Arthritis Treatment Knee Osteoarthritis And Also The Epidemic Of Knee Replacements

The most typical style of arthritis, osteoarthritis (OA), impacts more than twenty million Americans. Among the main targets for this disease is the knee.

OA impacts articular cartilage, the gristle that caps the ends of long bones. Articular cartilage is a "pudding" which is made up of a matrix of proteoglycans (arrangements of proteins and glycogen molecules.) Furthermore, there's a framework of tough collagen fibers. Within this proteoglycan/collagen structure are cells called chondrocytes.

The upkeep of normal cartilage integrity is very dependent on the metabolic function of all these chondrocytes.

Osteoarthritis of knee is a dress in and tear disease of articular cartilage. It arises as a consequence of the deficiency of ability of cartilage to keep up with excessive breakdown.

The 1st stage that takes place in the process of OA is an alteration in the matrix. This causes loss of cartilage resiliency. Additionally, proteins that promote inflammation (called inflammatory cytokines) are produced by the joint lining. All these cytokines activate destructive enzymes, called proteases which degrade the matrix and lead to the chondrocytes to malfunction.

Until now, the cure for meniscus tear symptoms is mostly symptomatic. Various medicines, called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), analgesics (pain-killers), exercises, physical therapy, and injections are utilized to offer palliative relief. Ultimately, though, patients will go on to get knee replacement surgery.

As this operation has mostly been reserved for elderly patients, joint replacement surgical treatment is growing at an alarming rate among Middle-agers who want to maintain a specific level of activity.

According to a recent report (Associated Press, Lindsay Tanner), "nearly one in twenty Americans over the age of 50 has an artificial knee- that's 4 million people!"

The federal Agency for Healthcare exploration and top quality has issued a recent report showing that knee replacements tripled in individuals ages 45 to 64 between 1997 and 2009. As it's admirable and speaks to the increased activity level in a group of patients that formerly could be sitting in rocking chairs, in another sense, it raises other issues.

This is in particular disturbing because revision surgery (replacement of the replacement) will be needed in the future and this is a far more difficult and pricey endeavor. Revision surgery takes longer, needs more expertise, is more difficult, and has a greater likelihood of complications.

Definitely , there is a public health issue if people with knee OA are taking place to get an operation that will add tremendous costs to an already overburdened healthcare system. More in a future article.