knee osteoarthritis pain

[Nitgel]

hi i've been diagnosed with 'wear and tear' on my knee which i think is osteoarthritis. it's really painful most of the time and i use an ibuprofen gel and wear a elastic bandage sometimes.

Physio was crap but gave me some exercises which i do but they are not helping. I will go to the dr again but what do other people do to cope? i walk lots and am not overweight but the pain is pretty constant now. Am wondering if another physio, perhaps a private consultation would be more effective?

I am wondering what the treatment can be for me next.

Swimming is good for low impact. I’m 44 and have moderate in my right knee and some sort of injury in my left. I’ve seen orthopaedics once and advised to lose weight - not easy to move when you’re in pain. However he also put in a hydrocortisone injection and the result was amazing and I’m quite active usually so I lost weight by being able to move and not sitting in house (eating probably) so on list to go back for right knee and further investigation into left.

I was advised to keep moving where I could, right now I’m pretty slow but I can still work ok painkillers don’t really touch it so I just distract myself. Def the weight loss does help though. It’s rubbish op but hope you do find something that works for you. Ask your gp re scale of your wear and tear and ask about further treatments if what you’ve doesn’t work. My gp is great - I’m a nurse so on my feet and he really pushed for me to see orthopaedics as I would’ve needed to leave my job.

It took 6 months of physio to sort my knee out with three stages of exercise ( wonderful NHS hospital physio - many others had tried and failed )

If it's currently really painful and swollen the first stage os just to try and get swelling down?

Many physios don't like knees so you need to find a good one / but it is a long haul problem

I have the exact same sadly! On going for 2.5 years. Very painful. Can’t walk without pain and a bad limp now too. Life is restricted as I can’t exercise in my dance classes or go for the long walks that I miss so much! Swimming is ok but I need Roman steps to get in and out. I was given a special knee brace after physio which helps when walking distances when I can’t avoid it. I also had 3 steroid injections over the past 18 months which do work for a while. But you can’t have them indefinitely. I’ve tried supplements and pain killing gels but nothing really works now. I used a stick for a while which helped but didn’t help psychologically so I got rid of it. Last x ray showed moderate damage. Next step would be surgery but goodness knows when that might happen!
Keep nagging your GP to keep in the loop for treatment OP.

Nuffield run a joint pain programme if you can access a Nuffield gym. Two sessions a week for 12 weeks. You apply online and it’s completely free.

I do feel for you younger ones who are facing this problem - I am having frequent bursts of pain or flare-ups with my osteoarthritis in hip and knee.
I am 77 - so accept that its onset a mere year ago was not unexpected. I tried physio privately saw an orthopaedist and keep on with the exercises as much as I am able. My worry is getting in and out of the bath and managing the stairs!

I do keep moving (dog walking) and housework but my chance of getting any treatment on the NHS is miniscule as I cannot even get a referral (sadly old people tend to be 'parked' at the very end of a long waiting list. )

I am saving up for private treatment and hope I can keep going till I have saved enough.

When the pain is bad I wear a knee brace while walking. I also find Boswellia balm helps

thanks for the advice, it's really helpful to hear where other people are with this. i was hoping it would just go away and they physio i originally saw said that i should just keep up the exercises and signed me off. I will go back to the doctors and see if they can put me on another pathway. The hydrocortisone injections sound useful and may help. the pain can be pretty constant. I will swim too as I do love swimming.

Dont think I am near any Nuffield centre but will also investigate this. I will chase for another xray to understand where I am now with it. I worry it will just 'go'.

I have arthritis in both knees (I'm only 53) so do a lot of rehab exercises in the gym building my strength up in supporting muscles and ligaments to minimise the stress on my knees and build the strength up. It's slow going though and stairs / steps are my nemesis. Impossible to believe that a couple of years ago I was jumping about doing Crossfit and now I feel like I'm 90 years old. 😕

My GP allegedly referred me to physio 6 months ago but I've heard nothing and suspect she didn't actually refer me. I work closely with a very experienced PT instead and build lots of knee rehab into my gym work.

I'm trying to avoid having a steroid injection as they don't always work and they wear off within 12 months, plus are less effective the more you have them. I've had one in my wrist previously and had a very painful steroid flare for a few days. It's my last resort for my knees.

I need to get some weight off. Not being able to do my usual amount/type of exercise because of my knees means I've piled the pounds on. Which won't be helping. So frustrating having been super-active to now being relatively confined to the sofa.

I have osteoarthritis in my shoulder not my knee. The advice seems to be to try and strengthen the muscles around the problem joint and to keep it moving as much as you can.
So you need to keep up with your physio exercises- you're not going to suddenly feel "better" though, ever..... They're not a cure. They're just the best thing you can do for the long term.
(BTW , I hate it when the medics call it wear and tear. When my shoulder was diagnosed, I asked what I had torn? They said nothing. There's no tear.
I asked if the joint was worn out? No.
I asked if exercise would wear it out? Again, they said no.
So there was no wear or tear!)

Have a look at this website:
www.versusarthritis.org/

I am in my early 60s and have osteoarthritis in both knees and one hip, but fortunately it's not painful most of the time.

The physio said the key thing was to keep active and to strengthen the muscles around the knee so that they do more work and there is less pressure on the joint. Squats are good, and so is cycling, but I had to stop doing a dance exercise class because there was too much twisting and it made my knee worse.

I also do an Aquafit class, which I recommend, and I swim. My knees hate breaststroke these days, so I only ever do backstroke these days (I'm not good enough at front crawl to do it for more than a length)!

If you do a lot of walking on rough terrain, I also recommend using walking poles. I find them really good to provide stability when coming down hills or on uneven ground.

Good luck!

I'm 46 and have had osteoarthritis in my knee for years. About 2 years ago I started having Ostenil injections with a private physio. I get a course of 3 injections, one per week and you feel the results fully about a month after the last injection. The effects last about a year for me. It's been an absolute game changer. I can do so many activities I could never have done before and I can walk without limping. A course of injections is about £300.