Dr. Lox on Knee Surgery Alternatives
Knee surgery alternatives is a popular question. Not just in conversation, but in doctors offices.
Dennis. M. Lox M. D., frequently has this discussion with his patients. Patients are frequently asking their orthopedic surgeons, aren’t there any other options?
This is especially true for knee replacement surgery. Even professional athletes are looking for alternative treatment options.
Knee surgery is not always a guarantee of success to return to professional sports. A look at two of men’s tennis all-time greats who are still playing at the highest level, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Nadal has had nagging knee injuries for years. Roger Federer a few years ago, developed a meniscal tear. Federer opted for knee meniscal surgery, and returned to high caliber tennis quickly. In 2012 Rafael Nadal decided rather than continue to get Platelet Rich Plasma injections in between tennis tournaments, he took 7 months of that 2012 season, and had knee stem cell therapy.
The following season in 2013, Rafael Nadal not only returned to play at a high level, he again became ranked the World Number 1 Player in Men’s Tennis. Quite an accomplishment, all without knee surgery.
Knee Replacement Surgery Alternatives
Not every patient is faced with the same knee problem or same decision. They have different knee pathology, different goals, different ages, and different body types. There are so many factors to consider when a true expert analyzes each individual patients needs.
There are some top orthopedic knee replacement surgeons that will not operate on patients, who weigh over 300 pounds. This leaves them in a predicament, either lose weight and continue to suffer or do nothing.
Sometimes these patients can be helped by incorporating weight loss, with Regenerative Medicine therapy to help assist their goals.
Others have had a bad experience with one knee replacement surgery, and are adamant they do not wish to have another knee replacement surgery.
They often are very motivated to seek Regenerative Medicine treatment, and adhere to treatment recommendations. Compliance and patients who actively participate in working towards achieving their goals are often the best patients.
Proper exercise done the correct way for their knee problem is important, just as is weight loss in those who are extremely overweight. Weight is magnified as force on the knee. It is not a one-to-one ratio, therefore shorter statue indicates especially women who have gained 50 pounds exert tremendous additional stress on already degenerative knee arthritis.
Knee Meniscal Surgery Alternatives
Knee meniscal surgery alternatives is also gaining popularity.
Emerging evidence that demonstrates trauma and surgery accelerate the progression of degenerative knee arthritis, is clearly rooted in scientific fact.
The nature of how degenerative arthritis is propagated as a progressive disorder led to the multi-billion dollar biological therapy for Rheumatologic disorders. Understanding cytokines and cytokine inhibitors like TNF-a, is seen on Television commercial with famous athletes like Phil Mickelson as spokesperson for Enbrel.
There are many cytokines that can be inhibited in the inflammation cascade TNF-a, IL-1B, IL-6, and now IL-17 inhibitor Cosentyx is on TV. None are perfect pay attention to the infection warning, including Tuberculosis.
Blocking the inflammatory cascade also blocks the immune system making you more susceptible to infections. Blocking more than one cytokine increases the risk and can be deadly, especially since these drugs are given systemically by intramuscular injection.
The pharmaceutical industry has yet to perfect Mother Nature’s remedy the stem cell. This is the backbone of science in Regenerative Medicine. Stem cells are master regulators of the inflammatory cascade and when delivered locally as a knee injection, the systemic issues are not a problem. Even further stem cells secrete a chemical that is also germicidal. This accounts for the data in clinical trials of relatively no infections, and the high safety factor when done for joint therapy.
The possibility of joint reparative opportunities from Regenerative Medicine launched the stem cell research in the last decade, and has blossomed into 3-D bio-printing, matrix, and cell assisted technologies to enhance surgical outcomes.
So, it doesn’t appear Regenerative Medicine is ever replace knee surgery, it may when used earlier alter the number of total knee replacement surgery numbers, be a more proactive preventative approach, and bring current knee meniscal surgeries away from an accelerated form of degenerative knee arthritis, to a more modern enhanced healing opportunity.
This can be coupled with more advanced, less invasive knee meniscal debridements to advanced suture techniques, with cell and biological matrix healing strategies.
3-D bio-printing allows exact cartilage defects to be reproduced with Regenerative Medicine assisted adherence with stem Cell and matrix technology. Very fascinating game changing events for progressive degenerative arthritis.
The problem remains that young people with knee injuries will remain with the mindset they will not grow old, so prevention is never going to be for everyone, despite technological advances. Think diet and exercise and diabetes, as a case example.
Exercise Alternative
There is no one set of exercises for every knee. Every patient has a different story, a different knee with different pathology, different goals, needs, and desires.
Don’t forget a 20-year-old knee is not a 70-year-old knee.
A 5’2” woman is not a 6’2” 185 pound man.
There are so many variables that go into understanding what the best exercise program is for different peoples knees, anyone giving generic recommendations is not understanding the complexity of knees and the variability of human beings.
Take it from an expert, talk to an expert. Dennis M. Lox M.D. practices Sports, Regenerative Medicine and Joint Arthritis Pain in the Tampa Bay Florida, area and in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of Beverly Hills, California.
