A knee injury, such as a torn meniscus or anterior cruciate ligament, can be painful and limit your ability to move. Fortunately, there are many options available when it comes to knee pain treatment. A orthopedic doctors in kenya will recommend treatments based on the specifics of your condition and your response to conservative or less invasive treatment methods.
Non-Surgical Options
- One of the most common treatments for knee pain is physical therapy that majority of orthopedic doctors in kenya recommends. This can help strengthen your muscles, improve flexibility, and increase circulation to the knee joint.
- Physical therapy. Physical therapists use a variety of treatments to relieve pressure on your knees and improve mobility, strength, range of motion (ROM), balance and coordination. Treatments include:
- Evaluation – A physical therapist will examine your posture, gait pattern (how you walk), stability during movement (on one leg) and muscle strength throughout the lower body before designing an individualised program for you based on these findings
- Exercises – Some exercises may include stretching or strengthening exercises while others focus on improving balance or improving ROM within certain joints.
Surgical Treatment Options
Surgical treatment options are available to correct a number of knee problems, including:
- Meniscus tears. Your meniscus is a crescent-shaped piece of cartilage in your knee joint that helps stabilise the joint and absorb shock. If you damage your meniscus, surgery may be needed to repair it. A meniscal repair involves removing any torn pieces and using stitches or glue to fix the tear in place.
- Cartilage damage. Damaged cartilage can also be repaired through surgery with techniques similar to those used for repairing torn menisci (discussed above).
- Ligament injuries or instability due to arthritis, previous injuries or even obesity can be corrected with reconstructive procedures such as ACL reconstruction and PCL reconstruction surgeries, where grafts are used to reattach torn ligaments back onto their original attachments within the knee joint itself, so they no longer cause pain when moving around normally day after day.
Solutions for Knee Pain
- Non-surgical options. There are a number of non-surgical options for knee pain. These include:
- Physical therapy
- Acupuncture
- Pain management techniques, such as ice and heat applications, as well as injections into the knee
- Surgical options. If your pain is not improving with other treatments, your doctor may recommend surgery in order to remove damaged cartilage or repair damaged ligaments that are causing instability in your knee joint.
- Although these surgeries can be effective at alleviating symptoms, they have significant risks and should only be considered after all less invasive methods have been exhausted.
Conclusion
The most important thing to remember is that knee pain can be treated. While there are many treatment options available, your orthopedic doctors in kenya will help you decide which one is best for your specific condition and needs.