Have you wondered what the most common orthopaedic surgery is? It's knee replacement.
The knee is one of the most used joints in the body, but unfortunately, that means it’s often over-used and gets to the point of injury. Orthopedic surgeons can either replace some or all of the knee joint with an artificial one ("partial" or "total" knee replacement).
Knee replacement is commonly needed because the cartilage in the joint gests damaged, restricting movement or making it very painful to move. There are a number of things that can cause this, including trauma to the knee, bursitis, obesity and even genetics. That's right, if one of your parents had knee replacement surgery, you are more likely to need it, too.
A knee replacement is a common surgery, but is also a major surgery. It is normally only recommended if other treatments, such as steroid injections, have not reduced pain or improved mobility. Knee replacement surgery may be recommended if:
- you have severe pain
- swelling and stiffness in your knee joint
- your mobility is reduced
If you want to understand why you have knee pain, here are some previous blogs that may shed some light on your situation:
WHY DO I HAVE KNEE PAIN? I DON’T REMEMBER GETTING HURT.
2 KINDS OF KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY: WHICH IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
