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Question: I'm a 56 year old woman, overweight with osteoathritis of both knees. I recently developed water in my left knee which was drawn out in order to be able to take an international flight. I now experience extreme stiffness, pain when walking and difficulty to straighten leg. What should I do?
Brief Answer:
topical and oral meds, exercise, physiotherapy
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Stiffness especially after a period of no movement, pain and difficulty with movement are unfortunately typical with osteoarthritis.
This means that it is not unusual for you to experience these symptoms.
Treatment of osteoarthritis involves: (1) heat and cold as needed
(2)weight loss of any excess weight to decrease the pressure or load on the knees. It is very effective
(3)exercise- water exercise may be helpful
(4)physiotherapy- your doctor should be able to refer you to a physiotherapist who would be able to show you exercise that would be able to strengthen muscles around the knee
(5)medications- this would include topical pain killers such as capsaicin or voltaren gel that you can apply to the knees
In addition oral medications such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, naproxen, celebrex - can be used. If there is no pain relief then stronger meds can be given or steroid injection to the knees
Insoles in the shoes can sometimes help as well, if the pain is on the inside aspect of the knee then insoles on the outside aspect of the shoes would help. The opposite is true for pain mainly on the outside.
A walking aid such as a cane, may be needed
i hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
topical and oral meds, exercise, physiotherapy
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Stiffness especially after a period of no movement, pain and difficulty with movement are unfortunately typical with osteoarthritis.
This means that it is not unusual for you to experience these symptoms.
Treatment of osteoarthritis involves: (1) heat and cold as needed
(2)weight loss of any excess weight to decrease the pressure or load on the knees. It is very effective
(3)exercise- water exercise may be helpful
(4)physiotherapy- your doctor should be able to refer you to a physiotherapist who would be able to show you exercise that would be able to strengthen muscles around the knee
(5)medications- this would include topical pain killers such as capsaicin or voltaren gel that you can apply to the knees
In addition oral medications such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, naproxen, celebrex - can be used. If there is no pain relief then stronger meds can be given or steroid injection to the knees
Insoles in the shoes can sometimes help as well, if the pain is on the inside aspect of the knee then insoles on the outside aspect of the shoes would help. The opposite is true for pain mainly on the outside.
A walking aid such as a cane, may be needed
i hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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