With people living longer, the number of people affected by osteoarthritis is rising drastically. According to New Orleans orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Meyer, this condition is more prevalent in women than men.
Short of knee replacement surgery, the following treatments have proven to be helpful in treating painful osteoarthritis of the knee and helping patients continue their activities:
1. Self-management programs that include weight loss, lower extremity and core strengthening, and low-impact aerobic exercises;
2. Physical therapy (prescribed by your New Orleans orthopedic surgeon) that include range-of-motion exercises, strengthening, education and other useful modalities;
3. Knee braces for those patients with pronounced bow legs or knock knees;
4. Anti-inflammatory drugs;
5. Tylenol (taken orally);
6. Narcotic medicines for refractory pain if needed;
7. Periodic knee steroid injections;
8. Arthroscopic knee surgery for those with associated tears or loose bodies;
9. Realignment surgery for young patients with deformities.
There are several other treatments your New Orleans orthopedic surgeon has found to be helpful for patients with osteoarthritis, such as smoking cessation, eating a diet rich in natural anti-oxidants (i.e. fruits and veggies) and limiting foods that are highly processed.
Finally, some patients ask Dr. Richard Meyer if stem cell injections would help the arthritis pain in their knee. But there’s currently no reliable evidence out there for him to be able to recommend stem cell injections for arthritis. In addition these injections are very costly to patients because insurance companies will not cover them given this lack of evidence that they benefit the patient.
If you’re experiencing arthritis pain of the knee, call your New Orleans orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Meyer today to Schedule an Appointment to discuss your options for relief.