Number one: Instructions: Your doctor will give you instructions on how to do everyday tasks with the least stress possible on the knee joint. Following those instructions is important to maintain your knee and postpone measures like knee replacement over the years. No other measure ranks higher than instructions for the knee in importance. There is a WhatsApp number at the bottom of this article through which you can request the list of knee instructions that we send to our patients at Dr. Hatem Eleishi Medical Center.  

 

Number two: Weight control: you will need to gradually lose weight if you are overweight or obese.

 

Number three: Physiotherapy: You will benefit from a program of physical therapy. Typically it consists of machine modalities and exercises. Machine modalities include ultrasound, infra-red and laser. They are good for pain relief over the short term (days). Exercises are mobilization and range of motion and stretching and strengthening exercises. They help reduce the pain and also restore the healthiness and vitality and strength of the knee joint over the longer term (weeks and months). 

 

Number four: Prescription of medications: We will also prescribe a painkiller for you to use when needed. Painkillers are not treatment plans. They are only painkillers. There are also mediations that supposedly stimulate the cartilage of the joint like glucosamine and chondroitin. They may benefit some patients as well.

 

Number five: Local knee injections: There are three types of local injections that can be used for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Before prescribing any of them, it is important to request a plain X-ray of the knee joint to make sure that the osteoarthritis is not too severe and the cartilage is not completely worn out as patients with such advanced degrees of osteoarthritis will not benefit from local injections of the knee of any kind.

 

The first type of local injections of the knee is intraarticular cortisone injections. We use an intraarticular cortisone injection if the joint pain is severe and intense and maybe even disturbing the patient's sleep. The intraarticular cortisone injection here is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication that can give a temporary relief to the patient until other measures of treatment have taken over. 

 

The second type of local injections of the knee is hyaluronic acid. We call this process viscosupplementation. Hyaluronic acid is a thick fluid that kind of lubricates the joint or revitalizes the joint cartilage tissue. It is an attempt to increase the longevity of the joint in those who are candidates for the procedure.

 

The third type of local injections of the knee is the plasma injection, which is called PRP injection. Although plasma injections (PRP) are currently being used more often for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee in some centers, yet there is no research confirming that it results in a significant rebuilding of the cartilage of the knee to an extent that parallels the reputation it is gaining lately in dealing with this disorder. Its use is more promising though in acute injuries like sports injuries.

 

There are many undergoing studies that are trying to find a treatment that can really rebuild cartilage. However, none of these studies have so far reached a really conclusive treatment for that purpose yet. Unfortunately, there are some non-professionals who claim that herbs and bee venom can rebuild old cartilage. This has no scientific basis regardless of the wealth of data you will find about them on the internet. Herbal preparations and bee sting are, at best, painkillers only, but of questionable safety.

 

Number six: Finally, for patients whose osteoarthritis of the knee has progressed to advanced stages diagnosed by the severity of the symptoms and by the X-rays of the patient, we refer them to an Orthopedic surgeon specialized in knee surgeries for a replacement of the knee joint. This operation is called total knee replacement.

 

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For instructions on preserving the knee joint, please send a message on WhatsApp 00201010098868 with the text "knee instructions"

 

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Social media hashtag:

#hatem_eleishi

#knee_osteoarthritis

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This post was prepared and published by Dr. Hatem Eleishi. Dr. Hatem Eleishi is a professor of rheumatology at Cairo university (Egypt) and is especially dedicated to supporting arthritis patients with online educational videos and articles about arthritis causes and treatment. He also runs a rheumatology clinic in Cairo and a center for online medical consultations that, in addition to providing online rheumatology consultations, also provides online medical consultations in several different medical specialties by expert consultants from Egypt, Canada and the United States.

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If you are interested in receiving the links of Dr. Hatem's videos to patients on your WhatsApp, kindly click here

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To check the library of you tube videos of Dr. Hatem for patients, kindly click here

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To watch the educational videos of Dr. Hatem on his you tube (Dr. Hatem Eleishi Arthritis channel), kindly click here

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If you are interested in online video consultation with Dr. Hatem, kindly click on this link please