Causes
- Being overweight: weight increases pressure on all joints, especially your knees. Every pound of extra weight adds three to four pounds of extra weight on your knees
- Older age: the ability of cartilage to heal decreases as you get older
- Hereditary: some people are more susceptible to getting OA than others
- Repetitive stress injuries: more active individuals who kneel, squat, or lift heavy weights have a higher risk of developing OA
Treatment
Usually, treatment involves conservative options including weight loss, physical therapy and corticosteroid injection. Surgery is a last resort.
Joint replacement is an effective therapy for end stage OA when all other conservative measures have failed. A study in 2002 showed that African Americans were less likely than Caucasians to express “willingness” to consider joint replacement even when it was recommended. This finding was explained by differences in African Americans expectations of the hospital course, pain, and function following replacement surgery.
Talking to your doctor about joint replacement
Here are some questions you may have and ones that you should be read to ask your surgeon prior to surgery:
What is a knee replacement?
When the cartilage between your bones becomes worn or is damaged, it needs to be replaced. This occurs with a metal alloy on the femur (top bone) and plastic spacer on the tibia (lower bone).
When should I have this type of surgery?
First, your Orthopedic Surgeon will determine if you are a candidate for a knee replacement. This will be based on the failure of previous conservative (physical therapy, steroid injection, anti-inflammatory use), any medical conditions that you have, medications that you take, and your exam.