How to Deal with Knee Stiffness and Regain Mobility

We take for granted that we can get around, however when arthritis or physical injury damages our joints, suddenly our mobility can be taken away or severely impaired. Even simple physical tasks, such as walking up and down stairs, can become a serious challenge if not impossible. Pain may become increasingly associated with the problem and while medication and physical therapy may help, the problem may require surgical intervention.

Medical intervention should be considered as a last resort, however undergoing knee surgery to repair and alleviate the damage may be your only remaining viable option. A knee surgeon will be able to correct damage and deformities caused by age, injury or birth defects and will employ a variety of techniques to achieve improved mobility and reduce or eliminate joint pain.

An orthopedic surgeon can resurface the worn or damaged bones within the knee (one of the most complex joints in your body) and use artificial replacements for the cartilage and bone areas which move and work together. This will reduce and eliminate pain for most patients and reduce stiffness for the vast majority of patients. Knee surgery is a commonly undertaken procedure which is well understood, very safe and produces excellent results for most patients.

One of the greatest advances in knee surgery has been the complete or total replacement of the knee joint. The first such procedure took place back in 1968, however since then the surgery has been refined and perfected to the point where almost 600,000 knee replacements are undertaken in the US each year with more than 90% and higher probability of success.

The traditional procedure uses blocks and metal guides to determine where the surgeon must make their incisions and cuts. X-rays are taken before hand to determine the size of the artificial knee implant required, and the surgeon’s job is to match these two variables optimally. It is a testament to the skill of orthopedic surgeons that they are able to do this with a high degree of accuracy, however the traditional technique relies on a human surgeon’s ability to finely judge this process. As there is a small margin for error, in a very small number of patients the balance between the knee implant and placement in relation to the patient’s own bones and muscle may be slightly out to a degree which is large enough to render the procedure unsuccessful.

This small number of knee replacement failures has prompted the development of surgical techniques which are much more precise and accurate. Rather than traditional X-rays, a surgeon is now able to assess the size and shape of the required implant using 3-dimensional imaging technology which provides a much closer approximation of the dimensions of the knee implant a patient requires. However, this by itself is not enough to guarantee success as the surgeon must still make incisions and remodeling of the existing bone to accommodate the implant optimally.

Computers are now used to assist in the making of incisions and the preparation of the knee area to receive the implant. Using computer assisted navigation provides an exceptionally high degree of accuracy in making incisions and preparing the knee area to receive the implant. This provides for an exceptionally high degree of optimal fit, which in turn means the knee replacement works much more successfully than when using a traditional surgical procedure. In turn, this means greater mobility, reduced recovery times and much less pain involved in undergoing the knee replacement procedure.

Check out how the knee surgeons at www.OSC-Ortho.com are achieving exceptionally high success rates for their patients with cutting edge medical technology.