As orthopedic specialists, Dr. Louis Keppler and his team are specialists in treating injuries and conditions that affect your knees. Your knees are important for many reasons, and keeping them as healthy as possible means living a more active and mobile life.
If your knee hurts all the time, and the various treatments you’ve tried don’t help, our experts may be able to offer you guidance on the next steps available to you. Here, we describe some of the reasons your knee may hurt, along with some options for treatment that could bring you some relief.
Osteoarthritis of the knee
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, and it often affects the knee joint. Your risk of developing OA increases as you age. It’s sometimes called “wear-and-tear” arthritis because it tends to happen with age and overuse.
There’s no cure for OA, though there are treatments that can slow the progression of the disease. When you have this type of arthritis, the cartilage in your joints begins to break down, leaving no cushioning barrier between the bones of your joint. It generally starts with pain or aching in your knee, and progresses to pain that keeps you from performing your normal activities.
There are many treatments for OA, and there are some things you can do as well. For example, if you’re overweight, your knee joint is bearing unnecessary weight. Physical activity, though painful, helps slow the progression of OA. Our staff can recommend programs to help you learn pain management techniques and how to exercise safely as well.
Depending on your specific situation, there are numerous treatments to address the symptoms of OA, and some may even slow the progression of your joint deterioration. It’s important that your treatment plan is designed to suit your specific needs.
Other conditions that cause knee pain
There are other conditions that result in knee pain, such as:
- Ligament injuries
- Tendon tears
- Muscle strain
- Dislocations
- Fractures
Most of the time, these types of conditions can be treated with rest, anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, braces, or other noninvasive methods. In other words, your knee doesn’t usually become a liability with conditions like these. You may feel like it for a while, but eventually, these kinds of injuries usually heal well.
What happens when nothing works?
If your knee pain doesn’t respond to treatments, it may be time to consider knee replacement. Although this surgery may seem radical or extreme, in some cases it is the most appropriate treatment.
Here are a few of the benefits of knee replacement:
It eases the pain
If you have OA, you have pain, and if your OA has reached the point where your doctor has recommended knee replacement surgery, you likely have unremitting pain that disrupts your life.
It’s not a temporary measure
Most replacements last 15-25 years. Surgery and recovery take a few weeks or months, but after that, you’ll be good to go for a long time.
You’ll be mobile
Knee pain can stop you from doing all kinds of things that you need and want to do. Maybe you enjoy an after-dinner stroll with your sweetheart, but the pain is so bad it’s all you can think about, or perhaps you enjoy bird watching and can’t do it anymore. Whatever it is you enjoy doing, a new knee will let you do it again.
Don’t let your knee be a liability. Book an appointment with us at Dr. Louis Keppler & Associates today. Give us a call at 234-430-0079 between 8 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday to book your appointment and find out how you can live with less knee pain
