When you are diagnosed with knee arthritis, do you feel like you are doomed to a lifetime of knee pain? Do you start planning for your inevitable knee replacement? Believe me, there is hope! Understanding what happens when you have knee arthritis or degenerative changes can help you learn what may help to relieve your pain.
If you watch the video, you’ll see that knee arthritis can cause a thinning of the cartilage in the knee, breakdown of the meniscus or cushion in the knee, and create laxity in the ligaments of the knee. Amazingly, these changes don’t necessarily result in knee pain. Lots of studies demonstrate these changes to varying intensities in individuals of all ages that complain of no knee pain!
As an example, years ago, I had a much older patient (80+) come to me for shoulder pain as a result of playing tennis. As I was working with her shoulder, I noticed (she was wearing shorts) that she had terribly arthritic knees. They were large, knobby, and deformed. Her feet and knees were both pointing outward due to the deformity at her knees and her knees were stuck slightly bent. I could visibly see the dramatic changes in the structure of both her knee joints. I asked her during one visit if her knees ever bothered her. “No”, she answered. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” ?
What causes the pain you feel with arthritis? First, it might be inflammation in your joint. As inflammation is an irritant to the structures in the joint, this irritant can cause pain. Also, inflammation changes the consistency of the fluid in your joint. This fluid acts as the lubricant and primary nourishment to structures inside your knee. Changes in this fluid negatively impacts the health of the structures in your knee which can also cause pain.
Second, knee pain associated with arthritis could be from the friction between surfaces that are no longer protected by an adequate layer of cartilage. Fortunately, cartilage does not have nerve endings but bone does. So when bone is irritated by friction or abnormal pressure, it’s painful.
Third, as you can see from the video, the functioning of ligaments is negatively affected by arthritic changes. Ligaments are loaded with nerve endings. So when ligaments try to control the extra motion occurring in the joint, they can become stretched and strained which will trigger pain.
Understanding the changes occurring in your knee and why it may be leading to pain can help you discover ways to relieve your knee pain. For example, if inflammation is a problem, consider regularly icing your knee, wearing a compression sleeve to squeeze out the inflammation, and elevate your knee for 15-20 minutes above your heart every day.. Also, you can choose activities that help increase the circulation and nourishment in your knee while reducing the pressure on the thinning cartilage, like biking or swimming. And wearing a hinged knee brace can offer your knee some extra stability, taking the strain off the struggling ligaments.
There are many other interventions that can help arthritic knees feel better. If you need help managing your knee pain, give me a call! I’d love to help!
Note: This video refers to a “next” video about disk degeneration. You can find that video here if you are interested!
This post is intended for education and demonstration only and is not meant to take the place of guidance from your Primary Care Provider (PCP). Don’t use this post to avoid going to your PCP or to replace the advice they give you. Get clearance from YOUR PCP before using the information in this post. Use at your own risk.