Posts Tagged ‘knee’

Arthroscopic Knee Surgery Options for a Cartilage Defect

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

If you are in your 20’s, 30’s, or 40s and have a knee cartilage defect the pain can be debilitating on a daily basis. The injury that resulted in the pain may have been a car accident, sports injury, really anything that could’ve led to a cartilage defect in your knee that is now causing pain.

An example of this type of injury would be a you are a competitive basketball player. Let’s say that you play professionally and in a playoff game you twist your knee and unfortunately tear your anterior cruciate ligament. You need gets unstable and you fall over and during the fall you end up with a cartilage defect along with a medial meniscal tear. What would the end result be of the injury?

To start with ACL reconstruction in the modern era is very effective. With surgery you could end up with a very functional newly CL that is made either from tissue of a cadaver or your own tissue. The medial meniscal tear can be shaved down and if the tears not too large you will end up with enough shock absorption in that regard. What the end result may be though his deep chronic knee pain from the cartilage defects sustained and this may shorten your basketball career.

The first treatment that works fairly well for a cartilage defect is called a microfracture treatment. It is performed as an outpatient arthroscopic knee surgery where the area of the cartilage defect is drilled multiple times through the bone slightly to generate some bleeding. With the bleeding present, there’s able to then be some more cartilage production from the healing process being started. The cartilage that is produced unfortunately is not Type one native cartilage. It is call fibrocartilage and is not a great permanent fix for the defect. It will function well for a period of time, but the cartilage produces is not what you were born with.

The 2nd treatment to help with a knee cartilage defect is called articular chondrocyte implantation. This ACI surgery involves harvesting some of your own cartilage cells and sending them to a lab in Massachusetts for culture. After a few weeks of growing new cartilage cells, they are shipped to the surgeon for implantation in the defect. The cells are put into place and a patch is placed over the area to keep them there for healing. The procedure has a decent track record of success but the down side to it is that it involves 2 surgeries and a significant amount of rehab.

A third option that does well with cartilage defects is called an Osteochondral Autograft Transfer Surgery (OATS). the surgery involves removing cartilage from a non-weight bearing area of the knee and then shifting it over to the painful cartilage defect area. Multiple circular punctures are involved in the placement of the cartilage and the hope is that they will grow together and provide pain relief area.

All of these procedures are done as an outpatient and have decent track record results for knee pain relief. They may reduce the need for treatment with an Arizona pain doctors.

Want to find out more about the best Arizona pain doctors, then visit Preferred Pain Center’s site on how to choose the best Phoenix chiropractor for your needs.

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Spinal Cord Stimulators Provide Excellent Pain Relief

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

The spinal cord stimulator will, SCS for short, provides back, neck, arm, and leg pain relief using electrical stimulation. The electrical impulses inhibit pain sensations from going to the brain. Candidates for SCS include individuals suffering from severe chronic pain with whom conservative treatments have failed or possibly surgical intervention is not an option.

Before having a final SCS implant put in, the person has to undergo a trial implant initially. The physician will sterilize the back region and place an epidural needle. Once the needle reaches the spinal canal, the doctor pushes a catheter through it.

The individual cannot be completely put out for the trial implantation. The reason is the physician must ask the patient about where pain relief is achieved during the procedure. Once the catheter is in place at the recommended position it is secured and an external power supply and programmer are attached which provides power for the next five to seven days.

Over the 5 to 7 days the trial implant is in place, the patient keeps a journal describing pain relief and how much comes from the trial. If sufficient pain relief is achieved from it (over 50%), then it’s acceptable to move on to a final implant. The trial implant is removed either way after approximately 5 to 7 days.

The final implant is put in under heavier sedation or general anesthesia. A small incision is placed in the low back, and the implant surgeon performs a small bone removal from over the epidural space. The paddle lead is then place into the epidural space and placed appropriately in the middle for pain relief.

The new paddle leads contain over 10 diodes and there are plenty of programs available for pain relief. By doing this, the patient will have plenty of options in which to obtain relief from his or her chronic pain. A fluoroscopic machine is used in order to make sure that the SCS paddle is placed appropriately, which shows the metallic diodes in appropriate position.

Once the paddle is in the appropriate position, the generator is then placed in the subcutaneous tissue at the top of the buttock region. One needs to make certain that it is not placed in an area the patient will be sitting on. The newer generators are excellent in that they allow for recharging outside the skin while the patient is sleeping. The patient is taught how to shift from one program to the next for optimal relief.

Want to find out more about pain management in Phoenix, then visit Preferred Pain Center’s site on how to choose the best Phoenix pain management doctors for your needs.

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Relieving Knee Arthritis Symptoms Through The Aid Of A Knee Support

Sunday, November 13th, 2011

Arthritis is a joint inflammation. It causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints of the body. This condition mostly exists in the hands and feet. There are two known types of knee arthritis, the Rheumatoid arthritis and the Osteoarthritis.

The Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammation of the tissue around the joints. It is an anti-immune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body tissues. The Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease which caused by the breakdown of the joint cartilage. This cartilage serves as a cushion between the bones of the joints.

Symptoms may be similar to both types of arthritis but there are also some distinctions. Proper medications for each type also differ. A good knee support for the knee joint can surely help ease these arthritis symptoms.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Research shows that rheumatoid arthritis is a common rheumatic disease in the United States. This arthritis is three times more common in women than in men. It affects people of all ages and races equally. It is not clear of what causes the rheumatoid arthritis to trigger. It is observed that the development of rheumatoid arthritis may be hereditary. The infectious agents such as the viruses, bacteria and fungi are long been suspected to exist in the human system. Certain factors may have triggered for these infectious agents to be activated, which then attacks the body’s own tissue. These agents cannot only affect the joints in the knee but also in other organs of the body, including the eyes or lungs. The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis can become active in a certain moment and in remission for the next period. When the body tissues are inflamed, the joints are also swollen, become red, stiff and tender. Pain is felt even when doing a simple walking or moving of the leg. It also includes fatigue, poor appetite, and sometimes associated with fever in children. This chronic inflammation can lead to the damage of the cartilage and bone which cause joint deformation and function impairment.

Osteoarthritis arthritis

I t is the thinning or breakdown of the cartilage in the joints. Osteoarthritis is the most common of all the types of arthritis. It is a degenerative disease which commonly occurs as the age increases. It mostly occurs in female at the age of 50 and above. The cartilage is composed of protein, as we age these proteins degenerate. Repetitive and overuse of the joints over the years can cause irritation to the cartilage and eventually total loss of it, as a cushion between the bone joints. This causes friction between the bones which leads to pain. This disease can also be caused by another disease or condition. Obesity is the most prevailing risk factor for acquiring Osteoarthritis. However, this kind of arthritis does not affect other organs in the body. It can be active in a certain moment and in remission for the next period. Symptoms include pain on the joint that worsen later in the day. The pain felt can limit the motion of the affected area, in this case the movement of the knee.

Curing Knee Arthritis

There is really no specific treatment in stopping the cartilage degeneration or in repairing the damage joint. A certain surgery may be recommended however this is not the primary option to ease the condition. Drugs can also be prescribed to reduce pain and inflammation. Avoiding activities that exert excessive stress on the joint as soon as possible is highly recommended. Rest, exercise, proper diet and physical therapy are important in reducing pain and inflammation. Support devices like a good quality knee support can improve and maintain joint function. Knee support allows patient to move their knee with minimal impact stress to the joints. Straps or tapes should be fastened around the leg properly. A poorly positioned knee support can cause more hurt rather than helping to ease the pain. Ask your doctor for the best knee support that best suits your knee arthritis condition.

Jeanine Jones was then promoted to a senior physiotherapist in a teaching hospital. She use knee support (“Kniestuetze” as they call it in German) for some patients. She finds her career to be interesting and enjoyable because she gets to educate and advise patients on how to self-manage and take responsibility for their own condition.

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Obtaining A Higher Awareness Of Inflammation Of A Joint

Monday, September 27th, 2010

The definition of “Arthritis” refers to in excess of a hundred types of diseases which unfortunately just about all cause soreness, stiffness, and swelling inside joints of afflicted people today. All joint disease problems involve some type of joint pain or the other. Nevertheless, the seriousness with the joint pain, the extent of the joint pain and degree of the joint pain varies from one sort of joint disease to another.

The two most widespread types of arthritis include Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. Osteo arthritis is easily the most prevalent kind of arthritis, in which joint cartilage is destroyed. Sometimes of Osteoarthritis, the patient experiences bony outgrowth, also called bone spurs and even lose of cartilage particles.

Osteoarthritis has an effect on mostly aged people, from 55 years and older. That is why most men and women say it is an ‘aged disease’ in the joints. Osteoarthritis is mostly common in the hands, feet, spine, hips and knees of victims.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the patient experiences white blood cells inside the synovial membrane dividing, growing and multiplying. These create inflammation of the joint capsule and synovial membrane layer, lack of space in the synovial cavity, pain and stiffness in the joint. When there is no arthritis relief and treatment, this may result in cartilage destruction.

Apart from these kinds of types of arthritis, a different type of arthritis that commonly affects people is “Inflammatory Arthritis”. This type of arthritis causes very severe irritation in the joints and also the tendons of the patients.

This is mostly characterized by the swelling and inflammation of the synovial membrane – thereby causing severe pain and stiffness within the joints of the victims. Inflammatory arthritis helps make the joint look red and warm when touched. Arthritis relief for victims is critical to reduce the pain.

Arthritis relief is therefore very important, particularly in the countries like the united states where Arthritis is the main reason for physical impairment. There are a predicted total quantity of 43 million Americans – 16 percent of the population, being affected by one form of arthritis or the other.

It is not only adults who require arthritis relief, but additionally children. In the United States, about 300,000 children suffer from one type of arthritis associated disease or another. Children, being very vulnerable to pain, require arthritis relief and treatment more than ever before. Unlike adults who can endure joint problems to a great degree, children cannot and therefore need arthritis relief as soon as the problem starts.

That is why most men and women say it is an ‘aged disease’ of the joints. All arthritis conditions involve some type of joint pain or the other. Therefore most individuals say it is an ‘aged disease’ of the joints. Best Vitamin For Joints

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Getting A Better Understanding Of Arthritis

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

The definition of “Arthritis” describes more than a hundred different types of diseases which in turn all cause soreness, stiffness, and soreness inside joints of afflicted people today. All arthritis conditions involve some type of joint pain or the other. Nonetheless, the seriousness of the joint pain, the extent of the joint pain and degree of the joint pains vary from one type of joint disease to another.

The two most frequent kinds of arthritis include Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoporosis arthritis is easily the most common type of arthritis, in which joint cartilage is destroyed. In other cases of Osteoarthritis, the patient experiences bony outgrowth, generally known as bone spurs and even lose of cartilage particles.

Osteoarthritis has an effect on mainly aged men and women, from 55 years and older. That is why most individuals say it is an ‘aged disease’ of the joints. Osteoarthritis is mostly common in the hands, feet, spine, hips and knees of victims.

In arthritis rheumatoid, the patient experiences white blood cells inside the synovial membrane dividing, growing and developing. These produce inflammation of the joint capsule and synovial membrane, decrease of space in the synovial cavity, pain and stiffness in the joint. If you experience no arthritis relief and remedy, this can result in cartilage destruction.

Aside from these types of arthritis, another kind of arthritis that commonly affects people is “Inflammatory Arthritis”. This kind of arthritis causes very severe soreness in the joints and the tendons of the patients.

This is mostly characterized by the swelling and inflammation of this synovial membrane – thereby causing severe pain and stiffness within the joints of the victims. Inflammatory arthritis makes the joint look red and warm when touched. Arthritis relief for victims is important to reduce the pain.

Arthritis relief is therefore extremely important, especially in the countries like the us where Arthritis is the main root cause of physical impairment. There are a predicted total number of 43 million Americans – 16 percent of the population, being affected by one form of arthritis or the other.

It’s not only adults who need arthritis relief, but additionally children. In the United States, about 300,000 children are afflicted by one type of arthritis related disease or another. Children, being very vulnerable to pain, require arthritis relief and treatment more than ever before. Unlike adults who can endure joint problems to a great degree, children cannot and therefore need arthritis relief as soon as the problem starts.

Inflammatory arthritis makes all the joint look red and warm when touched. This arthritis causes very severe irritation in the joints and also the tendons of the sufferers. Osteo-arthritis is easily the most common kind of arthritis, in which joint cartilage is destroyed. Joint Supplements For Horses

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Is There A Simpler Way To Treat Arthritis With Natural Chiropractic Care And Spinal Decompression?

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

How many times have you heard doctors tell you that there is nothing we can do? They tell you that you’ve got arthritis and that there is no cure. If you haven’t heard it yourself, I bet you know a family member or friend who has. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is one of the oldest and most common types of arthritis around. It is characterized by the breakdown of the joint’s cartilage. This is the part of the joint that cushions the ends of bones. It causes the bones to rub against each other. This causes pain and loss of movement. It most commonly affects middle-aged and older people. Osteoarthritis can range from very mild to very severe. It affects hands and weight-bearing joints such as the knees, hips, feet and the back.

There are many factors that can cause osteoarthritis, and although age is a risk factor, research has shown that osteoarthritis is not an inevitable part of aging! There are many causes including obesity, joint injuries and genetics. As a person ages, these defects may cause early cartilage breakdown in the joint which could cause inflammation, a release of enzymes, and more cartilage damage. What if I told you arthritis has a reasonable explanation most doctors and scientists have completely overlooked? What if I told you with this knowledge, it may be possible to slow down the progression of arthritis and ease the pain? And what if I told you I have scientific proof to back it up? Would you be interested?

If you’re not interested yet after you read these chilling statistics, I’m sure you will be. Osteoarthritis affects an estimated 20.7 million Americans. They are mostly after age 45. Eighty percent of people with osteoarthritis report some form of limitation in movement or activities. Knee osteoarthritis can be as disabling as any cardiovascular disease except stroke. Women are more commonly affected than men. Osteoarthritis is responsible for more than 7 million physician visits per year. As many as half the people who have osteoarthritis do not know what type of arthritis they have and cannot make informed decisions about their care because treatment options vary among the more than 100 forms of arthritis. Musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis cost the U.S. economy nearly $65 billion per year in direct expenses and lost wages and production.

Enough of all the boring stuff. Let’s talk about an actual cause of osteoarthritis and a logical solution. First let me ask you a simple question: What happens to the wheels on your automobile if the front end is out of alignment? They wear out of course. And they not only wear out, they wear out faster than they would if the front end was in correct alignment.

So what do you do when the front end of your automobile is out of alignment? You fix it or your mechanic lines it up. As soon as this is done, the abnormal stress on your tires is stopped and your tires stop wearing out abnormally. The same is true with your spinal column and the other joints of your body. The delicate joints in your spinal column can misalign causing them to either move unnaturally or get “stuck” and not move at all. Either way, this can cause abnormal stress and strain or just like the tires on your car when the front end is out of alignment your joints wear out. This is osteoarthritis or degenerative arthritis and can lead to lot of pain and suffering.

How do I know this for sure? Glad you asked. Tapio Vidman, M.D. did extensive arthritis research and found that when he caused a joint to not work right, microscopic damage was detected within 24 hours and PERMANENT degenerative changes took place within 3 weeks! Basically, when your joints misalign and get “stuck,” arthritic changes begin to occur immediately and permanent, IRRIVERSABLE damage may be present within just 3 weeks. So…How Do You Fix This Problem?

It is simple. Take a look at what you did when the front end of your automobile was out of alignment. You went to someone who specializes in detecting and correcting misaligned vehicles. Understand that your mechanic didn’t put something in your gas tank or oil to try to chemically realign your wheels. That obviously wouldn’t make sense. He simply realigned the wheels and that fixed your car. The same is true with your body. What makes you think taking a drug or rubbing some kind of lotion will realign your joints? It obviously won’t. Sure, powerful painkillers may mask the problem for a while. But in the long run they will just wear down.

The bottom line is if your joints are misaligned, they will continue to degenerate. Chiropractic care and top chiropractors in San Diego help align misaligned joints. This happens in your knees, hands, feet, spine and more. By making your joints function properly, you will live a life with decreased stiffness and pain.

After reading this, doesn’t it make sense that Chiropractic care will also slow down…if not… prevent much of the degenerative process and arthritis? Why Wait Until You Have Pain, Before Seeking Chiropractic Care? Come in to see a chiropractor today to see and feel better than the way you came in. Contact us to us if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health. We’re here to help,

Learn more about arthritis. Stop by the arthritis website site where you can find out all about arthritis treatment and what it can do for you.

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