More than a million surgeries are performed every year to help people suffering from arthritis of the knee. While such surgery is sometimes the best option, two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, one in 2002 and one in 2008, found that physical therapy and medications can be just as effective as […]
Arthritis may be a joint disease, but strengthening the muscles is an important component in its treatment. That is because a leading cause of limited movement in people with arthritis—especially, for instance, knee arthritis—is the weakening of surrounding muscles, rather than pain, dysfunction or abnormalities in the joint itself. This raises an important question: Is […]
You and a friend both have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but your treatment regimens are very different. You wonder why, for are not all cases of RA basically the same? Broadly speaking, any incidence of RA occurs because the body attacks its tissues as if they were foreign bodies. This is the hallmark of an autoimmune […]
For people who suff er from arthritis, surgery using a compression screw can treat the condition in the foot and ankle. In this procedure, two sides of the joint are roughened, and the two bones making up the arthritic joint are fused, using a screw. After the area is immobilized with a cast, the body is […]
Here’s the catch-22 of physical therapy: Reducing pain requires physical work, but physical work can cause pain that makes it extremely difficult to do that work. Patients with arthritis of the knee joint often find that using a brace allows them to perform strengthening exercises more easily. But some people wrongly believe that a brace […]
If your doctor says you have arthritis in your knee, does that mean you will need knee replacement surgery? The short answer is not necessarily. Fortunately, your body can compensate for the loss of function caused by arthritic damage to cartilage and bone in a knee joint, even if x-ray evidence seems to indicate that […]
A decade ago, individuals who had osteoarthritis of the knee were limited in their options for treatment: anti-inflammatory medications, cortisone injections, reduced activity or surgery. Viscosupplementation, a relatively new treatment involving injections of a lubricating substance called hyaluronan, has become available for patients who suffer from this painful condition or who are unable to tolerate […]
After receiving a diagnosis of “arthritis of the knee,” which is the most common form of osteoarthritis, you might be surprised when your doctor recommends exercise. Because osteoarthritis involves a progressive deterioration of the protective joint cartilage, the bone is exposed within the joint—leading many to believe that exercise would only intensify the condition. This, […]
The strongest joint in the body, the knee can bear forces of more than twice your body weight. When the thighbone (femur), knee and shinbone (tibia) are properly aligned, weight is distributed equally over the knee. However, degenerative arthritis, osteoarthritis or tearing and repair of the anterior cruciate ligament can result in an uneven distribution […]
