Firstly, osteoarthritis of the knee is painful and stiff at times. In addition, it may only affect one knee, especially if there was a previous injury to that knee. The pain may feel worse as the day goes by, the more you move your knee pain commonly worsens. Rest may improve symptoms for the short term.
Importantly, Over time osteoarthritis in your knee causes the cartilage in a joint to become harder and lose its elasticity. Without the springy cushion-like meniscus the area becomes more susceptible to damage. Meanwhile, the cartilage may wear away in some areas, greatly decreasing its ability to act as a shock absorber.
As the cartilage wears away, tendons and ligaments stretch, causing pain. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease, often resulting in chronic knee pain (pain won’t go away). Joint pain and stiffness can become so you are unable to live life as you had to before.
Sadly, you can’t reverse osteoarthritis, but there are things you can do to manage your pain and improve your symptoms. Carolinas Pain Center offers a number of innovative treatments to relieve osteoarthritic knee pain. The sooner you address your knee pain the better, each day you ignore the pain the protective cartilage that acts as cushioning between your bones starts to fray and continue to wear down.
