Been diagnosed about 4 years ago with O/A of the knee. Gradually getting worse and I can only manage about 3000 steps before pain kicks in and it makes it really difficult to get into car. Worse though is if I sit down in theatre or sporting event for more than an hour invariably after about 50 steps I get an absolute sharp pain on the outside of the knee. Really brings tears to the eyes. After hobbling another 4/500 steps it eases off. Now 70 and I've been putting off replacement but unless I can find something to ease the pain, non oral, I think I'll have to get it done. Any ideas of a cream/gel that would help.
Thx
Tony
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KCRoyals
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I can only say what I would do, and that is bite the bullet and have surgery, as a pal had it done and it was hugely successful which has motivated me to do likewise if I got to that stage. But everyone's different, of course.
Hi KC, Your post interest me for many reasons. I have had OA in both knee caps for Forty years. I have managed during that time in various ways. Exercise is key and working out what activities cause pain and avoiding or managing them.
Both knee caps are now bone on bone with the right knee the bone has also worn away. The left knee also has thin cartilage on the inside and that is what has been giving me the most difficulties for over three years.
I have not been able to sit long with my legs bent for over 25 years. This is quite common apparently and is known as "cinema knee". I avoid that by not sitting for more than 20 minutes with knees bent. Eg I book air travel with extra leg room, find seats on buses and trains where I can stretch my legs out, sit in the front passenger seat if I am not driving., take seats at the back when in an audience so I can stand up. I rarely go to the theatre, cinema, opera or concerts because of my problem.
I have more suggestions on this and finding out what exercise is good.
I have also been prescribed NSAIDs diclofenac and naproxen which can help a lot.
I could have had my left knee replaced this year on the NHS, but I am reluctant to do so until I am further restricted in my activities. However I think that I have now reached that point.
If you want any further details of my experience let me know. I found out a lot on my own but I have also had professional advice.
Great post. My main problem about having knee replacement, apart from being a wuss ,is that I am allergic to the ******dol/mol pain killers and not sure what I could take. The exercise you mention is that weights related or just walking. I can normally do 4/6000 steps a day and did 16000 on Saturday which after the severe pain earlier was decent. . The pain will come on after about 2/3000 and then endorphins hit and take most of the pain away. Also pain now radiating to hip. Shooot, this getting older is a bonus but have to put up with these drawbacks.
My sister just had her 2nd knee replaced and she only used her pain medication twice and is up and walking…. I wouldn’t worry about the pain meds that can be worked out.
I am also a wuss, plus given that I wasn't in constant pain and reasonably mobile the consultant said that there was a 30% chance that I would see no improvement. However due to the considerable wear on both knees he referred me.
An NHS physio advised it to me in 2021 during covid as face to face was not possible due to lockdown. I t made a big difference. There are lots of exercises in a six week programme. It is important that you continue to do them afterwards along with regular walking or whatever other exercise you do. I cycle, mostly on the flat and swim, crawl and back stroke, but not regularly.
I got lazy and gradually stopped the exercises from " escape pain" and walked and cycled less. Then at the start of this year I could hardly walk more than 100 steps before the pain stopped me from going on. So I started the "Escape pain" again and gradually built up my walking distance to eight miles on the flat. I also saw a physio who gave me other exercises to do.
The problem is that when I have been going through a good period I get over confident and think I can push myself further and try walking quickly, or try to run, and overdo it and go backwards. I am at that stage now, so trying to build up again.
I paid £500 to have MRI scans on both knees then more for a private consultation to find out how badly and where the OA is. Therefore I know that both knees will need replacing at some point.
Keeping my weight low also helps. I have to work on that.
Another possible option is to consider your method of walking. When I had my problem in January I was on holiday alone and I didn't have my walking poles so I tried different methods of walking. Without going into detail i found two that worked but only for a short while do I alternated them and that worked for longer. A few weeks later I read an article in the newspaper written by a journalist who had been on a course to learn how to walk. He didn't have any injuries and thought he could walk well. His traîner said that correct walking would cause less damage to knees. The few tips that he gave helped me to develop my walking style ro as to put less pressure on my knees and walk further.
I think you said your hip was giving you trouble, your bad knee may have got you into a bad walking style which puts pressure on your hip.
I don't know if any further information is available on this from those of you who have more experience
There are some very good people on YouTube. Alyssa Kuhn has lots of videos. She also taught me that insulin resistance can play a part. I believe in that, as my joints have improved since I cut out added sugar and white flour. Recently I discovered Yoga with Tim, Bulletproof your knees
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