“My dad has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Is surgery required for him?”
My dad has recently been diagnosed with osteoarthritis as the cause of his knee pain. The doctors are suggesting surgery. Is there anything else he can try before surgery?
4 Answers
Yes
1) Weight Loss
2) exercise
3) physical therapy
4) topical Diclofenac cream
5) steroid injection
6) ? Hyaluronic acid injections
1) Weight Loss
2) exercise
3) physical therapy
4) topical Diclofenac cream
5) steroid injection
6) ? Hyaluronic acid injections
Good afternoon,
Osteoarthritis is simply "wear and tear" damage to joints that accumulates over years based on several factors including activity, genetic, body habitus, etc. Management for OA includes several different options and to a certain extent follows a sequence, with less dangerous/less invasive options tried first and, in case of lack of benefit, more aggressive measures are pursued. Such options may include:
- Oral pain relievers, such as OTC Tylenol (safest) or NSAIDs (Advil/Aleve, etc.); initially, these can be taken as needed, but as symptoms worsen, one can consider using these regularly whilst being monitored to ensure no major side effects develop.
- Topical pain relievers, such as topical NSAIDs (Voltaren) or other pain medications
- Steroid injections, especially for knees
- Viscosupplementation injections (Synvisc, etc.); these are typically done by orthopedics, but a lot of rheumatologists also perform these.
- Physical therapy
If all these measures have been tried and failed, or damage to the knee is significant based on imaging and symptoms, then surgery may be an appropriate option. If appropriate, any of the options listed above could be tried before proceeding with surgery based on patient preference and physician advice/expertise.
Yours sincerely,
Mishal Abdullah, M.D.
Osteoarthritis is simply "wear and tear" damage to joints that accumulates over years based on several factors including activity, genetic, body habitus, etc. Management for OA includes several different options and to a certain extent follows a sequence, with less dangerous/less invasive options tried first and, in case of lack of benefit, more aggressive measures are pursued. Such options may include:
- Oral pain relievers, such as OTC Tylenol (safest) or NSAIDs (Advil/Aleve, etc.); initially, these can be taken as needed, but as symptoms worsen, one can consider using these regularly whilst being monitored to ensure no major side effects develop.
- Topical pain relievers, such as topical NSAIDs (Voltaren) or other pain medications
- Steroid injections, especially for knees
- Viscosupplementation injections (Synvisc, etc.); these are typically done by orthopedics, but a lot of rheumatologists also perform these.
- Physical therapy
If all these measures have been tried and failed, or damage to the knee is significant based on imaging and symptoms, then surgery may be an appropriate option. If appropriate, any of the options listed above could be tried before proceeding with surgery based on patient preference and physician advice/expertise.
Yours sincerely,
Mishal Abdullah, M.D.
He needs a medical opinion of a rheumatologist. Many times there are other causes of knee pain that may respond well to conservative medication or aninjection.
Only if pain and function are limiting him to the point that he is willing to undergo surgery.
