Knee arthritis

DorothyParker

Hello.

I have had a lot of knee pain for a while that comes and goes. I had a scan recently and have looked at the results. It says I have loss of cartilage, subchondral change (under the cartilage that is lost, presumably) and effusion in the joint. The overall conclusion just says no evidence of significant derangement. In my early 40s and with the other knee now showing the same symptoms, it's quite significant to me.

I assume this is arthritis, though the word is not mentioned. It will be a few weeks before I can speak to my doctor again. Not asking you for medical advice, but with your experience what do you think I need to ask the doctor? I have requested a physiotherapy appointment and am having an assessment in a few weeks.

Thank you

Chris_R

Hi @DorothyParker

Welcome to the online community,so glad you found us.

You say that you have had knee pain for a while that comes and goes, you have recently had a scan and the results are subchondral changes and effusion in your joints.

When you see your GP again you should ask what ever you are worried about and that includes asking if you have arthritis.The physiotherapist will tell you with the assessment what they are going to prescribe for your treatment then and for the improvement of your condition,you can ask them questions about arthritis and what the long term advice can they give you.

Osteoarthritis information booklet (versusarthritis.org)

Knee pain | Causes, treatments and self-management (versusarthritis.org)

Hope these links help in some way. Please go onto our forums and chat to others who know what pain is as everyone has some form of arthritis and will share their views and experiences.

Do keep in touch and tell us how you get on.

All the best Christine

DorothyParker

Thank you so much. Also loss of cartilage. That's the thing that bothers me most and I suppose it's the reason I've been struggling to walk up stairs. I used to hike up mountains almost every weekend. Now I need a hand rail to get to bed. It seems strange to me that the radiologist's "conclusion" didn't really say anything about the findings, only that it was not significant derangement.

Crookrise

Perhaps the radiologist's conclusion reflects the question your doctor asked them. Maybe they suspected something inside the joint had come loose resulting in derangement.

How I empathize with you about the hill-walking. It was my passion since I was a teenager. I sometimes think people would be more understanding of the loss faced by, for example, an artist who loses their vision than they are for a hillwalker who can't get up hills. I've taken to riding an e-bike along quiet roads. It's not the same but at least I'm moving through open air.

DorothyParker

Thank you @Crookrise - what a good point. On a good day I can still manage some hills but for several years now I wouldn't dream of walking without a stick and I pay for it afterwards.

The doctor's question was ?Knee inflammation - my knee has been quite swollen on occasion so I think that's what finally prompted an MRI.

Brooky368

I can totally sympathise as I used to love walking in hills and running. After a diagnosis of OA in my knee I struggle now to walk for more than an hour, definitely no big hill walks and by evening struggle to do most things without a knee support on. Physio has definitely helped me but still feel like an invalid in comparison to what I used to do. Good luck with your appointment. 😁😁