Alternatives to knee replacements

Posted by rorygrabowsky @rorygrabowsky, Jan 2, 2021

I 'm looking for people that have had injections of some materials into the knee that can give me some info that will help in my decision. The arthritis in both knees are always creating clicking sounds. I don't have pain in the knees, but it's affecting my balance and creating pain in other parts of my legs and more. Please help me.

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Cortisone injections will help at first for varying lengths of time but there will come a time when they no longer work. Same thing with hyaluronic acid injections. Stem cell treatment only works for some people and seldom lasts that long. They are certainly options to try before having a TKR though. Good luck!

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@clbs

Cortisone injections will help at first for varying lengths of time but there will come a time when they no longer work. Same thing with hyaluronic acid injections. Stem cell treatment only works for some people and seldom lasts that long. They are certainly options to try before having a TKR though. Good luck!

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i found the combination of stem cells and PRP worked the best. Yes, its expensive. I had my TKR paid for and now i suffer daily from that mistake. Its your call.

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@ellerbracke

I would absolutely try stem cell therapy or similar before having a knee replacement if my other knee should get to that point. No matter how good the artificial knee works, and in my case it works extremely well, super flexible, occasional aches when overdoing things, or big weather changes, otherwise just fine - it is not the same as your original. Unfortunately, no surgeon will tell you about alternatives, and I did not do enough diligent research to know about them.

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Glad to hear your TKR worked for you. I agree, its not the same. All my surgeon said was my scar tissue looked good. 5 years later he said it appeared lose. I went to another surgeon and he said he did not think so. So i bike a lot. Walking is not fun.

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Definitely do your research. Before my TKR I was told by many that all would be good just”do the physical therapy. “ I did the therapy for about 5 months and it has now been almost one year later and I still have much pain and lack of mobility. Now I hear that many have this same problem. I absolutely wish I had researched more . At my last exam my surgeon said...”the implant looks perfect. I wish I could help you.” I am thinking of seeing another for a second opinion? Is more therapy needed? scar tissue? I need more answers.

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@glokart1957

Definitely do your research. Before my TKR I was told by many that all would be good just”do the physical therapy. “ I did the therapy for about 5 months and it has now been almost one year later and I still have much pain and lack of mobility. Now I hear that many have this same problem. I absolutely wish I had researched more . At my last exam my surgeon said...”the implant looks perfect. I wish I could help you.” I am thinking of seeing another for a second opinion? Is more therapy needed? scar tissue? I need more answers.

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Please keep me posted. I'm very interested in your decision.

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@cobweb

Glad to hear your TKR worked for you. I agree, its not the same. All my surgeon said was my scar tissue looked good. 5 years later he said it appeared lose. I went to another surgeon and he said he did not think so. So i bike a lot. Walking is not fun.

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I'm starting to do my exercycle again. What kind of resistance do you use and do you feel any pain. My physical therapist always told me that the pain that you feel is feeding nutrition into the muscles around and into the knees, Please stay in touch and a Very Happy and HEALTHY 2021 to you and your great family.

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@cobweb

i found the combination of stem cells and PRP worked the best. Yes, its expensive. I had my TKR paid for and now i suffer daily from that mistake. Its your call.

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Thanks and a very Happy and HEALTHY 2021 to you and your great family. How long before you were pain free and able to do physical activities. I currently am using my exercycle.

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@clbs

Cortisone injections will help at first for varying lengths of time but there will come a time when they no longer work. Same thing with hyaluronic acid injections. Stem cell treatment only works for some people and seldom lasts that long. They are certainly options to try before having a TKR though. Good luck!

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Your info is so invaluable to my situation. The two procedures that you listed are the two that I am looking at. Can you expand on the length of time that you had relief of pain after each procedure. May I ask the degree of pain on a scale of 1 to five, five being the most pain. Finally. a very Happy and HEALTHY New Year to you and your great family. Keep in touch.

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@glokart1957

Definitely do your research. Before my TKR I was told by many that all would be good just”do the physical therapy. “ I did the therapy for about 5 months and it has now been almost one year later and I still have much pain and lack of mobility. Now I hear that many have this same problem. I absolutely wish I had researched more . At my last exam my surgeon said...”the implant looks perfect. I wish I could help you.” I am thinking of seeing another for a second opinion? Is more therapy needed? scar tissue? I need more answers.

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Do you know the name of your implant?

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@glokart1957

Definitely do your research. Before my TKR I was told by many that all would be good just”do the physical therapy. “ I did the therapy for about 5 months and it has now been almost one year later and I still have much pain and lack of mobility. Now I hear that many have this same problem. I absolutely wish I had researched more . At my last exam my surgeon said...”the implant looks perfect. I wish I could help you.” I am thinking of seeing another for a second opinion? Is more therapy needed? scar tissue? I need more answers.

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@glokart1957 I would definitely seek another opinion. I have known a number of people who have achieved significantly more comfort with help provided by a different surgeon. It can be worth the time and money if you are having problems after a year.

@ellerbracke The big downside of stem cell is of course that it's costly and as @clbs commented it doesn't work for everyone and does not last. It's a lot of money to spend when it's a gamble. I have heard of a number of people who had it and got no relief.
JK

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