What are My Alternatives to Knee Replacement Surgery?

Dr. Dan Albright of Raleigh Orthopedic Clinic talks about alternatives to knee replacement surgery.
Transcript of video:
What are my alternatives to knee replacement surgery or total joint surgery for the knee?
Of course, you always want to do everything you can to put off surgery as best you can. And that involves:
One, losing weight. People who are, whatever, with a lot of extra pounds there is a lot of extra force on your knee. That simply losing weight helps knee pain, that's proven. It's hard to lose weight, but the people who are able to lose weight - knee pain gets way better.
Walking in a pool is good. Pool therapy or physical therapy in the gym - toning your muscles around the knee is good. The better muscle tone, muscle mass you have, the more shock absorption you have, the better your knee feels. It does not cure arthritis, but your knee functions better.
Tylenol is good. Acetametaphin is not an anti-inflammatory. Then, of course, there are anti-inflammatories, Ibuprofen, Aleve, Naprosyn, Aspirin - those are excellent. You need to do that with your doctor because if you have ulcers, stomach ulcers, or kidney troubles then anti-inflammatories can be harmful.
You want to avoid abuse. Abuse for the knee would be jumping, pounding, running - that's just not good for a knee joint that is starting to wear out and starting to lose cartilage. Low impact is good - swimming, biking, elliptical, weights. Those are the main things.
Then injections. There's is a lot of hype out there so be careful. There's a lot of marketing - almost scams. So be careful what you spend your money on. Steroid cortisone shots are useful. I believe we get great relief with that. There is also hyaluronic acid or gel shots. That has a lot of attention in the press. They have some roles also. So injections have a role - talk with your doctor about that.
If you have further interest in this I am happy to talk to you any time. It is important to explore all non-surgery choices first before you move ahead with knee replacement surgery.
Thanks.
If you have knee pain and need an orthopedic surgeon's opinion about knee surgery, you can find Dr. Albright at www.danalbright...
Schedule an appointment - 919-863-6808
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