Building an Exercise Habit
“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision but as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building […]
Exercise and Maintaining a Healthy Weight
One of the most common goals of the new year is to exercise more and lose weight. This is a great goal, especially when it comes to dealing with the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, as exercise and maintaining a healthy weight, can both decrease knee pain and increase knee mobility. Those of us that already […]
Inflammation: Destroyer or Healer?
What comes to mind when you hear the word “inflammation”? A sore throat, lower back pain, joint pain, knee pain? If you think of any of these, and countless others, you are right. All of them are influenced by inflammation. Though inflammation is a normal part of the human body’s defense system and can be […]
Knee Pain, Even at Rest?
The pain of osteoarthritis in the knees can be felt when standing up, walking, or doing any other movement. Which makes sense. However, did you know that many people with knee osteoarthritis experience pain even when they are at rest? In order to decrease this pain, many turn to over-the-counter NSAIDs, prescription medications, knee injections, […]
Inflammation or Osteoarthritis?
When left untreated, knee osteoarthritis can develop into a debilitating condition with a marked impact on a person’s overall health and quality of life. For many years the gold standard for treating knee osteoarthritis has been a total knee arthroplasty, also known as a knee replacement surgery. Though this surgery has a well-established track record […]
The High Cost of Knee Replacement Surgery
Of all of the different types of arthritis, osteoarthritis is the most common, affecting over 30 million adults in the United States alone. And knee osteoarthritis, which used to be considered just a normal wear and tear associated with aging, affects more than just the elderly. In fact, according to a study called The Framingham […]
Side Effects and Risks of Corticosteroid Injections
Corticosteroid or hyaluronic acid injections can help to relieve knee pain, however, it is temporary. Not only is the relief temporary but there is ample evidence to support that exercise can be just as effective, and so can a simple injection with plain old saline solution (which is often used as the placebo in clinical […]
Hyaluronic Acid Injection for Osteoarthritis
Another type of knee injection that is used to temporarily reduce knee pain, is a Hyaluronic Acid Injection, also known as viscosupplementation. Hyaluronic acid is a gel-like substance that occurs naturally in the body as part of the synovial lining that coats the joints. Hyaluronic acid is also present in other areas of the body […]
Knee Injections: Do They Work?
Knee osteoarthritis is painful and can cause a decrease in mobility that puts limits on what you can do. Therefore many people turn to knee injections to help relieve this pain. So what are knee injections? And do they work? When physical therapy and pain medication taken by mouth fail to relieve the aching pain […]
Prescription Painkillers for Knee Pain
The first line of medication treatment to reduce knee pain is usually NSAIDs, however, sometimes opioids are used. But are they worth their risk? As we covered in previous articles, NSAIDs stand for Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and are used to treat inflammation, pain, and swelling. These medicines can be bought at the drugstore, grocery store, […]