Arthritis in knees

[Offintothesunset]

Hi, hoping someone might have experience of what must be a common issue.
My 85 year old Mum has arthritis in her knees. They had been stiff for a while then suddenly became painful months ago after she had been kneeling.
She is not one for tablets and Dr's. Very independent and stubborn but eventually spoke to GP as it was impacting on her independence. Told "we can absolutely help you" sent for X-ray.
At follow up call, GP not so enthusiastic. Told her it was wear and tear and prescribed Paracetamol 4 times a day much to her disappointment "I wanted help, not headache tablets".
She resisted the regular paracetamol, just took it when desperate tried Voltarol gel but no help.
In last week pain is much worse, the left knee in particular very swollen and the Paracetamol doesn't relieve it. She is fine at rest but cannot move without pain. She is miserable and not surprisingly unmotivated.
My question is can anything be done for arthritis? Do some people have injections in the knee or is it just pain relief or a knee replacement. I don't want the grind of fighting both her and the surgery to get an appointment if we are unlikely to get any further help.

well, good luck with getting onto the list for knee replacement. The NHS here has a system of 'gate keeping' so first you have to go to physio for assessment, then to a series of physio classes for targetted exercises. Then it's off for an Xray, then a consultant's appt. IF (and it's a big IF) you get on the list there's then a substantial wait. My local hospital has cancelled all elective surgery . I was waiting 2 years after assessment (4yrs in total). What I would say is that paracetamol taken as prescribed (2every 6hrs) is one of the most effective pain killers. Steroid injections in the knee can be effective, but they weren't for me. I do find alternating heat and cold on the knee quite effective. Good luck

My mum is the same age as yours. She first visited the doctor with knee pain when she was in her 60's. On her first visit with a hugely swollen leg she was told it was wear and tear and given powerful painkillers for the short term. Within a few weeks her mobility was really limited and within six months she needed a wheelchair for trips out.

She refused to go back to the doctor because she felt nothing could be done for many years. We then changed surgeries 10 years later and she was actually sent for xrays where it turned out the problem was not her knees but her hips and the deterioration was so bad that there was nothing to be done for her other than trying different combinations of pain killers.

Apparently paracetamol is more effective than people realise if it is taken regularly over a longer term but if it doesn't touch the pain then there are other things to try. Mum had the injections but they didn't help although some people find they are almost miraculous. Before dementia meant that mum could not stay at home she was taking cocodamol and oramorph but our fight was not to get mum more mobile - in fact she was told to use the wheelchair as much as possible - but simply to keep the worst of the pain at bay.

Echoing the advice; take the paracetamol.

Thanks for your replies. Some good insights and info there.