Knee osteoarthritis with mild to moderate instability of the knee joint and treatment with knee orthosis!
Osteoarthritis is widely considered to be the most common cause of arthritis pain that affects millions of people world-wide. Estimates reveal around 16 million people are suffering from osteoarthritis that impacts the general quality of life. Almost everyone be it young or old are at risk of developing osteoarthritis at any point of time in their life. But it is the older generation who are highly prone to risk of osteoarthritis due to age and degenerative changes of knee and other joints of the body. Over a million Canadians and Americans are exposed to osteoarthritis of knee with 1 out of 10 people aged 60 years and beyond living with this condition.
Osteoarthritis of popularly OA is a wear and tear disease that mainly affects the joints of our body like elbow, hands, wrist, knee. Even several case of ankle osteoarthritis are observed due to previous ankle injury. It is to be noted that injury can damage the cartilage directly or lead to changes of how the ankle joint functions thereby leading to cartilage deterioration with passage of time.
The major symptoms that people experience are generally caused by loss of or breakdown of cartilage in the knee, that significantly leads to narrowing of space in the joint. The loss of spacing in joints gradually progresses with time leading to bone spurs and restricted movement.
Age is the most common risk factor for any disease and osteoarthritis is no exception. Older adults especially the women are mostly affected by osteoarthritis due to the degenerative changes and nature of the disease. Besides obesity also increases the burden of osteoarthritis as too much pressure and weight is exerted on the knee during physical activity. Other major risk factors that might onset osteoarthritis are as follows:
- Genetic changes
- Gender as already stated that women are more prone to this disease
- Obesity
- Altered knee biomechanics
- Any known previous knee injury or a trauma
- Repetitive stress injuries as it happens in high action sports & body contact sports
Even healthy athletes and sports persons are at risk of osteoarthritis due to overuse of joints, injury and repetitive stress from fall as it happens with soccer sport. Contact sports like rugby, wrestling also can lead to osteoarthritis from any jury to the knee.
The symptoms of knee osteoarthritis are varied and the severity from OA depends on the condition whether it is at initial stage to advanced stage. While you may not have every symptom associated with knee osteoarthritis, you are probably at risk of Osteoarthritis of the knee if any of these symptoms develop.
Crepitus – Crepitus is a condition when you feel a grinding, creaking, crunching or grating sensation is felt or heard while you try to move or bend your knee.
Pain – Pain, tenderness or soreness is often felt on the inside of the knee (medial part) with osteoarthritis. With knee OA you may feel pain or any sensitivity when you knee down, walk uphill or downhill, climbing up and down the stairs or bending the knee as during sitting.
Stiffness of joints
Decrease loss of mobility
Weakness or decrease of muscle power
Swelling or inflammation of the knee
There are 4 stages to progression of knee osteoarthritis as cited under:
Stage 1 – Minor – There is little or no Pain or Discomfort but there is a small loss of cartilage
Stage 2 – Mild – Little or some Pain with Joint stiffness. There is a continuing loss of cartilage and noticeable osteophyte growth
Stage 3 – Moderate – Pain with Discomfort and Swelling are the main indications of this stage. There is good loss of cartilage and noticeable joint space that has narrowed.
Stage 4 – Severe – An Intense Pain with Loss of Mobility and Discomfort is noticed at this critical stage. It is the most advanced stage of osteoarthritis with around 60% knee cartilage worn away. Similarly the joint space has significantly narrowed with bone constantly rubbing against each other.
It is at Stage 2 – 4 that you need to take the extra precaution because situation warrants medical attention. You should consult your orthopedic surgeon for a proper treatment plan for safe recovery. Your orthopedic surgeon will discuss in details on the nature of pain, take your family history for any genetic factors behind knee OA. Your doctor will physically check the knee and monitor your gait movement. Thereafter your physician will ask for routine tests like X-Rays, MRI scans to assess the extent of damage done to your joints and the position of the bones. Besides NSAIDs, medication, rest and rehabilitation exercises under the observation of trained physiotherapist. It besides, your doctor might also recommend for usage of knee orthosis and braces. Such orthosis reduces the stress on kneecap and offers compression causing massaging effect. The massaging action significantly reduces swelling and effusion and at the same time muscular control, strength and stabilization of the knee joint is also improved.
You should therefore opt for a knee orthosis or a brace to help prevent migration, reduce stress on the knee cap and lend massaging effect due to compression of the knitted fabric.
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