2009 April

Injuries And Osteoarthritis Knee Pain

April 11th, 2009

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How do we address the question: how to treat knee osteoarthritis? Should surgery be an option in osteoarthritis knee treatment? Is total knee replacement the right choice? Osteoarthritis pain treatment cannot be handled with just joint care to prevent osteoarthritis pain or natural remedies for osteoarthritis pain treatment.

Osteoarthritis Knee Pain – Overuse Knee Injuries – Braces That Can …

With the many demands placed on you today, and the fact that many of us live fast paced lives, it is understandable why knee pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints people have when they visit with their physician. The knee pain can range from being mild to excruciating, as a result of having different knee ailments. As a result of this knee pain, millions of people seek pain relief in one form or another.

Knee pain severity varies among people, and as a result, you may require a unique treatment method tailored to your personal needs. Some people may simply need to rest their knee to find knee pain relief, while others may only find knee pain relief with the use of a knee brace, or as a result of having surgery.

There are many types of knee disorders and knee injuries that cause severe pain.

For example, If you are an athlete, you may have severe knee pain resulting from tears of the ligaments, muscles, or cartilage at the knee joint. Unfortunately, the more active you are, the higher the risk of a sports-related injury. In the case of a torn ligament (such as your ACL) your physician may look for you to obtain a knee brace to help provide meaningful, or they may recommend surgery in order to receive knee pain relief. In some cases, your physician may require the use of both surgery and a knee brace to achieve knee pain relief long term.

Knee Pain Relief for Knee Osteoarthritis:

Physical therapy and the use of medicines can help you manage the pain caused by osteoarthritis. Physical therapy is a special exercise program done with the help of a trained therapist, who helps you regain movement and flexibility of your knee, in the effort to reduce painful symptoms. Stability and balance may improve when the muscles around the knee are strengthened. It can be reasonably assumed that you will need physical therapy if you choose to undergo knee surgery.

Moreover, your physician may tell you to use pain-relieving creams or sprays that you can apply to your skin around your knee, to achieve some pain relief. In addition, your physician may recommend that you take oral medications, such as acetaminophen (brand name: Tylenol) or prescription medications to help relieve the pain.

Pain Relief for Overuse Knee Injuries:

Something as simple as overuse of the knees can cause people to seek knee pain relief. Minor insults to your knees, can worsen over time and become a more involved problem. Muscle strains and the inflammation caused by tendonitis can develop and worsen as people grow older. Tears, sprains and strains must be treated with care and allowed to heal over time. Some people use ice or heating pads for knee pain relief.

Author: Daniel P. Sims

If you would like free information just like this visit us online at http://www.drbraceco.com Dr. Brace Co. is an education based site that can provide helpful information and meaningful support for your knee.

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Is Total Knee Replacement The Right Choice?

April 10th, 2009

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Controlling osteoarthritis pain treatment can be a daunting task if treating osteoarthritis knee pain is faced with the question, should surgery be an option in osteoarthritis knee treatment? How to treat Knee osteoarthritis can be dealt with by resorting to joint care to prevent osteoarthritis pain, or natural remedies for osteoarthritis pain treatment.

Oxinium Knee Replacement For Young Patients With Osteoarthritis.

Total knee replacement is generally performed in older patients with osteoarthritis. For the first time in India, a new prosthesis for young patients with osteoarthritis will be introduced. This prosthesis made of a wonder material called Zirconium, a ceramic coated metal ensures longer survival of the prosthesis after implantation. The introduction of this prosthesis will hopefully encourage more number of young and middle aged Indians and Westerners to undergo knee replacement in India.

Advantages of Zirconium

1) The significant advantage of Zirconium knee implants is that it is considerably harder. On testing it lasts 85 times longer in tests that simulate the stresses inside the actual knee. Additional advantages are scratch resistance.

2) When it is wet, ceramic can glide smoothly along plastic, making for smoother motion than with metal-on-plastic. As a result, the Oxinium total knee replacement will not generate the quantity of plastic wear debris that cobalt chrome will, and the implants should last considerably longer. Zirconium is one of the six most biocompatible elements know to man. So, your immune system will more easily tolerate your new implant.

3) Lastly, patients who are allergic to nickel, the metal most often used in the current implants, cannot currently receive total knee replacements. The ceramic implant, however, can be implanted safely in patients with nickel allergies, since it uses a zirconium alloy with no nickel. Implants made of Oxinium have been implanted in larger number of patients in the UK Australia and the US with great success.

Who would benefit most from an Oxinium (zirconium) total knee replacement?

Three types of patient have been identified as the "best" candidates for an Oxinium total knee replacement.

"Younger" patients: Because Oxinium knee implants offer significantly less wear compared to cobalt chrome implants, they are expected to last considerably longer. In the past, orthopedic surgeons have advised patients less than 65 years of age to wait to have knee replacement surgery because the life span of the cobalt chrome knee implants is only 10-15 years. Now, surgeons have a viable option for a younger patient who previously would not be a candidate for a total knee replacement because the Oxinium knee implants should last much longer. Therefore, a patient under the age of 65 who has advanced arthritis of the knee no longer has to suffer for years until he reaches an appropriate age for total knee replacement surgery.

"Active" patients: Patients, who desire to return to an active lifestyle, including sports, dancing, gardening, or other strenuous activities, may also benefit from an Oxinium knee replacement. As a result of their high activity level, this patient population will put more "wear and tear" on their knee replacement, which can cause the implants to wear more quickly. An Oxinium knee is better able to tolerate this high activity level and last longer that the traditional cobalt chrome knee. Metal allergy patients: Because Oxinium is one of the most biocompatible materials known to man, it is the only choice for patients who exhibit metal allergies. Patients who have needed total knee replacement surgery, but could not tolerate the cobalt chrome implants due to their nickel content, can now have the surgery they need to return to an active lifestyle without the fear of an allergic reaction.

The first patient will be a middle aged Housewife with osteoarthritis. Whereas normal knee prostheses cost about 80,000 rupees, this new prosthesis may cost about 1. 25 lakhs, but it is comparable to the best in its category. The higher cost will be offset by the longer survivorship of the implant. A Total knee package is available for Indians and foreigners with normal and long life prostheses at affordable costs.

Author: Alampallam Venkatachalam

Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam, MS, DNB, FRCS (UK), MCh. (Liverpool) has worked with leading Knee surgeons in the UK, Belgium and Dubai earlier. He is affiliated to the Chettinad health city hospital in Chennai. Recovery from surgery is no longer a painful ordeal as expert anesthetists provide effective anesthesia and pain relief to inpatients. The intensive care unit is monitored by alert physicians round the clock and multi specialty referrals are readily available. There are well qualified physiotherapists to help you recover quickly from surgery.

Our track record

We have had the pleasure of treating patients from the USA, UK, Bangladesh recently and these numbers are increasing. Knee replacements are performed using the most modern techniques and prostheses. Amongst others the following procedures are routinely performed.

Knee Total knee replacement- normal and high flexion Unicondylar knee replacement Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction Cartilage surgery Osteotomy for osteo arthritis and knee cap problem Fracture http://www.kneeindia.com

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