Knee Osteoarthritis, Knee Rehabilitation and Knee Pain Management

Do you have osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis can be refered to as degenerative arthritis, which is a breakdown and gradual loss of cartilage in one or more joints. Interestingly enough, Osteoarthritis is one of the most common type of arthritis afftecting 20 million people in the United States! This form of arthritis which usually affects large weight bearing joints like your knees and hips, as well as other parts of the body like your hands, feet and spine. When asked, people usually indicate that joint pain with respect to osteoarthritis, is usually worse later in the day. Gradual cartilage degeneration of the knee joints can lead to deformity in which your knees can bow, aka "bow legged". Often times, total knee replacement is a result of severe knee arthritis as well.

So What can you do about these symptoms?

You can do something, or you can stay stuck with the pain. This is obvious.... While seeing your doctor is never a bad idea, you can also use knee braces to help alleviate painful symptoms. Recent studies have indicated that use of orthotic interventions like off-loading knee braces can reduce or relieve pain in unicompartmental knee OA. This can be great news for you if you are a patient suffering from OA (osteoarthritis). - Another way to relieve the pain would be to take pain relieving drugs, but we all have heard horror stories about harmful side effects from this approach ! - (Consult your physician on pain relieving drugs).

Here is what some people have said when they use knee braces...

Several studies have shown that using unloader/off-loading knee brace may delay or even rid an osteoarthritis pain sufferer from the need for knee surgery. Moreover, the majority of patients who use the brace experience some pain relief and improvement in functioning. The brace is, therefore, effective in relieving or reducing pain either alone, or in combination with other therapeutics.

In summary..

If you do suffer from pain as a result of having osteoarthritis, there are options out there for you. One of the positive approaches to handing your pain, as a result of having OA is the use of knee braces.

Use of Knee Braces in Comprehensive Knee Rehabilitation and Knee Pain Management

The knee is the largest joint in the body. The knee joint has an exposed position and as a result many injuries can occur at this part of your body. Whether it is during day-to-day activities, routine athletic performance, or when an individual is participating in extreme sports, a knee injury is a very commonplace phenomenon among musculoskeletal injuries. One helpful solution is the use of knee braces. Professionally refered to as a "knee orthosis" (orthosis is a fancy word for external support), these supports are fast emerging as highly effective preventive and therapeutic adjuncts for management of knee injury and knee rehabilitation. Many of us have seen the use of knee braces by high profile athletes, such as Michael Jordan or other college athletes, for example. As a result, the use of knee braces has never been more important that they are now, and can help to provide the support you need to take on lifes physical challenges.