RA complicated by arthritis in knees

[Mama-K]

Morning, so I have increasing pain in knees, worse on left.

Diagnosed with Degenerate Oesteo-Arthritis in both knees, treatment for which is steroid injection, for time being, but ultimately will need knee replacement surgery.

My question is, does anyone have tips to reduce pain & swelling & preserve my natural joints for as long as possible?

I walk a lot, do Pilates & gardening.

Should I take a joint care supplement? I am currently loosing weight (2 stone so far but still raised BMI), but this takes time.

Any tips is very gratefully received. 😃❣️

[vonniesims]

The weight loss will help a lot. Well done☺️. My surgeon told me to strengthen the muscles around the knees so I cycled a lot - ( in the gym as live in hilly Yorkshire ) and did squats and things you can find on Google. Sorry, dont know if supplements help. Good luck

[Deeb1764]

I am the same and was told BMI and weight are key to being given the knee op as they won’t touch you otherwise. So knee strengthening exercises to keep The muscle strong was advised by the bone consultant 😘

[Mama-K]

Excellent idea about the pool walking! Thank you 😊 my local leisure centre has sauna & steam so I think that’s a fabulous idea. I have never been a gym monkey (always find it’s so boring), but waiting for appointments there through my GP referral scheme.

[janmary]

look up previous threads about using bamboo knee sleeves — they give support and compression either when walkingetc or when sleeping

[98iuy]

For swollen stiff painful knee, sometimes causing limping, as part of an arthritic condition I've researched quite intensively online and have distilled it down (for me) to the following.

1/ Muscle scraping using blunt edge such as a spoon or back of blunt knife. Over the front and sides of knee, lubricated with suitable oil or soap, towards upper body and strictly only in one direction. Around 15s per each side and front. There are youtube vides, and plenty of online info. Also, if keen, you can get inexpensive special tools in various shapes from ebay, Amazon etc. There's a Japanese name for the technique which slips my mind but it's essentially a form of massage. I got immediate relief and perform it nearly daily as part of bath routine. Apparently it breaks up and modifies body's response to scar tissue formed in injured and painful muscles/tendons and increases blood flow to relevant areas. I can feel the resistance of the scar tissue, and the massaged area glows red as blood flows into it. Much better than hand or finger massage.

2/ Apparently, much of the muscle strengthening advice from non specialists (though medically qualified) is not necessarily the best. Some time served physios alternatively recommend that exercising the glutes is key. I've discovered two highly recommended (by the physios) exercises via youtube. The first involves lying on side supported by arm, and raising affected leg diagonally up and back. Too painful for me at the moment due to painful shoulders and elbow. Instead I'm doing the standing version. Stand upright, hands lightly supporting body against table, chair sink, etc, and gently raise affected leg diagonally back and up, feeling sqeeze in glute. Repeat a few times, ten if poss. Again, for me, immediate relief that gets better if continued a few times a week.

3/ Keeping knee raised when sitting or lying on bed or couch using pillows under it. You can get shaped cushions for this very purpose from ebay/amazon though I've not tried any yet.

I too have found compression sleeves useful.

I stress that I'm not qualified in these areas in any official way, but am just researching online to relieve my own pain, and these things work for me so maybe worth a shot. I've read that attention to physio, diet, and natural supps when made part of overall lifestyle, in addition to meds, can go a long way to putting off or even avoiding joint replacements in many cases though appreciate that everyone is a different case. I've started experimenting with the scraping technique on arms and shoulders as well, with a certain degree of success.

Using above I've gone from quite anxious about ongoing painful knee, to upbeat and hopeful with far less limping and discomfort. Still stiff and twingy, but much improved.

Good luck.