Knee replacement surgery is one of the most common joint replacement procedures. Many people suffer from knee arthritis, but it may be difficult to know the right time to have the knee replacement surgery.
Knee Arthritis refers to the inflammation of the knee joint. Arthritis is the wearing away of cartilage in a joint, which is due to the inflammation within the joint. Over time, this inflammation leads to cartilage loss and exposed bone, rather than a normal, smooth joint surface.
The most common kind of knee arthritis happens to be osteoarthritis. This often leads to the wearing away of the smooth cartilage till bare bone gets exposed. Other kinds of knee arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, as well as lupus arthritis.
Knee replacement surgery refers to a procedure which is performed only when the knee joint reaches the stage when the symptoms become too painful to be controlled with any kind of non-operative treatments. In such a procedure, the surgeon removes the damaged joint surface in order to replace it with a metal and plastic implant.
Knee replacement surgery is a major surgery, and you need to decide if the time is right for it. The treatment should always begin with the most basic options and then only progress to the more involved, such as surgery. The fact is that not all the treatments are appropriate for every body.
Knee replacement is generally for those patients who have already tried all the other treatments. They are still bearing significant pain during normal activities. Patients, who only have occasional pain, or those who are able to participate in athletic activities, or those who have not tried the non-operative treatments are not suitable for a knee replacement. Such non-operative treatment options include weight loss, activity modifications as well as anti-inflammatory medications.