Osteoarthritis in knee

Hi Juju, so sorry to hear you've had such discomfort.  OA is a degeneration of the cartilage, sometimes due to wear and tear and sometimes as a result of disease of the cartilage.  It often is gradual and builds up as a hidden horror but usually some pain will give you hints its happening.  Quite unusual as in your case that it only flares up suddenly.  OA isnt curable and won't just go away but often the pain does die down for long periods of time and is greatly helped by losing weight, so you're doing the right thing there.  Exercise is good, you just have to be careful not to do high impact stuff that could put additional wear and tear on the joint.  Swimming and cycling are both brilliant.  You'll need to look into foods/supplements/activities etc that are anti-inflammatory as the pain with OA is purely down to inflammation.  As the cartilage degrades the bones rub on each other often causing spurs etc., anything that aids cartilage health and reduces the wear is very helpful.  Painkillers prescribe range from NSAIDs (eg ibuprofen, naproxen etc.,) all of which can cause stomach issues so be sure to take a stomach protector medication such as omeprazole or similar alongside them.  Codeine is an effective pain reducer but can cause constipation issues.  Finally there are the opiates, such as Tramadol.  Very effective painkillers but some are highly addictive and others can cause disorientation or a feeling of being tranquilised. It varies from person to person what side effects are felt.  There are lots of arthritis forums and many people have discovered various ways of reducing pain and discomfort and regaining mobility.  Resting until you're in less pain is good but long term not being active is not a good idea, gentle exercise helps joint and cartilage health.  Lots of local authorities run exercise classes specifically designed for those with arthritis and other mobility issues, you may like to look them up.  Whilst waiting for a joint replacement, the best advice is lessen the load on the joint by reducing weight, non impact exercise and eating foodstuffs with known anti-inflammatory properties.  Taking a supplement such as glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM or hyaluronic acid may also help.

Hope the above gives some ideas, I've lived with OA for years and manage to keep the pain at bearable levels as long as I dont abuse the problem. good luck xx

Hi Juju

I'm sorry you are in such pain.

I have OA in hips, lower spine, ankle and neck and its right you can cope with it and ease the pain.

I had my 2nd hip replacement in Jan and was doing one of the NHS exercises and there was a crack,.,,,,,,a fracture inb the greater trochanter bone....I want to stress this was nothing to do with the hip replacement......it was because I have {at then undiagnosed} osteoporosis that it fractured so easily. So i have OA in my lower spine, ankle and neck and then this fracture to contend with.

I've managed to get a referral from my GP to a Healthy Life class in our leisure centre.I go once a week, they tell me what exercises I should be doing to help and what might hinder.....I'm on the recumbant bicycle to start with, then the tread mill then a semi recumbant bicycle before doing stretches.....my biggest problem there is what do do with the crutches as I go round each machine

I go to seated zumba once a week {Arthritis Care} and I go to yoga once a week as well. So its doable  I forgot to mention that I will be on crutches for the rest of my life so I might as well get on with it

Good Luck

Love

Eileen   UK

There is no correlation between degenerative changes shown on x-ray and symptoms.

You didn't develop severe degenerative changes in your knee overnight. That's been there for a long time - and you've been symptom free. So, why shouldn't you get back to that pain-free state?

Lots of things result in very severe knee pain. It does't need to be anything serious - just little trigger points and muscle spasms can be increadibly painful and imobilizing.

So, sure - it might be the case that your knee joint has got into such a bad state that overnight you became crippled with pain.

But isn't equally or more likely that something else is causing the pain?

This is the problem with OA and doctors. The criteria for diagnosing OA is pain along with x-ray evidence of degenerative changes. A zillion and one things cause joint pain (100% curable things). You are living proof that it's possible to have severely degenerated joints and no pain. The ONLY sensible thing to do is systematically rule out all the treatable causes of joint pain first.

Never assume the crippling, untreatable cause if there's a good chance it's something that can be resolved completely with the right treatment.

For what it's worth, I was diagnosed with hip OA 10 years ago - like you, mine was a sudden onset (although mine wasn't severe - yet my symptoms were). I'm pretty close to 100% fine now. In my case the symptoms were down to a muscle imbalance and the degenerative changes were incidental.

 

I too experienced what seemed to be sudden onset oa of the knee, it was as if it came on overnight, the pain ,is incredible, espescially at night, like you the doctors could not comprehend that I had had no previous symptoms. I am seeing a surgeon this week as I have been put on the waiting list for knee replacement, till then I am using a brace but it is very rough on the skin, how are you coping with yours? there is some very good advice on the knee forum which might help you. best wishes