Long-term or severe pain and stiffness in your knee may need surgery to successfully treat.
Many people need knee surgery because of osteoarthritis in the knee joint. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis in the UK and can affect all ages, even children.
Over time, our joints experience ‘wear and tear’ as we go about our everyday activities. Osteoarthritis causes a breakdown of the smooth cartilage lining the end of the bones in the joint, increasing the rate of this joint degradation,
When this happens in your knee, you’ll notice your normal everyday movements and activities becoming painful and more challenging. Even simple things like sitting down, standing up or walking up and down stairs can become noticeably harder.
Alternatively, your knee may be damaged by injury, often the result of playing sports. Contact sports like rugby often involve heavy blows to the body. If the knee is knocked or twisted it may cause a fracture, ligament tear of meniscal damage within the joint.
Not all causes of knee pain will require surgery. Non-surgical treatments are often able to successfully relieve pain and can delay the need for knee surgery. These treatments include:
Should these treatments not work, or they stop being as effective, surgery may be needed to get you out of pain.