The knee is one of the joints that often suffers from wear and tear of cartilage. Cartilage is the tissue that covers the bones of the knee and allows it to glide smoothly and painlessly. When the cartilage begins to wear down, you may experience bouts of pain and swelling in your knee. Synonyms for wear of knee cartilage are: arthrosis, arthritis, osteoarthrosis, osteoarthrosis, gonarthrosis, chondromalacia. In the early stages it is possible treatment of joints without surgery However, when the joint wears out completely, it is only possible to improve the quality of life through knee replacement surgery. Below we will look at these two treatment methods.
Knee replacement surgery (prosthetics)
When the wear and tear of the cartilage is severe, the patient may require knee replacement surgery. A knee prosthesis is the replacement of a natural joint with an artificial one. However, there are many patients who have some degree of cartilage wear but are not advanced enough to undergo such invasive treatment as a prosthesis.
Additionally, there are patients who are unwilling or unable to undergo knee replacement surgery due to clinical concerns (heart disease, diabetes, etc.) and the risks associated with the surgical procedure.
Non-surgical treatment of arthrosis and arthritis of the knee joint
Non-surgical therapy aims to cater specifically to those patients who still have some degree of cartilage or who are unwilling or unable to undergo surgery.
- Treatment with ultrasound guidance
The therapy is carried out through knee injections guided by images with an ultrasound device specialized for this procedure. When the application is carried out using ultrasound, the effectiveness is greatly increased, since we are sure that the therapy is carried out as close as possible to the cartilage lesion. The number of applications, type and interval depend on each case. Applications are performed under local anesthesia for maximum patient comfort.
- Hyaluronic acid injections
This is a treatment used to replenish fluid in worn joints. Hyaluronic acid acts as a “lubricant” between the bone and cartilage structures of joints to reduce stress and pain.
Injections can provide significant and safe symptomatic relief for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and hip.
Hyaluronic acid:
- relieves pain for up to 6 months when using 6 ml;
- has a low incidence of local side effects both during initial and repeated treatment;
Thus, non-invasive treatments aim to increase viscosity for joint function. With just one application, this treatment can provide up to six months of knee pain relief.
