Advice about partial knee replacement surgery

I am 1 58 year old female.

I have had problems with my left knee since June, 2003. I have a lot of difficulty walking and I actually waddle to compensate for the lack of cartilage on the inside part of the left knee.

I am a candidate for a partial knee implant (the Oxford knee.) I am absolutely terrified of undergoing this operation.

I have taken Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM compunds for years. There may have been improvement but i still can only walk a block or two at a time.
I was reading about the Glucosamine you recommend?
What is your opinion of this situation? Keep trying alternative treatments of go for the operation?
Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

Sincerely, Barbara
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Gary Moller comments:
Barbara,
Sometimes a knee replacement is necessary and it may be that you have reached the point of no return with regards to your knee arthritis. Or, perhaps you have not. Knee replacement is the best option if the pain is seriously affecting your quality of life and all conservative options have been thoroughly tested. If this is the case, then replacement surgery can be a huge relief. and not to be terrified of. Let's look at the conservative options, giving these the best part of a year or longer to work their magic (Cartilage and bone heal very, very slowly):

• Give the glucosamine and chondroitin a fair go. In the case of your knee pain, you should take the maximum recommended dose daily for at least 3-6 months. Most people take far too little nowhere long enough for there to be much benefit. Please refer to this article here for more details.
• Do a course of mineral therapy such as the Active Elements programme.
• Add healthy omega3 oils including flax oil, evening primrose oil and fish oil to your daily diet and take lots of it (Most people take far too little for there to be much benefit).
• Add methysulfonlymethane (MSM) to the diet - up to 7,000mg/day
• Take about 2,000mg of vitamin C per day for several months
  
• Have a nutrient rich daily Super Smoothie to ensure you get a rich daily supply of proteins, fats and vitamins.
• If you have been on a low fat diet, now is the time to get off it. Your joints require a rich supply of fatty acids and the fat soluble vitamins and low fat foods supply none of these. In addition, add a little daily cod liver oil and plenty of vitamin D if you get little sunlight to the diet for at least 3-6 months.
• Get vitamin K into your diet by eating a serving daily of lightly cooked greens such as chard, broccoli or spinach with a dollop of grass fed butter or coconut oil mixed in.
• If you are overweight then you must lose that extra weight; but do so through daily exercise of a form that does not stress the knee - swimming is great. Do not lose weight by calorie restriction. Lose weight by healthy eating and exercise.
• Review any medications. Medications such as statins can cause muscle weakness and joint pain.
• Get a weekly deep tissue massage of the butt, thighs and calf muscles of both legs. Tight knotted muscles do not support the joints effectively.
  

Barbara, while you are doing this, you can remain on the waiting list for the surgery; but do not rush the operation. While you explore and exhaust the conservative options, your surgeon gets in plenty of extra practice on others! In the meantime, the replacement technologies improve and you benefit from this. With surgery, there is no turning back.

If surgery becomes inevitable because the pain is not alleviated enough, then rest assured that the time spent getting fit, strong and well nourished will leave you perfectly prepared for the surgery and recovery will be quick and without complication.

Please let us know how you get on both short and longterm.




Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.