A change in your knee

If your knee is severely damaged by arthritis or injury, you may find it difficult to do simple activities, such as walking or climbing stairs. You may feel pain even while sitting or lying down.

If non-surgical treatments such as medications and using walking aids no longer help, you may want to consider total knee replacement surgery. Joint replacement surgery is a safe and effective procedure to relieve pain, correct leg deformity, and help you return to normal activities.

The surgeon covers the ends of the bones that make up the knee joint with metal or plastic components, or implants a joint prosthesis. This allows the knee to move correctly.

Arthroplasty or knee replacement surgery helps patients whose knee or knees have degenerated due to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or post-traumatic arthritis when an injury has damaged the knee.

It is considered a routine procedure. Each year, more than 600,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed in the United States, and in Spain the figure is around 50000. Most patients are between 50 and 80 years old. More than 90 percent of patients experience a drastic improvement in pain levels and mobility.

While the patient follows the surgeon's instructions for knee care, in 90 percent of cases, a replacement knee works well for 15 years, and 80 to 85 percent of replacements last 20 years.

Arthroplasty literally means "the surgical repair of a joint," and involves reconstruction by surgery and replacement of damaged joints using artificial materials or prosthetics.

When the articular cartilage of the knee is damaged or worn, the mobility of the knee worsens. Instead of sliding over each other, the bones are rubbed and crushed.

With a prosthesis, the patient will feel less pain and the knee will move properly.

There are three common reasons for having a knee replacement:

• Osteoarthritis: This type of arthritis is age-related, caused by the normal wear and tear of the knee joint. It mainly affects patients over age 50, but younger people may have it.

Osteoarthritis is caused by inflammation, decomposition, and the gradual and eventual loss of cartilage in the joints. Over time, cartilage wears away and bones rub together. To compensate, bones often become thicker, leading to more friction and pain.

• Rheumatoid arthritis: Also called inflammatory arthritis, the membrane around the knee joint becomes thick and inflamed. Chronic inflammation damages the cartilage, causing pain and stiffness.

• Post-traumatic arthritis: This type of arthritis is due to serious injury to the knee. When the bones around the knee break or the ligaments tear, the cartilage of the knee is affected.

If you need recommendations or help in orthopedic surgery and traumatology do not hesitate to contact me.