5 Treatments to Restore Your Knees & Reduce Pain
The knee is a complex joint structure that is one of the most vulnerable parts of your body as you age. Fractures, dislocations, sprains and ligament tears are common. These knee injuries may be caused by auto accidents, sports, disease, age, falls and landing incorrectly. While treatment starts with RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation), many people with knee injuries require physical therapy and surgery to reduce their pain and regain mobility.
Dr. Brian Cohen has more than 20 years of experience, with over 100,000 patients treated and more than 30,000 orthopedic procedures performed in that time. He is an industry expert who is sought out by patients across the nation and around the world because of his dedication to patient safety and his use of the latest technologies. Dr. Cohen specializes in knee injuries and can help determine how to address your pain and restore the knee.
What Makes Your Knee Joint Work?
The largest joint in your body is your knee, which is comprised of three bones: the kneecap (patella), thighbone (femur) and shinbone (tibia). The ends of these bones are coated in cartilage, a slippery component that helps the bones glide over one another when you straighten and bend your leg. The knee also has two wedge-shaped meniscuses that act as shock absorbers for your femur and tibia. (The meniscus is a rubbery cushion that stabilizes the joint.) Ligaments connect the bones of the knee, holding them together like rope for stability and facilitating back and forth and sideways motion. The last anatomical part of the knee is the tendons that connect muscles to the bones.
Trauma to any part of the knee can lead to painful symptoms and make moving your knee challenging.
Treating Knee Injuries
The first mode of treatment for a knee injury is RICE. However, you need immediate treatment if your knee gives out, you have severe pain, you hear a popping noise in the joint, you can’t move the joint or there’s significant swelling. Orthopedic treatments will vary based on your injury type and severity, age and overall health and activity level. Anti-inflammatory medicines and immobilizing the knee with a brace or cast can help you heal, but many knee injuries require physical therapy and knee surgery.
Some of the standard knee procedures at Cohen Orthopedic include:
- Knee Arthroscopy: A pencil-sized device with a small video camera is used to survey the inside of your knee. Tiny surgical tools are used to perform the necessary knee repairs.
- MAKO Robotic-Assisted Knee Replacement: Dr. Cohen uses the state-of-the-art MAKO robot, which offers better accuracy, longer-lasting results and lower complication rates than previous surgical knee replacement techniques. MAKO involves less surgical trauma to the knee, better motion improvement and X-ray alignment, leading to fewer revision procedures.
- Knee Cartilage Transplant: The most common cartilage knee injury is a torn meniscus, the C-shaped cartilage that cushions the joint. The meniscal or cartilage transplant replaces the damaged tissue with donor tissue that matches your meniscus’s size.
A significant injury to the articular cartilage may also be treated with a cartilage transplant procedure. If the injury is small, Dr. Cohen can utilize the patient’s own cartilage, performing an osteochondral autograft procedure, transferring bone and cartilage from an area less needed to the damaged, “more” needed area. For larger cartilage injuries where the patient does not have enough cartilage to transfer, Dr. Cohen can perform an osteochondral allograft procedure, utilizing a fresh allograft from someone else to reconstruct the cartilage defect.
- Ligament Reconstruction or Repair: MCL, ACL and PCL ligament injuries are often found in athletes. Damaged ligaments cause knee instability making it difficult to turn, twist or pivot the leg. Ligament reconstruction and repair are surgical procedures that restore the function of these essential components.
- Patellar Realignment: If the patellar femoral tracking is moved or forced out of its normal position, it creates knee instability that limits your movement and may cause severe pain. Patellar (kneecap) realignment restores the knee joint to its proper placement after nonsurgical methods have failed.
Contact Cohen Orthopedic in Columbus
Dr. Cohen is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon whose expertise has helped tens of thousands of patients. If you experienced a knee injury, contact Cohen Orthopedic today to schedule your appointment for “SameDay or NextDay.”
