knee injury Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Knee Arthroscopic Surgery for Meniscus Tears

The AHA! Team — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 05:36:09 +0000

Georgia M. Beasley, MD, MHSc, via Duke Health – The knee is one of the most commonly injured parts of the body, and meniscus tears are often the cause of knee pain and knee injury. The meniscus is the tough, rubbery cartilage that absorbs shock between the shin bone and thigh bone and distributes weight across the knee joint. When this cartilage tears, it can cause pain and instability in the knee joint. Meniscus tears can result from a twisting injury in sporting activities, such as football or soccer, or even something as simple as turning to put the dishes away. Symptoms of Meniscus Tears People of all ages can suffer from meniscus injuries, but each age has different types of tears and different ways to treat the tears. Almost all tears have similar symptoms, including: Pain Swelling Tenderness Giving way Mechanical symptoms, such as locking, popping, and catching Diagnosing a Meniscus Tear When you experience these symptoms, it is important to see an orthopaedic surgeon so your knee can be examined and an accurate diagnosis made. Occasionally, the diagnosis is obvious based upon a description of the injury and an examination of the patient. However, X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are frequently used to help identify any other associated injuries. Most common findings The most common findings on exam include tenderness over the joint line where the meniscus is torn, swelling, and sometimes loss of motion. The most important to report is whether you have mechanical symptoms such as episodes of feeling like your knee is caught or stuck. Once the diagnosis of a meniscus tear is made, you should discuss your treatment plan with your orthopaedic surgeon. For most people who have a symptomatic meniscus tear with mechanical symptoms, arthroscopic surgery is selected to remove or repair the torn tissue. However, if you have arthritis, you may benefit from injection and physical therapy without surgery. Arthroscopy has revolutionized how knee surgery is performed. In the past, a torn meniscus required a three- to four-inch incision and an overnight stay (or two) in the hospital. Now, the meniscus tear can be repaired with the arthroscope through two tiny (less than a half-inch) incisions. The surgery can be performed on an outpatient basis in less than an hour. Typically, the surgery can be performed under regional anesthesia with sedation, so there’s minimal anesthesia risk. Occasionally, small stitches can be placed into the torn meniscus to sew it back together; this technique can successfully treat large tears in younger people. If the tear is small, it may be removed. Quick Recovery Time Recovery from arthroscopic meniscus tear surgery is relatively quick, and most people can resume normal activities within a few weeks depending on the size of the tear and the repair involved. The pain relief is dramatic, and the postoperative incision pain is quite minimal. Physical therapy is often necessary in the recovery process. As with any surgery, there are risks, including the risk of infection or blood clots. Additionally, there are risks associated with anesthesia used during the surgical procedure. While meniscus tears are common, painful, and activity-limiting, these injuries can be quickly, easily, and successfully identified and treated. To read the original article click here.

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The Best Alternative to Knee Replacement for Osteoarthritis

The AHA! Team — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 05:49:10 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Is there a non-surgical alternative to knee replacement surgery that treats the cause and offers only beneficial side effects? The health effects of being overweight The largest study in history on the health effects of being overweight, analyzing data from more than 50 million people from nearly 200 countries, found that excess body weight accounts for the premature deaths of about four million people every year. Most of these deaths are from heart disease, but the researchers “found convincing or probable evidence” linking obesity to 20 different disorders—a veritable alphabet soup of potential health concerns. In the ABCs of the health consequences of obesity, A is for arthritis. Obesity can make rheumatoid arthritis worse and increase the risk of another inflammatory joint disease—gout, the so-called disease of kings. The most common joint disease in the world, though, is osteoarthritis, and obesity may be its “main modifiable risk factor.” Osteoarthritis develops when the cartilage that lines and cushions our joints breaks down faster than our body can build it back up. Our knee is the most commonly affected joint, leading to the assumption that the association with obesity was simply due to the excess wear and tear from the added load on the joints. But non-weight-bearing joints, like our hands and wrists, can also be affected, suggesting the link isn’t “purely mechanical.” Obesity-related dyslipidemia may play a role, with elevations in the amounts of triglycerides, fat, and cholesterol in the blood aggravating inflammation in the joints, just like cholesterol can exacerbate the inflammation in our artery walls. Osteoarthritis sufferers Osteoarthritis sufferers not only have higher cholesterol levels in the blood, but they also have them within their joints, as you can see below and at 1:52 in my video The Best Knee Replacement Alternative for Osteoarthritis Treatment, in aspirated joint fluid and also found in the cartilage itself. When cholesterol is dripped onto human cartilage in a petri dish, the inflammatory degeneration worsens, which helps explain why the higher our cholesterol, the worse our disease, as shown below and at 2:05. Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may help prevent and also treat osteoarthritis, as can a cholesterol-lowering diet. In fact, a healthy enough plant-based diet may offer the best of both worlds, dropping cholesterol as much as a starting dose of a statin drug—within a single week—and having only good side effects, such as lowering blood pressure and facilitating weight loss. Decrease the odds of developing osteoarthritis by more than 50 percent Even losing only about a pound a year for a decade may decrease the odds of developing osteoarthritis by more than 50 percent. Weight reduction may even obviate the need for knee replacement surgery. Osteoarthritis sufferers with obesity who were randomized to lose weight improved their knee function as much as those undergoing surgery—and did so within just eight weeks. The researchers concluded that losing 20 pounds of fat “might be regarded as an alternative to knee replacement.” Isn’t it easier to get your knees replaced than lose 20 pounds, though? Rarely discussed is the fact that nearly 1 in 200 knee replacement patients lose their lives within 90 days of surgery. Given the extreme popularity of this surgery—about 700,000 are performed each year in the United States—an orthopedics journal editor suggested that “people considering this operation are inadequately attuned to the possibility that it may kill them.” Arguably, that’s the single most salient fact to share with a patient who is considering the operation. Responding to the question of whether patients should be told about the chance the operation may kill them, an orthopedic surgeon said: “To me, the real question is whether this knowledge will help the patient. Will it add to the anxiety of the already anxious patient, perhaps to the point of denying that patient a helpful operation? Or will this knowledge motivate a less-handicapped patient to stick to a diet and physical activity regime? Ultimately, then, the question boils down to the surgeon’s judgment.” One in five knee replacement patients describe being unsatisfied with the outcome Even among the vast majority who survive the surgery, approximately one in five knee replacement patients describe being unsatisfied with the outcome. Weight loss with a healthy diet, on the other hand, may offer a nonsurgical alternative that treats the cause and has only beneficial side effects. I continue the alphabet of obesity with the next few videos in the related posts below. You may be interested in my book on weight loss, How Not to Diet, and its companion, The How Not to Diet Cookbook, which is full of health-promoting, Green-Light recipes. Request them from your local library. For more on joint health, visit the topic page. Key Takeaways Weight loss through a healthy, plant-based diet may be a nonsurgical alternative to knee replacement surgery, with only beneficial side effects, such as lowered cholesterol, reduced inflammation, and improved joint function. Obesity is a significant modifiable risk factor for osteoarthritis, with both mechanical strain on joints and obesity-related inflammation contributing to disease progression. Elevated cholesterol levels may worsen osteoarthritis by aggravating inflammation in the joints, making cholesterol management important in treating the disease. A plant-based diet may help prevent or treat osteoarthritis by reducing cholesterol levels, which can decrease joint inflammation. Knee replacement surgery carries risks, including a small but significant mortality rate (1 in 200 within 90 days), and one in five patients are unsatisfied with the outcome. Weight loss may provide similar benefits without these risks. To read the original article click here.

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ACL Tears Cause Harmful Changes in Our Brain Structure

AHA Publisher — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 08:00:26 +0000

University of Michigan via Science Daily – It’s known that some joint function is often permanently lost after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, and re-injury is common even with intensive physical therapy, but it’s unclear why. To read the original article and learn more about this interesting study, click here.

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Virtual Physical Therapy After Knee Replacement Brings Similar Outcomes, Lower Costs

AHA Publisher — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 05:28:55 +0000

Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins via Newswise – A virtual system for in-home physical therapy (PT) provides good outcomes for patients undergoing rehabilitation following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) – with lower costs than traditional in-person PT, reports a study in the January 15, 2020 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer. Newswise — January 16, 2020 – “Relative to traditional home or clinic PT, virtual PT with telerehabilitation for skilled clinical oversight significantly lowered three-month health-care costs after TKA while providing similar effectiveness,” according to the clinical trial report by Janet Prvu Bettger, ScD, of Duke University, Durham, N.C., and colleagues. Virtual PT After TKA Is Safe and Effective, Randomized Trial Reports The study included 306 patients with an average age of 65 years undergoing a knee replacement procedure. Patients were randomly assigned to undergo traditional PT, either at home or at clinic visits, or virtual PT with use of a virtual telehealth system. The FDA-cleared Virtual Exercise Rehabilitation Assistant (VERA) was designed to provide remote rehabilitation services. The cloud-based system features a digitally simulated coach to demonstrate and guide activity, including visual and audio instructions. The system also uses 3D tracking technology to assess the patient’s pose and movement, enabling immediate feedback on exercise quality. The VERA system provides a virtual video connection for weekly live telehealth visits with a remote physical therapist, who monitors the patient’s progress and reports back to the surgeon before follow-up clinic visits. Patients were able to receive in-person PT, if deemed necessary. The study compared the costs and effectiveness of rehabilitation following TKA for the virtual and traditional PT groups. In the 12 weeks after TKA, median total costs were $1,050 for patients assigned to the virtual PT system, compared with $2,805 with traditional PT. Mean costs were $2,745 lower in the virtual PT group. Patients using the VERA system participated in PT an average of 5.9 days per week, compared with 3.3 days in the traditional PT group. Eighty-eight percent of patients in the virtual PT group said they completed all assigned exercises, compared with 65 percent with traditional PT. After 12 weeks of rehabilitation, knee function, walking speed, and other functional outcomes were similar with virtual and traditional PT. Patients in the virtual PT group reported less difficulty with knee function during sports and recreational activities. There was no difference in physician, urgent care, and emergency room visits, but patients in the virtual PT group had fewer hospital readmissions. Safety outcomes were also similar between groups. The risk of falls was somewhat higher for patients assigned to virtual PT. Postoperative PT is important for helping patients to regain physical function following TKA. But PT care can be challenging to access, with barriers including cost and a shortage of physical therapists. Virtual or telerehabilitation programs such as VERA might help to increase home-based access to PT for patients undergoing TKA. The new study finds substantially lower costs in the three months after TKA for patients assigned to virtual PT, compared with traditional PT. Effectiveness and safety are similar between groups. Some outcomes might be even better with virtual PT (ie, knee function during sports/activities and rehospitalization risk), although the risk of falls may be higher. “These findings have important implications for patients, health systems, and payers and suggest that virtual PT with a telehealth therapist for remote clinical monitoring and guidance should be considered for patients after TKA,” Dr. Bettger and colleagues conclude. Although further study to guide implementation and uptake is needed, the authors believe that virtual PT systems have the potential to improve access while lowering costs of PT for patients undergoing TKA. To read the original article click here.

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