Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative form of joint disease that affects 33 million Americans, but this number is growing fast, thanks to an aging population. OA is the most prevalent form among more than 100 types of arthritis, with the knees among the most commonly affected joints.
In fact, a new study reports that the prevalence of knee OA on a global scale is expected to rise a whopping 75% by 2050 — which means that a lot more people will be hobbling around on achy knees in the near future.
At World Medical Group dba Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas, our experienced team of health care providers is ready to answer the call. When it comes to knee OA, we typically recommend a combination of treatments and lifestyle changes that can go a long way toward improving your mobility and comfort.
Let’s first describe what we’re up against with knee OA. In brief, OA occurs when the protective cartilage inside the joint breaks down, increasing the friction between the bones in the joint, leading to pain and inflammation.
One of the more frustrating aspects of knee OA is that the disease has no cure. Making this fact more frustrating still, OA is a degenerative disease that typically gets worse over time and with more use — and it’s hard not to use your knees.
As a result, treating knee OA comes down to key management practices, which we dive into next.
Now, let’s get into some ways that we can improve the comfort and function in your knee joints, such as:
Our first goal is to make sure that you’re not in pain with every step, so we start by focusing on pain management. A few pain management practices include:
Once we get you more comfortable on your arthritic knees, we can take even more powerful steps to improve symptoms.
Once your knees are functioning more comfortably, one of the most important steps you can take is to strengthen the supporting tissues around them to take direct pressure off of the joints. We can work with you on targeted physical therapy exercises that are highly effective in managing knee OA.
We also provide other options through physical medicine, such as chiropractic care and other adjunct therapies that can help you move more freely.
OA has a way of robbing your knees of crucial lubrication, which we can restore through hyalgan joint therapy. With this therapy, we inject sodium hyaluronate into the affected joints to add lubrication and prevent your bones from rubbing together as much.
To tackle pain and inflammation in your knees, we offer Class 4 deep tissue laser therapy that promotes healing, improves nerve function, increases vascular activity, and reduces pain and inflammation.
Another great treatment option is regenerative therapy, which aims to restore your knee joints on a cellular level. For example, we offer platelet-rich plasma injections that create an optimal healing and regenerative environment inside your knees.
One of the primary reasons why knee OA is so prevalent is due to obesity — carrying extra pounds greatly speeds up the degeneration of cartilage in your knees. A 2024 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the rate of obesity among US adults from 2021 to 2023 at slightly more than 40%. That places them at much higher risk for knee OA. Conversely, losing weight can reduce the wear and tear on your knees and preserve them for longer.
As you can see, we tackle knee OA from many different directions for great results. To learn about which treatments would work best for you, call or message our Fort Worth or Arlington, Texas office today to schedule a consultation.
