Explore Knee Replacement Surgery Alternatives: Who Can Attain & Who Can’t
Most of us think that a severe knee injury, chronic knee pain, stiffness in the knee due to rheumatoid arthritis, or osteoarthritis can only be treated with knee replacement. It is true that experiencing crunching sounds, aching, and swelling in knees while climbing stairs or making any move is painful. However, it does not mean you need to go for knee replacement surgery right now. There are other ways. So, let us learn what Dr. Ankit Vilas Meshram, the best orthopedic doctor in Kandivali, says about the alternatives to knee replacement surgery.
Alternatives to Knee Replacement Surgery
Getting a knee replacement is not a difficult task today. You can consult any orthopedic in your area and get it done. However, some orthopedic doctors like Dr. Ankit Vikas Meshram take knee replacement surgery as the last resort and try other alternatives to get their patients back to normal life. Let’s have a look at the knee replacement alternatives that are suggested by professional orthopedics to get patients rid of pain and slow down the progression of the condition for knee replacement.
- Weight Loss Management to Lessen Stress on Knees: Yes, it is a great way to reduce stress on your knees. Extra body weight causes knee pain and imposes stress on the knee joint. It induces pain and makes it hard to exercise. It is also proven that extra weight increases the chance of developing arthritis by harming the cartilage, which works as a cushion on the knee joints. So, if you are overweight and your knees are suffering due to arthritis, try losing weight.
- Practice Low-Impact Exercise: Low-impact exercises like quad sets, heel raises, calf raises, a bike ride, walking on a treadmill, swimming, and water aerobics provide better mobility to stiff knees and help ease the pain.
- Physiotherapy: Orthopedic doctors also suggest going for physiotherapy treatment to get rid of knee pain. Regular physiotherapy not only helps to ease the pain but also restores mobility and strength in your knees that pain has engulfed.
- Cartilage Regeneration: For patients who have been suffering from limited arthritis and have good alignment of knee bones, orthopedic surgeons consider cartilage replacement instead of complement knee joint replacement.
- Radiofrequency Ablation: When osteoarthritis takes knee pain out of control and medication or injections do not show any result, orthopedic doctors also go for RFA, aka radiofrequency ablation. RFA reduces knee pain by stopping the sensory nerves from carrying the pain signal from the knee to the brain. However, this is not a permanent solution. The pain will return while the nerves grow back within 6 to 24 months.
Right Candidates for Knee Replacement Alternatives
Patients who are too young for knee replacement surgery or who are not medically eligible to undergo this procedure have been recommended to try these methods to get rid of knee pain under the supervision of an orthopedic doctor.
Conditions Demand Knee Replacement Surgery
However, patients who have undergone non-surgical treatments but have failed and suffer from extreme knee pain and stiffness in the knee, and functional restrictions like climbing stairs, walking, moving, and getting in or out of chairs, need to go for knee replacement surgery. Also, for patients who have undergone severe knee injury or damage, knee replacement surgery can get them rid of pain and restore mobility. Even conditions like knee fracture, deformity, torn cartilage/ligament, and chronic knee inflammation are liable to undergo knee replacement surgery.
A minimally invasive knee replacement (a shorter incision is performed during this procedure), instead of a conventional knee replacement surgery is also considered by many orthopedic surgeons these days to get patients back into their normal lives with mobility in their knees.
To Conclude,
So if you cannot decide whether you need knee replacement surgery or you should go with knee replacement alternatives, consult Dr. Ankit Vikas Meshram, the best orthopedic doctor in Kandivali, right away. You will get the best treatment with a patient-centric approach here, and it is assured.