How painful are your knees right now?
Osteoarthritis of the knee or degenerative knee arthritis is a debilitating condition that affects millions of people throughout the world in different ways. While some people find it necessary to get knee replacement surgery, for some others this is simply not a viable option for several reasons. It could be the high cost factor or the high risk factor brought on by an underlying medical condition. Moreover, there is no guarantee that your knees will be fully restored even after surgery.
If you are suffering from degenerative arthritis, you should know that there are several non-surgery options that are available and which are very effective at treating the symptoms of the condition.
1.) Recognizing the Symptoms
Before you deal with the condition, you have to first be familiar with the symptoms. One thing that sets degenerative knee arthritis symptoms apart from other disease symptoms is that the swelling, pain and stiffness in the knee joint will be intermittent. The knee will not bother you every day but you will suddenly have a flare up for no apparent reason. You will start to notice an increase in the pain from time to time but it can subside just as suddenly. Walking, running and damp weather can often exacerbate the problem.
2.) Getting the Diagnosis & Treatment Recommendations
You should never self-diagnose or self-medicate your condition as your knee pain could be brought on by some other condition. If you feel that you have degenerative knee arthritis, you should speak to your physician who will first take an X-Ray to help confirm the diagnosis.
Your doctor will most likely recommend that you wear a knee brace to support the knee and will possibly advise you to take anti-inflammatory medication or over the counter pain medication to manage the swelling and pain (speak with your physician before taking any medication). Most doctors will treat this condition in a conservative fashion such as the use of a knee brace and pain killers and only recommend surgery, such as full knee replacement surgery, as the last option.
3.) Exploring Your Treatment Options
Anti-inflammatory medication, over the counter pain medication and a well designed, low profile brace are usually very helpful treatment options for degenerative arthritis. These measures will help control the pain and swelling and do not entail any invasive procedure.
If you have degenerative knee arthritis, it is important that you maintain flexibility in your knee. Osteoarthritis is essentially progressive and incurable and resting the knee will not help "cure" your knee. Instead, it will cause your knee to become stiffer and even more painful. Swimming and a select few low-impact exercises are the best way to keep the knee joint flexible and stave off stiffness.
While over-frequent use of pain medication is not recommended, it is an effective measure when the pain is too much to bear. At other times, the knee brace will keep the swelling down and allow you to maintain physical movement. Wearing the knee brace can help provide you with meaningful support and they do not have to be heavy or odd looking. They will help allow you to participate in activities by helping to maintain proper alignment and if you have osteoarthritis you will want to consider what is called an OA (osteoarthritis) knee brace..
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