Preservation in Arthritic Knees
It sounds very strange that being a knee replacement surgeon I am talking about how to avoid knee replacement surgery.
In my viewpoint the treatment of knee arthritic patients who do not have significant mechanical symptoms and pain, falls into two categories: Preservation and Restoration.
I always believe that nothing can be as better as your native (Original/ God given/ Very own) knee. I really want to give a genuine attempt to help protect and promote joint health, and ideally prevent the need for knee replacement surgery if at all possible.
HOW I DO JOINT PRESERVATION
Basically, Joint preservation not only help decrease the painful symptoms of knee arthritis, it actually helps to slow the progression of the disease. I do this procedure in my clinic as day care procedure as a nonsurgical treatment. This can be done either by one of these or in combination of more than one:
- PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) Therapy - An injection of concentrated platelets is directly given into the arthritic knee. The patient's own blood is drawn and spun down in a special centrifuge to isolate enriched cells called platelets. The platelets contain healing factors and growth factors. These enriched platelets are collected and re-injected into the site of injury to naturally stimulate the body's ability to heal connective tissue and speed recovery. Without PRP, damaged tissues often lack the adequate enriched blood supply needed to repair themselves.
- Visco-Supplementation - It is the replacement of natural lubrication that is normally produced in healthy knee joints by a synthetic agent called hyaluronic acid. The deficiency of this fluid in an arthritic and painful joint means that cartilage is not receiving the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and smooth. Viscosupplementation replaces this fluid with a synthetic form of hyaluronic acid to lubricate and cushion the joints, making movement more comfortable. Results can last several months before repeating treatment to ensure that the environment of the arthritic knee stays as close to normal as possible.
- Unloader braces - It helps in distributing weight more evenly throughout the knee thus offloading the diseased compartment and gives it time to heal.
- Weight loss - there is no science behind it. We all know that it plays an important role in joint preservation, along with strengthening the muscles surrounding the knee itself.
Joint restoration is achieved with stem cell therapy. It is used to replace the shortage of stem cells in the arthritic knee. Stem cell treatment uses the body's own cells to restore damaged tissue and normal function to joints, while promoting regrowth of cartilage.