Knee can’t weightbear

Post your Osteoarthritis related questions for our experts here.

Moderator: talkhealth

Locked
3 posts
Plumber061
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2020 7:42 am
Quote

by Plumber061 on Wed Oct 14, 2020 10:23 am

Knee can’t weightbear

Hi, I’m making myself anxious by continually searching for an answer. I have 2 knees stage 4 OA and right hip stage 4 OA. I couldn’t get them operated on until I lost weight. I lost 80 lbs and got authorization. My dilemma, I cannot bear any weight on rt.leg trying to walk. If I stand it takes concentration to keep knee straight and not buckling I can support some weight (70%)on it As soon as I ease up to move it buckles. My fear is that I have some strange nerve problem in my leg. I exercise my quads daily and started to do sit/stands I can do them. Some insight whether it’s the damaged knee and or hip would help me a ton. Thanks for your help. P.S. I’m 59 male and getting hip replacement on the 21st of this month

User avatar
Tracy Corbett
Posts: 65
Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2017 12:19 pm
Quote

by Tracy Corbett on Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:00 pm

Re: Knee can’t weightbear

Hi,
I'm sorry to hear this. It sounds very frustrating for you. Very well done on losing the weight.

Without examining you in person, it is not possible to say whether it is your knee or your hip that is causing the problem. There are a number of possibilities when it comes to diagnosing the problem and all of them would require specific in-person testing in order to distinguish between them. One of the possible diagnoses includes pain-inhibition of the muscles, which occurs when you have an injured joint. Pain, inflamation and swelling can cause the muscles in that area to engage differently which could cause weakness.

I would very strongly advise seeking an appointment with your GP and asking for referral to physiotherapy for a detailed assessment of your hip and knee on that side. I suspect from your question (you mention authorisation) that you may have private medical insurance. If this is the case, you could contact them and ask to be referred to a local physiotherapist. Once your physiotherapist has diagnosed the problem, they will be able to help you by prescribing suitable targeted exercises as well as modalities to help with pain management.
Tracy Corbett
Chartered Physiotherapist

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... orbett.php

User avatar
Matthew Rogers
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:01 pm
Quote

by Matthew Rogers on Fri Oct 16, 2020 11:37 am

Re: Knee can’t weightbear

It is very common for people with arthritis to experience symptoms in their knees and Hip, so you are not alone in this. As you already know, loosing weight (if you are still over weight) and strength exercises are really important to help you to prepare for surgery.

There is a common misconception that if you have arthritis, exercise is somehow bad for you. In reality so long as you are careful and build up slowly, for most people this could not be further from the truth. Research shows that becoming more physically active is extremely beneficial for those with arthritis. Strengthening the muscles in the front of the upper leg (the Quadriceps) has been proven to reduce the pain of knee arthritis in many people. Simple stretching exercises can help to improve the flexibility of the joints. Doing general exercises that helps to keep the heart and lungs healthy can reduce the progression of the condition in many cases and in some improve things considerable.

The charity Arthritis Action (https://www.arthritisaction.org.uk/livi ... exercises/) provides a number of free, very easy to follow exercise fact sheets that you might want to try to start off with. For those who need a little more support, most GPs will have an agreement with a local health centre (the scheme is usually called ‘Exercises on referral’) that will offer you access to subsidised personal trainer sessions to build your confidence.

For people with knee pain specifically, there is an exercises programme called ‘ESCAPE-Pain’ (http://www.escape-pain.org/) that has 12 years’ worth of high quality research supporting it. This programme has been proven to reduce pain, improve your ability to perform daily activities and help with some of the psychological symptoms of arthritis such as low mood. It also includes self-management education sessions to enable you to understand your condition and take control. You can even download a free App from the App store to allow you to try it out at home.

To reassure you about the possibility of there being something more going on or if you feel that you need support from a medical professional, manual therapy such as osteopathy has also been proven to help in many cases, especially for knee arthritis. You can book a private appointment with an osteopath without the need for a GP referral. You can find your nearest osteopath at https://members.iosteopathy.org/find-an-osteopath

You can also find an excellent YouTube video about preparing for hip or knee surgery at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAL_TrQdtTY&t=7s

Best of luck,
Matthew Rogers
Head of Professional Development, the Institute of Osteopathy

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... rogers.php

Locked
3 posts