Knee pain is no longer a disease that afflicts only the aged; it is prevalent among all age groups. As today is World Arthritis Day, orthopaedic consultants in Chennai are trying to new methods to deal with the problem.
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This disease comes owing to loss or damage of cartilage attributed to old age, heredity and obesity; it is now seen that middle-aged people also suffer from the pain of the knee, spine and hip.
Knee to Know, an educational forum, creating awareness on the management of the knee osteoarthritis. also aims to highlight how the intervention of a specialist in an early stage can help the patients. Over 14 million people in the country are affected by knee osteoarthritis.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), upto 40 per cent of the people over 70 suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee where almost 80 per cent of patients have some degree of limitation of movement and 25 per cent cannot perform major daily activities. Sometimes, it can be experienced because of trauma (injury to a joint), physical inactivity, overuse of joints ( by athletes) and misalignment. Owing to unsystematic life style, it affects more women in the age group of 40-60. Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, Dr Vijay C Bose, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Apollo Speciality, said one can avail oneself of many treatment options to help the patients manage the knee pain with lesser side-effects. One needs to relieve pain by improving muscle strength, minimising complications of the therapy. Regular exercise, yoga and medication can help one without undergoing any surgery whereas awareness brings about the major solution to all the complications, he said. For patients seeking a long-term solution, viscosupplementation, a one-shot option, can provide a long-term solution, said Dr A B Govindraj, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, at Guest Hospital. This imported injection from USA costs Rs 15,000 per slot relieving one upto eight months and in special cases two to three years. It has a success rate 90 per cent among the patients and many are able to get back to their routine, he added. |