Arthritis rheumatoid

Dealing with knee arthritis pain:

Proper physical exercise

There are special programs including physical exercises which can help ease the pain in the knees. Limiting certain activities may be necessary but lack of movement may exacerbate the arthritis pain. Remember that pain is more severe after periods of inactivity. Aquatic exercises and swimming are ideal for arthritis patients and in particular for people suffering from knee arthritis as they put less strain on the joints.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy which includes strengthening the muscles around the knees and preventing their atrophy is also very important for dealing with arthritis pain and maintaining a stable condition. Good results are often achieved when physical therapy is combined with proper diet.

Walking aids

With severe knee arthritis cases sometimes it is necessary to use walking canes or different types of magnetic bands holding the knees. Also, a single crutch, placed in the hand opposite the affected knee will help to reduce the burden on the painful joint. Walking aids are often used by older people as a last resort.

Medications

The most common medications used to alleviate the knee arthritis pain are the so called NSAIDS – anti-inflammatory pain medications. Those are drugs with analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. However, they are just affecting the symptom – knee arthritis pain – and not the real cause of the disease which is still unidentified. Other, more ‘serious’ types of medications are cortisone injections alleviating the pain almost immediately. Physicians do not recommend continuous treatment with cortisone preparations because of their severe side effects. Joint supplements such as glucosamine are reported to affect knee arthritis pain positively and without side effects but there is still insufficient evidence of this as further research is necessary. Another, largely debated treatment for knee arthritis is arthroscopy. This is a minimally invasive surgical procedure rendered with the help of an arthroscope inserted into the joint through a small incision. It may be helpful for some specific symptoms. Knee surgery or partial knee surgery is also an alternative. Osteotomy (a surgical cutting or changing of the alignment of the bone) is reportedly effective for younger patients with limited arthritis, while total knee replacement surgery is a procedure where the cartilage is removed and replaced by metal and plastic implant is recommended for patients with advanced arthritis.