What to Do About Your Knee Osteoarthritis
Knee pain is the most common musculoskeletal complaint that brings people to their doctor. With today’s increasingly active society, the number of knee problems is increasing. Knee pain has a wide variety of specific causes and treatments. Osteoarthritis of the knee is one common cause of knee pain. It is an inflammatory disorder of the knee joint that is often painful. Arthritis has many causes.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a form of arthritis of the knee that is caused by degeneration of cartilage in the knee. In its extreme form, the menisci (cartilage) will be completely eroded, and the femur will rub on the tibia, bone on bone. Osteoarthritis (OA) causes a chronically painful knee that is often more painful with activity. It can be stiff with prolonged sitting and may become enlarged from new bone formation at the edge of the degenerated cartilage.
There are things you can do initially at home to bring some relief to your pain, like: resting the knee, ice the knee, and try over-the-counter pain medicine.When you are deciding whether to call the doctor about your knee pain, a good rule of thumb exists for most long-term knee injuries.
Regenerative medicine techniques like Neural Prolotherapy and Ozonated Dextrose treatments have proven to work to help lesson and even eliminate symptoms related to knee osteoarthritis.
If your symptoms have not gone away after trying a week of home remedies and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain meds, you should set up an appointment with your doctor,to further evaluate the pain. This rule can also be applied to new knee injuries that are not disabling. Remember, however, that this rule should only serve as a guide. If you are concerned about the pain, you should call the doctor.
