When a person is in pain, often the first thing they think about is surgery. Unfortunately, if you are looking to avoid surgery as a solution for your knee pain, you might be setting yourself up for failure. Often, a patient who is seeking out relief from extreme knee pain will be advised by their doctor to undergo a full knee replacement surgery. Fortunately, for most patients who are uninterested in surgery as a solution for their knee pain, there are a few knee replacement alternatives which have been successfully used to successfully treat various conditions including:
-Osteoarthritic knee joints. There are two main types of surgery for this condition, the first involves repositioning of the joint to make it more mobile and improve its function. The second involves surgery to repair damage to cartilage. Both of these treatments can be quite effective, but patients should remember that these treatments carry their own set of risks and side effects so their medical history and previous medical history should be thoroughly reviewed by surgeons before undergoing any of them.
-Chondromalacia. Also known as bursitis of the knee, chondromalacia is a common problem for people suffering from osteoarthritis. This is a chronic swelling of the tissues of the inner knee. It is possible to avoid surgery by avoiding the activities that can aggravate symptoms and trying to maintain a healthy weight through diet and regular exercise. Surgeons also have a choice of performing a minimally invasive procedure called arthroscopic knee surgery to remove small amounts of tissue that has become thickened by age and trauma.
-Psoriatic Arthritis. Also known as psoriatic arthritis, this type of arthritis affects the skin on the hands and feet. If you’ve been experiencing back pain for a long time, it’s possible that your condition is psoriatic. In the case of this type of surgery, the arthritis is diagnosed through a physical therapy along with a careful inspection of your skin and joints by the surgeon.
-Prognosis. Surgeons are very familiar with the statistics regarding how many people who undergo surgery to recover from their conditions and how many don’t. They use this information to assess their patients before surgery and monitor how well the patient responds to treatment.
There are different treatment options that the surgeons usually discuss with patients. One of the most common treatments is surgery. It is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in the United States. There are several reasons why people visit the doctors and this is because they want to get rid of chronic pain. For many, they have tried out all types of pain relievers and therapies only to find out that their condition worsens instead of better.
Before undergoing any type of surgery, it is advisable to meet with your physician and thoroughly discuss with him or her about your medical history, lifestyle, any other illnesses you may be suffering from, any medication that you may be taking, allergies that you may have and your expectations about the surgery. Your doctor will also review your medical history and discuss with you the possible side effects that you may experience after the surgery. If you are looking forward to major surgery like ear surgery, breast surgery or rhinoplasty, it is important to let your doctor know about your goals and your long-term goals.
You also need to let your doctor know if you have any significant muscle groups that need strengthening or stretching before surgery. Stronger muscles help you to prevent surgery. The surgeon can perform a thorough evaluation and determine if you really need to undergo the surgery. It is also important that you let your doctor know about your emotional as well as physical factors such as how much you exercise, your eating habits, whether you smoke and your current lifestyle. You may have an ulcer on the area of the stomach or in the abdominal area or you may have developed some serious ailment and surgery may be the only way out for you.
