The increasing demand for knee replacements: a hostage to fortune

摘要

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is a huge problem. Even in our small group practice we have hundreds of patients who suffer daily pain and disability. Knee replacement surgery is a very effective remedy, but can be risky, and quite a lot of patients are medically unfit for the procedure. Analgesics, systemic and topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and intra-articular (IA) steroid injections provide limited or short-term benefits and physiotherapy and other conservative approaches may improve mobility but have less impact on pain.