Knee pain and related symptoms affect many women and men, and while it’s typically associated with older age, younger people can be affected, too.
In fact, people who use their knees a lot for work or sports may be especially prone to knee problems that can wind up interfering with the activities they love.
Some knee issues respond well to noninvasive treatment options, but others require surgery to relieve pain and restore normal joint function. Today, many patients benefit from minimally invasive arthroscopic knee surgery that uses smaller incisions and supports a faster recovery.
James M. Lee Jr., MD, is a skilled provider of arthroscopic knee surgery for patients at Orange Orthopaedic Associates. He uses the most advanced techniques to restore knee function, relieve discomfort, and promote a faster return to regular activity.
In this post, learn five signs that might mean arthroscopy is a good choice for you.
For most knee issues, Dr. Lee begins with conservative treatments, like physical therapy, medications, and activity modification. These conservative, nonsurgical therapies can be very effective in managing mild to moderate knee pain and related issues.
For more severe or advanced knee problems, though, conservative treatment might not be the best choice for long-term pain relief and restored knee function.
When these noninvasive options fail to provide adequate results, Dr. Lee may recommend knee arthroscopy to repair damage and address underlying problems that are causing your symptoms.
You use your knees for a lot of activities. In fact, until you have knee symptoms, you may not realize just how important pain-free knee movement is to your everyday life.
If you find knee pain is making it difficult to complete your daily routine or you have limited mobility or range of motion in your knees, knee arthroscopy could help. That’s also true for knee pain that makes it hard to get a good night’s sleep.
Pain that’s persistent or getting worse often indicates a more severe underlying problem that can wind up causing permanent disability. Knee arthroscopy uses a variety of surgical techniques to correct knee problems and to prevent or slow the progression of degenerative conditions, like arthritis.
Dr. Lee also uses arthroscopy to evaluate your knee from the inside. Equipped with a light and tiny camera, the arthroscope is designed to gather close-up, real-time video of your knee components, guiding treatment that can help you regain mobility and comfort.
Your knees play a major role in helping you stand, walk, sit, bend, and climb stairs. If you have knee pain, stiffness, or weakness, you could wind up with balance problems and an increased risk of dangerous falls.
Damage to the joint surface or to the ligaments and tendons that support the knee can interfere with weight-bearing activities and make it feel like your knee will give way.
Arthroscopic surgery can be an ideal solution for problems affecting any of these structures, repairing or replacing them as needed to help you regain normal knee stability.
Like all your joints, your knees are designed to move smoothly. If you feel a catching or locking sensation when using your knees, it’s definitely a sign that something’s wrong with your knee mechanics.
Catching or locking sensations can be a sign of cartilage destruction on the joint surface, ligament damage, bone spurs, or loose bodies floating inside the joint. Arthroscopy addresses each of these problems so your knees work normally again.
Knee pain and related symptoms can happen for many different reasons. That’s why you should work with a doctor like Dr. Lee, who’s experienced in a variety of techniques for custom therapy and optimal results.
To learn what’s causing your knee problems and how we can help, book an appointment online or over the phone with Dr. Lee and our team at Orange Orthopaedic Associates in West Orange and Bayonne, New Jersey, today.
