Age-related knee pain is a terrible reason to have to give up the activities you love. Sadly, pain in the knees affects many Americans, with those who are over 65 or who are overweight at the highest risk. Women over the age of 55, in particular, are likely to have age-related knee pain due to their higher risk for osteoarthritis.
At Advanced Spine and Pain, located throughout Virginia and Maryland, our team of pain management specialists has multiple ways of helping you get ahead of age-related knee problems. Our goal is to help you keep your life as active and pain-free as possible – for as long as possible!
What causes knee pain as you age?
There can be many causes for knee pain that gets worse with age. An old injury to the knee joint can become more painful over time, and arthritis can appear in a damaged joint much earlier than it would if the knee had never been injured. Arthritis may also occur from normal wear-and-tear on this much-used joint.
Carrying extra weight also puts significant burden on the knees. A 20-pound weight gain means an extra 80 pounds of pressure on your knee joints! The muscles surrounding the knee joint may not be strong enough to prevent damage to the tissue, soft cartilage, and leg bones that meet in the joint.
What options are available to treat knee pain?
The goal when treating knee pain is to alleviate as much of the cause of the pain as possible rather than simply masking the pain with medication. At Advanced Spine and Pain, we have several options to help you get ahead of age-related knee pain and prevent you from transitioning chronic, long-term pain.
- Physical therapy: Repeated physical therapy sessions can strengthen the muscles and tendons surrounding the knee joint, making it easier to bear your weight without pain.
- Steroid injections: Steroids injected into the knee can reduce inflammation, relieving pain and allowing healing to take place.
- Platelet Rich Plasma: PRP is made from your own blood, withdrawn and centrifuged to concentrate powerful healing platelets. The plasma is injected into the site of your pain to help relieve pain and swelling
- Stem cell therapy: In a process similar to PRP, stem cells collected from your blood are injected into the knee joint, kickstarting the healing process.
If your knee pain results from the severe damage to the joint caused by advanced arthritis, a knee replacement may be your best option to maintain an active, pain-free lifestyle as you grow older. We can discuss this option if other treatments don’t provide the results you need.
Ready to get ahead of knee pain and take back control of your life? Contact us to book an appointment at any of our many locations throughout Virginia and Maryland.
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