Osteoarthritis of the Knee and Implantation

Does your knee initially feel stiff in the morning after getting up, or after a rest break?

• It is not true that knee joints must be spared in the event of osteoarthritis. However, avoid sports that place a heavy load on the joints. Well-trained muscles stabilise and protect the joints. Movement and exercise ensure that the articular cartilage is supplied with nutrients.

• Use opportunities to practice sports and to exercise, whether alone or in a group – this will do you good and will also support holistic motion sequences. Find out about local offers and have a specialist instruct you.

• Avoid heavy physical activity, or working in a kneeling position, whenever possible.

• Reduce heavy overweight. Cartilage cannot regenerate as well as other tissue, and even a weight reduction of 5 % can noticeably relieve pain.

• If the occurrence of your knee pain is infrequent and temporary, pain relievers can help you to stay mobile and to avoid bad posture. Talk about it with your family doctor.

• Normally, an X-ray of the knee joint is sufficient to detect osteoarthritis. More specialised examinations, such as an X-ray of the whole leg, computed tomography (CAT scan), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are usually not required, and if a diagnosis has been established, regular X-ray check-ups are not necessary. The treatment depends on the symptoms and not on what can be seen on X-rays.

• Staying as active as possible despite osteoarthritis is good for the joints. Regular strength and flexibility exercises, combined with weight loss if you are overweight, can alleviate knee pain and improve joint function.

• Experts now discourage against interventions, such as arthroscopies, for the treatment of cartilage in the event of osteoarthritis of the knee – these can sometimes even aggravate the symptoms and have no proven long-term benefit.

• Injections into the joint: Cortisone injections can temporarily relieve pain and improve knee functionality; however, they also entail the risk of infection. Hyaluronic acid injections are controversial. In the most significant studies so far, they did little better than saline solutions. The benefit of so-called autohaemotherapy – injections into the joint with autologous blood plasma that has first be treated – has not been proven.

• Your doctor will prescribe a medicinal treatment for the pain, and it is important that you take the medication exactly as prescribed. Oral anti-inflammatory analgesics, or pain relievers, have been shown to relieve osteoarthritis pain, but paracetamol is not effective in osteoarthritis of the knee. Opioids often do not help better than anti-inflammatory analgesics, but have more side effects and can lead to addiction.

• You could try shoe inlays or relief shoes, although their effect has not been well researched so far. Generally, a relief shoe cannot relieve knee problems any better than normal, well-fitting and cushioning shoes in the long term.

• Living with a chronic illness requires very good self-management in order to be able to successfully master the various challenges in everyday life. Our Chronic Care Coaching can support you in doing so.

Do you need a knee joint replacement? 

• During a personal conversation, we will show you, on the basis of the results, which hospitals throughout Switzerland have excelled over the years in the implantation of knee joints in terms of quality and efficiency.

• Use our consulting offer to find out which hospital is most suitable for your treatment.

• Naturally, you still have the choice of when and where you would like to be treated, in line with your basic and supplementary insurances.

Tips and recommendations for aftercare:

• If you need walking aids on a long-term basis, it may be worth buying them instead of renting them.

• You can save on costs if you choose generics and purchase your medication via a mail order pharmacy. In addition, it is worthwhile to purchase larger packaging units for a long-term or permanent treatment.

• Use our helpful guides if you find it difficult – due to poor eyesight, shaky hands, or forgetfulness, for example – to take your medications.

Do you need orthopaedic rehabilitation?

• Rehabilitation can often be carried out on an outpatient instead of an inpatient basis.

• Plan your appointments for outpatient physiotherapy so that you have enough time to go back and forth in a relaxed manner. Think about how best to get there, find out about public transport connections, or ask family members if they can drive you.

• For inpatient rehabilitation: Check and compare – before entering the hospital – the various offers (e.g. therapies on weekends, pool, room comfort). Your doctor can request a confirmation of coverage with CONCORDIA already before your hospital admission. This way, you can transfer as seamlessly as possible from the hospital to inpatient rehabilitation and possibly cut down on waiting times.