I've had very bad knee pain Dr thinks it's arthritis

Hi Marie!

If it is osteoarthritis an x-ray can be helpful to make a diagnosis. Pain comes from many things, but the wearing away of the cartilage which causes the bones to rub together is often what happens with osteoarthritis.

Did your pain come on suddenly? Osteoarthritis gets gradually worse but usually doesn't cause sudden pain. Mine got worse over nearly 30 years until last year pain was SO BAD I was a candidate for two total knee replacements.

I think X-RAYS would be the best start for you. In the meantime see if ice helps. Also I have had good pain management using Ibuprofen.

Please let us know what you find out! Pain is no fun, and getting RID of pain needs to be a top priority for all of us!

I had bad knees from my teenage years and two years ago they got worse. After many appointments with the doctor and even having physio it was the X-rays that showed that I had Arthritis. I even had torn my right cartilage! Unfortunately I had an operation to clean up my knee/cartilage which was fine for about a month then the pain came back but not as bad. My knee pain last week was so bad I had to rest up as I couldn't walk on it and found Freeze Gel had work wonders and I've been able to walk back on it even though my leg is somewhat stiff as I've got Arthritis in both my hips as well. So I can only suggest that if your medication isn't helping maybe get you doctor to change it or try the freeze gel. The gel won't clear your pain but makes it more comfortable for walking. Good luck with your knee

As Cheryl helpfully said, if it's osteo arthritis, its due to loss of cartilage, this can be due to just 'wear and tear' on the joint or damage from say impact or accident.  Knee pain also commonly occurs from bursitis which is swelling and inflammation of the protective liquid filled sac (bursa) between tendon and bone, again same causes as OA.  anti inflamms are the first port of call, and ice packs may help (dont leave the ice pack on the area for more than a few minutes at a time).  I agree that an X ray would be the first step or you may be offered an MRI.  I had OA diagnosed in neck and shoulder, the MRI confirmed reduction in several of the neck, with reduction in several discs but after many years of pushing my doctors to investigate further, I recently had an ultrasound which discovered ruptured tendons and bicep muscle.  Do ask more questions and ask for further tests to determine the exact nature of the problem, but in the meantime, anti inflammatories (ibuprofen, naproxen, etc) will help plus gel and ice packs and rest the joint when you can.

Hi MarieAzz;  if this is the case, has the doctor ordered an x-ray to confirm this suspicion?  It needs to be confirmed and then treatment commenced.  If you are looking for best treatment, then an appointment with a Rhuematologist is also needed, and if you research Cortisone Injections into the knee, you may find (as I did) that this is a very good treatment, and stops the pain, and further progression of the deterioration of the knee.    There is really no reason to "rush in and have a replacement done", as this other treatment has worked for me (and I have been diagnosed with OA  in most of my joints).  However,now I  do not have very many problems after having the injections (and they were done about 5 - 6 years ago).................good luck..........Bron