How to reduce pain from knee osteoarthritis?

Now that you know all the causes and symptoms associated with osteoarthritis, let's focus on how to effectively treat this pain concentrated in your knees, which can be horrible to live with every day. Here are some useful tips to relieve your pain and regain mobility in your body:

Medications & injections: anti-inflammatories, painkillers, corticosteroids, etc.

Regarding medication, you can purchase over-the-counter drugs (without a prescription) directly from a pharmacy, while respecting the maximum intake limit for these medications (10 days). If the pain persists, it is best to stop all paracetamol or ibuprofen and consult a doctor to obtain a prescription for anti-inflammatory or painkiller type medications. If you have to follow a long course of treatment, you can opt for a pill organizer to help you better organize and manage your daily medication intake.

Furthermore, if medications are not effective, you can ask your doctor for corticosteroid or hyaluronic acid injections in the knees to relieve the pain. These are fairly common injections, but they should not be taken lightly. If you are not in favor of injections and prefer more natural remedies, you can opt for anti-inflammatory patches for effectiveness based entirely on the benefits of plants.

Weight loss

By engaging in regular physical activity, you can lose some weight, which could have a considerable impact on your knees. By strengthening your knees, the joint in your muscles will be more stable and the pain will be reduced. Our knees bear the full weight of our body every day, as well as the impacts received during walking. To relieve the suffering endured by our knees, you can, on the one hand, opt for shoes adapted to reduce impacts on the knees. On the other hand, you can always do sports sessions at home. Furthermore, stretching will be of great help in keeping the knee joint more flexible and mobile.

→ To learn more about exercising at home, click here !

Orthopedic accessories

There are a multitude of orthopedic devices and accessories available to help you relieve your pain. Among the devices, there are unloading braces that will allow you to remove weight from the side of the knee that is causing you pain. Among the accessories, there are compression knee braces, heating knee braces, and also protective pairs that will maintain and support your entire knee.

Alternative therapies: acupuncture, occupational therapy, physiotherapy

You can also opt for alternative therapies such as acupuncture; this natural technique helps to reduce short-term pain and also allows for improved knee function if you suffer from osteoarthritis. Moreover, nowadays you can get specific acupuncture tools to relieve your pain directly at home without spending a fortune. Furthermore, you can also opt for occupational therapy sessions to perform small, simple exercises to enable you to perform daily activities without pain. Finally, physiotherapy sessions will teach you to strengthen your muscles while increasing your flexibility.

Last resort: surgery

Finally, if none of the previously mentioned tips work, you can opt for surgery to treat osteoarthritis in depth. To do this, you have a choice between 3 major surgeries: arthroscopy, osteotomy, arthroplasty. Regardless of which one you choose, do not neglect your doctor's advice and remember that it is still a surgical procedure.

⚠️ Disclaimer: Unfortunately, there is no miracle cure, and we recommend that you see your family doctor as soon as possible if you think you are suffering from these rheumatisms.