Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Pain - What is the Right Knee Pain Treatment for Your Knee Pain?


Pain because you injured your knee playing soccer? Are you over 50 and experiencing osteoarthritis pain in your knee? Perhaps you simply stood up incorrectly and twisted your knee? Knee pain, no matter what you did to cause it, can be excruciatingly painful.

Most knee injuries and conditions can be treated with conservative knee pain therapy. Knee pain therapy can easily be conducted at home; however, it is very important to see your doctor in order to determine the correct knee pain therapy for you.

Knee Pain Therapy Medications

Knee pain therapy medications include:

o Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs are painkillers, such as Advil and Motrin. These medications can help alleviate some of the pain and inflammation caused by injury and osteoarthritis in the knee. Most NSAIDs can be bought over the counter, without a prescription. DO NOT use aspirin.

o Opioids. If the pain is unbearable, some doctors may prescribe opioids as part of a patient's knee pain therapy. Opioids, otherwise known as narcotics, are usually offered for a brief period of time due to dependency issues and negative side effects. They are superior at masking the pain, but do not help reduce inflammation. Great care must be taken if opioids are prescribed for your knee pain therapy.

o Corticosteroids. When corticosteroids are used as part of your knee pain therapy, they help minimize inflammation, therefore relieving much of the pain. Corticosteroids can be ingested orally, or injected into the site of inflammation. Corticosteroids can offer immediate pain relief; however serious side effects have been confirmed, such as thinning of the cartilage and ligament weakening. Corticosteroids must be used with care.

The usual medical explanations for knee pain include arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, ligament injury, and join cartilage deterioration. MRI's and other tests often seem to substantiate such diagnoses and while good indicators they are not the holy grail and too often lead to mistaken diagnoses.

Even in the absence of objective evidence, knee pain alone many times is assumed to be proof that the joint itself is in trouble. This has lead to needless surgery when in fact the surgery was more than likely unnecessary in a large number of cases. Always get a 2nd and 3rd opinion where you knee is involved to have sufficient information to make the "right" decision. After all, it is you knee...and your pain.

Alternative Treatments

You should also consider alternative treatments as your knee pain therapy. In 1997, a National Institutes of Health consensus panel determined that acupuncture can actually help treat many types of knee pain, including the pain caused from knee osteoarthritis.

In the meantime, search for Knee Pain Info on the Web to find the answers to more of your knee pain therapy questions, and always make sure you read more than one opinion, or rely on no less than two opinions, including that of your doctor. A 2nd opinion is always useful in helping you make the right treatment choice to eliminate your pain.

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