Osteoarthritis of the knee is a very common problem that can have substantial effects on the individual concerning pain and also disability. It also has significant impacts for the costs for the healthcare system. The prevalence with the problem is increasing with the greater incidence of excessive weight which is the key risk factor for osteo arthritis of the knee. Some experts are declaring this a public health catastrophe and similar to the diabetes pandemic. The most widespread risk factor is the body mass index, but individuals with a history of knee damage, probably from sports activity also are at a higher risk of knee arthritis. There are several hereditary risk factors including bow legs as well as cartilage in the knee joint that just appears to be prone to deterioration that can't really be changed like some other risk factors could.
Most likely the two most crucial aspects of management for individuals who have arthritis is exercise and losing weight. As a larger BMI is a large risk factor for the cause of arthritis plus a predictor of the further advancement, reducing your weight will likely be paramount. This is going to have to be a long-term proposition and should be directed by the right expert guidance and advice. Weight loss could also help the other treatments which can be used to work better. Another important component is exercise. Activity has been proven to reduce pain. The many muscles around the painful knee joint really needs to be strengthened. This can be mild physical exercises in a pool or perhaps more substantial weight lifting in a gymnasium. This too should really be with the guidance of a health care professional to make sure that the workouts are the correct exercises and performed correctly. Do nothing is just not an option and doesn't help lessen the progress of the condition.
A different physical exercise method is an unstable shoe intervention, Apos therapy, which you have on for as much as one hour a day. The Apos therapy footwear is calibrated to enable you to move in a different way and make you unstable which leads to a strengthening of the gait muscles. There are also wedges which can be used in the shoe and may help osteoarthritis within the medial compartment of the knee. In addition there are different splints that might be worn on the knee that will help try taking some of the stress off the knee. There are a variety of medicines and also injection treatments which can help with the serious pain and are very helpful, but they usually do not alter the nature of the problems in the way weight reduction and physical activity may. There are medications as well as other therapies that are being researched which will help repair the actual damage to the cartilage, but they're still in the experimental phases. When the pain inside the knee joint moves on and becomes really painful then a total knee arthroplasty is being performed more frequently. The disability and time to recover after the surgery is decreasing with great physical therapy and there have been big improvements in the hardware that the joint replacement is manufactured out of.