If you’ve been looking for an alternative to knee replacement surgery, you’re not alone. Millions of people in the United States and around the world have one form of arthritis or another. While osteoarthritis is primarily a problem for older people, it can also afflict younger individuals and even children. The problem with knee replacements is that while they provide effective treatment for osteoarthritis, they can also put patients at risk for more serious problems. That’s why it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise to many patients when they learn that a large segment of those who’ve had knee surgery still have ongoing knee pain years after the procedure has been performed.
How Arthritis Kills the Joints
Even though hip and knee replacements are generally performed on younger patients, the fact is that they can pose risks for the elderly as well. This is because arthritis can attack the joints and bones of the body at any age. As such, many patients find that their joint replacements require additional treatment every few years in order to keep them from suffering from debilitating side effects. For example, hip and knee replacements increase the risks for osteoarthritis because they put increased pressure on the joint. While it may not be immediately obvious, this can put many older patients at risk for osteoarthritis.
In addition to osteoarthritis, many knees will experience pain as a result of arthritis. Joints that are used in hip replacements and knee replacements can become inflamed as a result of the extra weight an individual puts on them. It is not uncommon for older patients to suffer from pain as a result of this. While arthritis is often a painful disorder, many doctors can help their patients deal with the pain through non-surgical means.
Knee Replacement Surgeries
Even after the initial knee replacement procedure, some patients may experience pain from their procedure. Unfortunately, many physicians do not offer their patients any type of pain medication after a knee replacement operation. Patients must learn to take their medication on their own. Often, alternative treatments are recommended by these physicians, in order to alleviate the pain that their patients are experiencing. These alternatives to post-surgery pain management include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), corticosteroids and tri-cyclic antidepressants. While these medications all are commonly used to treat arthritis, they also have the potential to cause some serious side effects for certain individuals.
In order to avoid these side effects, many physicians choose to offer patients non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and corticosteroids as medication for their post-operative knee pain. However, when these medications are prescribed, it is important for patients to make sure that they follow the doctor’s instructions. Patients should never exceed the recommended dose of medication or take more than the recommended dosage for the first week of their post-operative treatment. In addition to NSAIDs, other medications are often prescribed to help patients reduce the swelling and inflammation after knee replacement procedure. However, patients should always remember that these medications should never be taken in isolation and should never be used before consulting with a physician.
What are Corticosteroids?
Corticosteroids are often prescribed to younger patients who are experiencing severe swelling and deformity due to the knee replacement. However, these steroids are known to cause some serious side effects. Because of this, many doctors today prefer to offer their patients a combination of NSAIDs and steroids in order to minimize their chances of developing complications during their procedure. Steroids such as Prednisone and Advil are often administered in short-term treatments to reduce the symptoms of swelling, deformity and pain associated with total knee replacement. For patients who are willing to accept this type of regimen, they may find that their recovery time is much shorter than that of older patients who were given alternative treatment options.
NSAIDs and Steroids
In addition to NSAIDs and steroids, other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can also be used in short-term knee replacement therapy to treat patients’ pain. While patients who are given this medication are still not cleared for full knee replacement when the first set of replacement surgeries begins, they are typically given an increased dose during later weeks in order to help them achieve some degree of pain relief. Patients should not stop taking these medications without first speaking to their physician. Some physicians even recommend patients continue their post-op care indefinitely if they feel as though their pain has become unbearable.
Another common option patients are given when they are seeking alternatives to Knee Replacement Surgery is cortisone shots. This medication is not designed to prevent the occurrence of arthritis in any way, but it can certainly alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis, including pain. However, it is very important that patients only receive one or two doses of cortisone shots every two weeks. In some cases, a single injection of the steroid might be all that is needed to relieve a patient’s osteoarthritis pain.
