Doctors claim old knee injuries can cause osteoarthritis
Ligament and knee injuries often go undiagnosed, meaning a rehabilitation process is not undertaken. This can lead to permanent joint damage and conditions like osteoarthritis as early as a person’s late thirties. It is a common phenomenon in athletes, and doctors are stressing proper injury rehabilitation when the anterior cruciate ligament is damaged. Osteoarthritis is rearing its ugly head in young adults, and it can be prevented.
It is mostly people who participate in sports that fall prey to knee, shoulder and ankle damage, due to repeated movements that put stress on the joints frequently. A lot of young people continue playing through a knee injury, tolerating the pain and assuming the injury will heal by itself with time.
Too often, people only come and visit a doctor once an old knee injury starts impeding normal activities like walking and running. When chronic arthritis has developed, most commonly in people over 40 years of age, the condition is often severe enough that one’s quality of life declines. In this instance, surgery on the damaged joint may be the best option. This way, a joint’s longevity can be preserved.
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a vital component in the stabilisation of the knee as it rotates. It connects the shin bone and the thigh bone, and damage to this ligament can lead to an abnormality of the knee. In instances where rehabilitation with ice, anti-inflammatories and physiotherapy don’t help, a torn ACL can be fixed through ACL reconstruction surgery.
A torn ACL can lead to cartilage damage, causing instability and chronic pain in the knee joint, as well as stiffness and swelling. Torn ligaments are unable to heal naturally and are a common cause of osteoarthritis.
Cases of chronic osteoarthritis often leave no alternative but to be treated with total knee replacement surgery. Thus, no knee injury should be regarded as minor. If you ignore your injury in the early stages, you put yourself at risk of doing major damage that will impact your quality of life. See your physician early on, and less severe interventions could be all you need for a full recovery. After all, ACL reconstruction surgery is vastly preferable to total knee replacement surgery. You can find out more by getting in touch with our hip and knee surgeon, Mr Arun Kumar.