Newly diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left knee.

Sorekneeman

Hi there,
I’m a fit 65 year old and hope to carry on working for a couple more years in warehouse alas I have developed severe pain in my left knee, diagnosed as osteoarthritis. I’m not a great tablet taker but have tried 8mg co-comol and it eases the pain but it’s not for long term. I am wearing a knee support which helps.
Can anyone advise me how I can ease the pain naturally, turmeric I hear is the cure all? Is the injection worth having? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thankyou

[Deleted User]

Hi,

It’s great to meet you but I think you probably know that if there was a cure - any kind of cure - we would have taken it and arthritis would be a thing of the past!

Here is the information on our website on complementary medicines and practical treatment

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/news/complementary-treatments-and-arthritis-from-turmeric-to-cannabis-oil/

I hope that helps and I hope you find some relief from your symptoms. If the pain persists you might want to consult your doctor and/or see a physio too.

Take care
Yvonne x

stickywicket

Hi sorekneeman and welcome from me too.

There are no quick fixes with arthritis. I guess turmeric might help a little. It certainly cures nothing

I don't know what injection you mean. I've never heard of a turmeric injection so I presume you mean steroids. This can work well for some for up to eight weeks but we are limited in how often we can have them as steroids can damage tissue as well as helping. Plus, the more we have the less they tend to work. In fact, for some, they don't work at all.

Knee supports can help if used sparingly. The danger is overuse. They encourage muscles to atrophy which is exactly the opposite of what we need. We need strong muscles to support our joints as that way the joints hurt less. I've used supports myself, though, just for a walk for example, then come home and exercised.

Your best bet is exercise of the right kind. Swimming and cycling are both great as there is no pressure on the joint.

dreamdaisy

This diagnosis might be news to you but it ain't to us. I can't help much, I have OA in both knees and elsewhere too. I can state with absolute confidence that nothing adequately relieves pain apart from a steroid injection (if it chooses to work) but then after a while the pain returns so it's not much cop. The steroids 'work' by thinning all body tissues which is why their use is limited.

As your OA is currently limited to one knee now is the time to begin using a stick, held in the opposite hand, to slow the progression to the other knee. When one joint is affected we naturally move differently to compensate and to reduce pain, thus throwing other joints out of kilter so spreading the trouble. I began when I was 37 and am now 60, I have used walking aids since 2002 and have retained a good range of movement in most of my leg joints; my toes and knees have psoriatic arthritis, my ankles, knees and hips have OA. OA has to be the most common disease in the UK, between eight to ten million are affected and the majority have OA. Its ubiquity is its downfall.

Try not to expect miracles from turmeric, beetroot, celery, ginger, the Revitive gizmos, copper, magnets and all the other carefully-worded quackery flogged in the tabloid press. Pain renders us vulnerable and more open to exploitation. In my experience over the past twenty-plus years such stuff is effective for those who like to think they have arthritis but actually don't. I have not one clue why they choose to think they do. Twerps. DD