement a viable and attractive option, even for younger people. Although there are no assurances of prosthetic joints and there may arise a need for another replacement later in life, there are new joints which are intended to last for up to 20 years; while the technology is continuously advancing.

• Can’t afford the time: There is this niggling worry that getting recovered from a joint replacement procedure will take up too much of one’s time, but with the rapid advances in science, it’s quite possible to get back home and get back to doing what you enjoy doing sooner than you can imagine. Further advances in anesthesia, surgical technology, and the management of pain have made recover even faster.

• Anxiety about joint surgery: Having little knowledge about joint surgery can contribute to a lot of fear and anxiety among sufferers. It’s when one learns what to expect in joint replacement procedure, the anxiety dips and there is more confidence. The fact of the matter is that joint replacement surgery in most cases is minimally invasive and highly successful due to a number of elements.

It’s important to set all misinformation and misconceptions aside in order to take a step towards effective and lasting pain relief from joint pain. If you’re looking for procedures like Dislocation Shoulder Surgery, Knee-Ligament Surgery, or an Arthroscopy Surgeon in Mumbai, then you can contact Dr. A. M. Rajani today!