Understand that surgery isn't a cure. Even if you have joint surgery, you will still need to manage your arthritis by maintaining a healthy weight, staying strong and flexible through exercise, taking your prescribed medications and keeping up with your overall health.
The most common surgeries to treat knee arthritis are: Total knee replacement (total knee arthroplasty) Partial knee replacement (unicompartmental knee arthroplasty) Knee osteotomy (tibial osteotomy or femoral osteotomy)
For 80–90% of people who have total knee replacement, the new joint should last about 20 years, and it may well last longer. If you've had a partial knee replacement, you're more likely to need a repeat operation – about 1 person in 10 needs further surgery after 10 years.
A surgical procedure can also remove inflamed synovial tissue or cartilage, like scraping arthritis out of a joint. Removing damaged tissue with a less invasive surgical procedure will typically involve a faster recovery than a full joint replacement.
It is still possible to have arthritis after knee replacement surgery. However, people who need the surgery are less likely to experience pain from arthritis after they recover from the procedure.
Arthritis in your knee will likely always affect you. But some treatments help reduce the severity of the symptoms and maybe keep the disease from getting worse.
Arthroscopic knee surgery involves lavage (to remove particulate material, such as cartilage fragments) and debridement (to smooth the articular surfaces). Theoretically, this widely used surgery reduces synovitis and improves joint motion, resulting in a decrease in pain and an improvement in function.
One of the most prominent treatments for arthritis is joint restoration, where a surgeon essentially repairs or removes diseased tissue. Through this technique, surgeons can restore joint function while reducing the need for joint replacement.
Arthroscopy is a common treatment for arthritis in the knee, hip, shoulder, and other joints. A surgeon can also use arthroscopy to remove damaged cartilage and ligaments, as well as broken cartilage pieces that are floating in a joint.
Not everyone with arthritis will need surgery, but it can help to reduce pain and improve your mobility. In this section you can find out about the common types of surgery for people with arthritis, how it could help you and what the recovery process involves.
Doctors do sometimes recommend that people under age 60 wait to undergo a knee replacement procedure, because these artificial joints typically last only about 15 to 20 years. If someone younger gets the procedure, it's likely that the joint will need to be replaced again down the line.
Most people have knee replacement only when they can no longer control arthritis pain with medicine and other treatments and when the pain really interferes with their lives. Rehabilitation after knee replacement requires daily exercises for several weeks. Most knee replacements last about 20 years.
Severe knee cartilage loss makes walking, sitting, standing, squatting, and going up and down stairs extremely painful. People with a total loss of knee cartilage can benefit from joint injections. In many cases, surgery including a total knee replacement is needed to treat no cartilage in the knee.
If you have arthritis in your knee, walking can be a great way to relieve pain, stiffness and swelling. Moving your legs at even a gentle pace allows the muscles to stretch, which can help reduce arthritic knee pain.
Joint replacement (arthroplasty).
This procedure, used most commonly in the hip, knee, and shoulder, involves removing the damaged, arthritic parts of the bone and replacing them with a new covering of metal or plastic that provides the same flexibility and mobility as a natural joint.
While there is no cure for arthritis, various nonsurgical treatments are available for knee arthritis. Doctors may prescribe NSAIDs or joint injections to relieve pain and inflammation, physical therapy to improve mobility, and exercise to help a person maintain a moderate weight.
Integrative medicine treatments such as acupuncture or massage, and various forms of exercise, such as yoga, may help reduce the symptoms of arthritis. These non-surgical treatments can provide some patients with several months or even years of relief.
How long does recovery take and what do you have to consider? It typically takes up to six weeks for the muscles to recover enough to support the joint. After about three months, it's usually possible to return to work and start doing suitable types of sports. But don't be disappointed if your recovery takes longer.
You will probably need about 6 weeks to recover. If your doctor repaired damaged tissue, recovery will take longer.
Untreated arthritis will add to the degradation of the structures in and around the joint leading to more and more pain and a loss of function. The progression of arthritis may lead to requiring a total joint replacement.
Pain in the knee that can be worsened by certain movements and exercises, including prolonged walking or standing. Stiffness of the knee joint, which makes it difficult to bend and straighten the knee. Catching and locking of the knee, which occurs when damaged and rough cartilage makes smooth movement difficult.
For example, a broken bone may damage the joint surface and lead to arthritis years after the injury. Meniscal tears and ligament injuries can cause instability and additional wear on the knee joint which, over time, can result in arthritis.