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Bayor, Scott & White Health provides tips on caring for your knee and advice if you think you may need knee surgery in the future.

This article originally appeared in our November/December 2021 Local Profile magazine.

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Your knee is one of the most diligent joints in your body.

They carry your weight on every journey-from carrying your child upstairs to the bed, jogging with the dog on a perfect autumn day, to completing heavy labor, to taking action in an emergency.

Human abilities and resilience are incredible—the same is true of the joints that are the root of all this. However, because of all the important and sometimes laborious work that our knees do in our lives, they may wear out or be injured at some point...this may involve knee surgery.

Here are some tips for caring for these extremely important joints, and suggestions if you are considering knee surgery.

Sean G. Haslam, MD, director of surgery and chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery and Neurosurgery, and plastic surgeon with Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Centennial medical staff said that the two most common knee injuries are meniscal tears and ACL tears .

"By ensuring that the correct technique is used during weightlifting and exercise, tearing of the meniscus can be avoided," Dr. Haslam said. "If you start to experience knee pain, please double check your technique with a trained professional."

Interestingly, ACL tears tend to affect female athletes more frequently than male athletes. Having athletes undergo a neuromuscular training program during the offseason has been shown to reduce the risk of ACL tears during mid-season games.

Due to activities such as sports training, injury is not the only source of stress on our knees: high-intensity activities can also exacerbate the disease process called osteoarthritis.

"If you have osteoarthritis, please consider low-intensity exercise," Dr. Haslam suggested. "Low-impact activities include swimming, cycling, and aerobic exercise on the elastic floor of gymnastics."

But perhaps the most common knee joint disease is arthritis. Arthritis is progressive, and cartilage damage can cause inflammation of the joints, which can lead to pain, swelling and even disease.

"If you are experiencing arthritis pain, you may first consider non-surgical treatments such as anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, and on-site injections," said Nathan F. Gilbert, MD, director of plastic surgery and plastic surgeon. Say. Bellescott and White Medical Center-Plano staff. "If this does not help reduce pain, you should discuss surgical treatment with your orthopedic surgeon."

When it comes to knee pain, most people don't like to discuss surgery directly. This is completely understandable-and usually, it also applies to feasible treatments.

The best first step for patients with knee pain is to start with a very conservative RICE treatment (rest, ice, compression, and elevation).

Baylor Scott and White Medical Center-Sheena Black, a plastic surgeon with McKinney and Baylor Scott and White Star Sports Surgery Center medical staff, says she also always asks her patients to look for activities that may exacerbate the problem .

"For my athletes—is it time to change to new running shoes? Did they use the correct form during squats?" Dr. Black said. "For all patients, I asked them to assess what caused the pain. Will it be worse after certain activities? In the past few months, have they gained a few pounds of weight that may cause pain? In addition, ibuprofen, etc. Anti-inflammatory drugs can help reduce pain, provided that patients can take these types of drugs under the guidance of primary care physicians."

The next step is to refer them to a physical therapist for a stretching and strengthening plan to look for any muscle imbalance. Depending on the degree of pain, steroid injections into the knee can also be considered.

"If the patient is still struggling with pain after receiving conservative treatment, I always recommend starting with X-rays," Dr. Black continued. "Ultimately, an MRI may be required to provide more information about cartilage, meniscus, ligaments, and bones. Surgery is always the last option, but in some patients, depending on the source of the pain, it may be the best option. "

When the plastic surgeon William Montgomery of the Baylor Scott White-McKinney Medical Team discussed knee pain with the patient, he first determined whether the pain was caused by the inside of the knee or the soft tissue around the knee. If the source of the patient’s pain From inside the knee joint, the most likely cause is arthritis.

Dr. Montgomery described the treatment options as plans A, B, and C.

"Plan A is medication: for example, arthritis drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and Tylenol. This can also include options such as braces, canes, and physical therapy. Plan B includes injections into the knee, such as steroids. Or viscoelastic supplements. Plan C is surgery."

Most knee surgical interventions are knee replacements. Most patients choose joint replacement surgery when pain affects and limits their ability to participate in normal activities of daily living.

“The decision to replace the knee joint is driven by severe and progressive knee pain, which affects the patient’s activities of daily living and quality of life,” Dr. Montgomery emphasized. “When we can relieve patients’ knee pain and help them resume their favorite activities, we as surgeons can bring value to patients’ lives.”

Visit BSWHealth.com/Knee to complete a short nine-question multiple choice test to see if you should consider seeing a doctor to talk about knee health or knee surgery-if so, what kind of specialist.

Doctors provide clinical services as medical staff in one of Baylor Scott & White Health's subsidiaries, communities, or affiliated medical centers, rather than as employees or agents of these medical centers or Baylor Scott & White Health. ©2021 Baylor Scott & White Health.

This article originally appeared in our November/December 2021 Local Profile magazine. Check out our other questions here!

This article was sponsored by Baylor Scott and White Medical Center

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