Knee osteoarthritis and injury: Common causes, symptoms and treatment

In this informative article, revered senior football and sports medicine physician Dr David Porter shares his expert insight on the most common causes of osteoarthritis of the knee and explains why knee injuries are relatively common amongst sportspeople. The leading specialist also sheds light on the key signs and symptoms of knee osteoarthritis and discusses the preferred treatment approaches within his own practice.

What treatments do you offer for knee osteoarthritis?

Opus Biological offers a wide variety of treatments for knee osteoarthritis. These treatments fit onto a spectrum, starting with simple things like losing weight and physiotherapy which can then be augmented with supplements, pain relief or injection therapies. Additionally, Opus Biological believes in some of the natural healing effects of our body's own cells and we use treatments like platelet rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell therapy to help people with knee osteoarthritis.

Why are knee injuries so common amongst professional sportspeople?

Knee injuries are actually one of the most common injuries sustained by high-profile, elite sportsmen and women because of the amount of load and intensity those athletes endure in training for and competing in their individual sports.

The amount of force that goes through the knee joint can be absolutely incredible in someone who, for example, is chasing down a football into the far corner of a pitch and having to decelerate at the very last moment in order to win that ball. This puts their knee or knees under a huge amount of stress and our bodies are not naturally built for that particular type of movement. Therefore, they are more likely to endure an injury.

What are the main causes of knee osteoarthritis?

It’s widely recognised that there are several key causes of osteoarthritis in general. In terms of knee osteoarthritis, we know that as we get older, we are more likely to get osteoarthritis. As the knee is one of the larger joints in the body, and there are a lot of biomechanical stresses that go through it, it is more likely to get osteoarthritis.

We also know that a traumatic injury to the knee can make a person more likely to have knee osteoarthritis later in life. The ever-growing trend of increased body weight and obesity has been shown to play a huge part in people developing osteoarthritis of their knees.

There is also a good amount of evidence that genetics play a part in the development of osteoarthritis and some people are predisposed to knee osteoarthritis because of some anatomical differences affecting some individuals, relating to the hips, bones and lower limbs. Lastly, we also know women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis and osteoarthritis of the knees.

What could happen if knee osteoarthritis is left untreated?

If you leave knee osteoarthritis untreated, the likelihood is that the two most common symptoms which cause people to see their doctor will become more and more debilitating. The first of these symptoms is pain, which is likely to get worse and worse over time if left untreated.

The second reason people come to see me is because they have a functional deficit of some sort, for instance they cannot go out for a walk without having pain, or they cannot perform a particular physical activity or their sport of choice because of a lack of function. This may be because they're unable to flex at the knee, to extend the knee, to pivot or to rotate because of pain and some sort of anatomical change of the knee itself.




If you are concerned by pain or poor mobility in your knee, visit Dr Porter’s Top Doctors profile today to schedule an appointment.