Hello
I tell you the truth, I have never believed that surgery was the best option when there is only pain.
This week we are going to look at the most highly regarded solution for knee pain in older people, Total knee replacement.
The article that looked at this is called “Anterior knee pain after total knee arthroplasty: a narrative review”.
A narrative review is when they explain the current way of doing things about a specific condition.
The very first line in the article is “Anterior knee pain is one of the most common causes of persistent problems after implantation of a total knee replacement.”
If you are going to go have this operation because your knee is painful, and pain is the most common problem after? How effective would you think of this solution?
Let’s see what else they have to say
“It can occur in patients with or without patellar resurfacing. As a result of the surgical procedure itself many changes can occur which may affect the delicate interplay of the joint partners in the patello-femoral joint.”
So the surgery itself can causes the damage to the way the knee works, that is why people suffer from pain.
What are your thoughts on that?
Last point I want to share is a problem called Chondrolysis or progression of patella osteoarthritis.
“In TKA without patellar resurfacing a progression of Chondrolysis can lead to patellofemoral pain [70]. The Chondrolysis may be the continuation of the osteoarthritic process but can also be associated with mechanical factors that are attributable to the knee prosthesis implantation.”
This means that if you have a total knee replacement to stop the progression of osteoarthritis, the breakdown of cartilage in the joint (called Chondrolysis), the knee replacement can lead to the arthritis worsening over time.
Do you still think total knee replacement is the right solution?
Or would you like to try something else?
Jason
