Tag: knee pain treatment

Got Knee Pain? You Might Be Able To Skip the MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the most powerful tools that we orthopedic surgeons have in our repertoire. Because MRIs offer a more granular image of the body’s internal structures, including blood flow and soft tissues, it is the preferred diagnostic tool for most orthopedic cases.

But x-rays are making a comeback. Far older and more limited than MRIs, x-rays nonetheless offer valuable information to orthopedists and other specialists, at a fraction of the cost. Sometimes that information suffices for diagnosis and treatment of knee pain, rendering the MRI redundant at best:

While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used by doctors to diagnose problems like torn knee ligaments and cartilage, a study in the September 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found that a simple x-ray may be a better diagnostic tool as it helps reduce time and cost.

The full study addresses the question of how often an MRI provides actionable information beyond what an x-ray has revealed; the answer is, not much. In many cases an x-ray can suffice on its own, saving patients a needless hassle while expediting the treatment of their knee pain.

The San Diego Orthopedic Surgery Center at AOSM boasts state of the art technologies for diagnosing and treating the most stubborn cases of knee pain in San Diego. To set up your own appointment with the best knee doctors in Southern California, call today.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/x-ray-may-be-best-screening-tool-for-diagnosing-knee-pain

Where Does Knee Pain Come From?

It’s time, once again, for a quick look at the causes of knee pain. Most people are aware in some vague sense that knee pain is often caused by torsional injuries of the sort we see during football games and Olympic downhill events. But what about in everyday life?

Knee injuries are more closely associated with athletic activities than with carrying the groceries, but your mileage may vary. When you’re experiencing tendonitis, torn cartilage or a baker’s cyst, many of these conditions can build up slowly over time, accumulating damage during the quotidian rituals of your life until the pain becomes too intense to ignore. Even simple activities such as climbing stairs or lifting children can create inflammation and injury.

But knee pain can also arise from acute traumatic events, which will require surgery to repair:

Injuries to the knee structure can cause swelling and bleeding if it is not properly treated. A fracture can happen if a person is suffering from medical conditions like osteoporosis. This will lead to the weakening of the bone and knee can fracture even due to a slight pressure.

The best way to diagnose and address knee pain is with the help of a qualified orthopedic knee pain specialist. The offices of Dr. William Holland offer superior knee pain care, management, and surgery throughout the Southland. Contact the office today to get your questions answered.

A New Transplant Procedure for Knee Pain

Treating knee pain can lead include injections, exercise, therapy, or surgery. When surgery stands alone as the last best option, a number of approaches and modalities are available.

Traditionally, knee surgery has involved some version of arthroscopy, cartilage repair, or partial or total knee replacement. But now a new and innovative approach is making waves after a series of human trials – cartilage transplantation:

For the study, Martin and colleagues took a small sample of cartilage cells from the patient’s nose bone, then grew more cells by exposing them to growth hormone for two weeks. All the cells were then placed in a membrane of collagen and cultured for two more weeks.

And the result?

Two years after the transplants, most of the patients grew new cartilage in their knees and reported improvements in pain, knee function and quality of life.

Of course more study is needed, and a wider range of demographics must be tested before this procedure secures a place among the field’s best practices. But as a preliminary step this first study is promising, and its ease could portend a far broader application of life-restoring knee surgery for chronic pain.