Are You or Someone You Know Suffering From Knee Pain?

By Thomas A. Barrett, M.D., Shore Orthopaedic University Associates
Options for treating arthritic knee pain begin with a diagnosis and a conversation about what particular problems any one person is experiencing. Non-operative management can be successful and are always part of a plan of treatment.
There may come a time when conservative treatment is no longer helping and the conversation changes to other options.
Knee replacement surgery is a part of a treatment plan. The timing of when it is appropriate has a number of components.
1. Any person undergoing a knee replacement needs to need it. (Seems logical enough… but this includes excluding other potential causes of pain and a conservative trial.)
2. Any person having an elective surgery has to be healthy enough to undergo the procedure. (This reassurance is obtained by having a primary care provider/specialist assist in a pre-op evaluation.)
3. Any person having their knee reconstructed has to actively participating on their own recovery.
Surgical techniques that spare cutting the quadriceps tendon and working under the muscle speed up the recovery and have people walking the day of surgery.
It’s best not to ignore persistent symptoms or pain. Being evaluated by an orthopaedic surgeon will provide you with the correct course of treatment, preventing an issue from becoming even more severe.
Why You Shouldn’t Wait
You may experience…
• Unknowingly worsening your situation
• Continued restriction of motion and limitations of activities
• Ongoing pain with uncertainty of the real source of the pain
• Deconditioning or muscle atrophy
• Even isolation, in more severe cases
The Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeons at Shore Orthopaedic University Associates are experts in diagnosing musculoskeletal disorders, identifying and treating injuries, providing rehabilitation to an affected area and establishing a prevention protocol to inhibit further damage to a diseased area or component of the musculoskeletal system.
For more information about joint pain, please visit shoreorthodocs.com/patient-education. Contact us to schedule a one-on-one physician consultation at (609) 927-1991. We have offices in Somers Point, Galloway and Cape May Court House.