First of all, thank you so much for your service in the military! I truly appreciate all you do! I am sorry to hear you are having pain. Did you have physical therapy after surgery? If not, I would recommend seeing a PT once cleared by your doctor. One month after a surgery such as this one is still soon to have complete pain relief, so the pain level may take more time to calm down. Also, swelling may take months after surgery to completely go away. If your pain and swelling is getting worse, call your doctor and let the doctor know. If you would like the name of a therapist near you for physical therapy, please let me know! I hope you feel better soon!

Thank you,

~Sarah

Excellent question! Physical therapy for knee osteoarthritis won’t change the degeneration and bone on bone position of the knee. However, the degeneration in the knee is thought to result in surrounding problems at the knee and perhaps hip or ankle that increase or create symptoms. Manual therapy seeks to find where these restrictions may be and address them. For instance, many people who have knee osteoarthritis have stiffness with bending or straightening the knee, stiffness at the knee cap, tightness at the hip, ankle, and surrounding knee musculature. When a joint is bone on bone, it just isn’t going to move as well. Therapists have a bunch of mobilizations, massage techniques, and stretches that may assist in addressing these movement issues that may create more symptoms. In addition to the manual therapy, building up the strength in the muscles around the joint can help support the joint, allowing more impact to be absorbed by the muscles when on foot instead of at the problematic joint. Strengthening exercises can help the surrounding knee muscles work as well as the can together to help do their job, protecting and supporting the knee joint.

Here are some things to take into consideration: I was once shadowing an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in total joint replacements. His patient’s would ask him if they really needed a knee replacement. His response was “You will tell me when you need a knee replacement”. I thought this was wise advice. When you feel that the pain limits your everyday life function and reduces your ability to live life in the way that you would like to, then it may be time to consider surgery. However, I recommend to many people to try therapy first. Therapy is definitely worth a try and supported by the research in helping this condition. Therapy may assist in giving you more time before you have to go in for the surgery as well. Each person is different in how they present with knee function, and therapy is individualized to each patient. Therefore, if you are questioning if physical therapy is for you, I would recommend heading to your nearest Athletico for a complimentary screen. During the screening, a physical therapist or athletic trainer can look at your knee, how it is functioning, and make their recommendation based on how your knee is specifically functioning. If you would like the name of a clinic or therapist near you, please let me know. I have had patients with a diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis that did not get better with physical therapy and had to have surgery. They found peace in knowing that they tried everything they could before they went for surgery. I have also had a lot of patients do physical therapy and finish feeling a whole lot better and no longer heading the surgery route. I feel that if a physician suggested trying PT to you, than it is definitely worth a try!

Thank you for the question!

Therapy is definately worth a try when it comes to arthritis! Here is a link to our locations so you can find a clinic close to home if you live around the Chicagoland area: http://www.athletico.com/locations/

Thank you for your post and I hope you find some relief with physical therapy!

Thanks for your post! I love hearing Athletico success stories! I am happy to hear that therapy provides you with some relief! Brian is a great therapist. I referred him a friend of mine to treat because I also know of his awesome manual skills. Thanks again for your comment and enjoy the start of summer!=)