Faq

Orthopedics (alternatively, orthopaedics) is a medical specialty focused on the diagnosis and treatment of conditions, disorders, and injuries of the muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, and nerves.

A doctor who specializes in this medical specialty is called an orthopedic (alternatively, orthopaedic) surgeon or orthopedist.

If you had a fall or a twisting injury ligament injury is a possibility. But if u didn’t have a fall, mostly it might be a problem related to your knee cap bone i.e. patella. Looking at your age, it might an early patellofemoral arthritis. You must avoid sitting cross legged, climbing stairs & squatting.

Other possibility is of ligamentous degeneration. This needs to be investigated.In either of the case better consult an orthopedic surgeon & get your knee examined & investigated.

Just having knee osteoarthritis doesn’t mean you need knee replacement surgery. Irrespective of stage knee osteoarthritis there are multiple factors which dictate the treatment like comorbities i.e.your heart diseases,kidney diseases,connective tissue disorders etc

Other than that how mobile are you. How often you walk through out the day. Before deciding for surgery you should have a fair trial of exercises & medicines. In most of the cases it works satisfactorily. If it doesn’t & your arthritis is limited to a limited part of you knee joint you can think of a knee preservation surgery.

A qualified orthopedic surgeon who knows knee replacement & knee preservation surgery can help you decide better.

A tendon is a band of tissue that connects muscle to bone.

When the osteoarthritis is limited to only one part of the knee & not entire knee,we can think to avoiding entire replacement & repairing only the worn out part.

Knee preservation surgeries include- corrective osteotomies ie. realignment surgery,microfracture ie rebuilding the worn out cartilage,ACI ie autologous chondrocyte implantation.

The word arthritis literally means “joint inflammation.” Arthritis refers to a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases and other conditions that cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that damages the lining surrounding our joints while also destroying our bones, tissue, and joints over time.

Osteoarthritis is a progressive condition that slowly damages the cartilage surrounding the ends of bones and is common in the hip, knee, and spine.

Bursitis is an inflammation or irritation of a bursa, which is a fluid-filled sac located around joints. Bursitis causes a reduction in or a loss of motion at the affected joint. Bursitis typically occurs in the heel, hip, knee, shoulder, and thumb.

Cartilage is a soft, rubbery, gel-like coating on the ends of bones, where they articulate, that protects joints and facilitates movement.

A ligament is an elastic band of tissue that connects bone to bone and provides stability to the joint.

Tendonitis, medically spelled tendinitis, is an inflammation or irritation of a tendon. Chronic strain, overuse or misuse of a tendon leading to a repetitive stress injury, or a serious acute injury can lead to a weakness, tear, or swelling of the tendon tissue, resulting in pain and stiffness near the tendon. Tendonitis usually occurs in the elbow, hip, knee, shoulder, thumb and wrist, but can occur in any tendon.

The general rule of thumb is to use ice in the acute stage of an injury (within the first 24 – 48 hours) or whenever swelling is showing. Ice helps to reduce inflammation and swelling by decreasing blood flow to the area that is injured. The general guideline is to apply ice indirectly (not directly on the skin) for 20 minutes, remove the ice for at least 20 minutes, and repeat as necessary.

Heat is used to increase blood flow, which helps promote pain relief after inflammation and swelling subside. Heat is also used to assist in warming muscles up prior to exercise, any physical activity, or physical therapy.

Autologous chondrocyte implantation means culturing the cartilage cells & filling the cartilage defect with it. A piece of cartilage is take from non weight bearing area of knee & cultured in laboratory i.e. thousands of cells are cultured to get millions of cells. After sufficient number of cells are obtained the cells replaced into the cartilage defect in knee. The new cartilage is of same quality as of native cartilage i.e. hyaline cartilage.