my knee is ok when straight, would a splint help me?

ade123456

i have now had 2 left knee flare ups in 4 months, i am 44 years old, i am probably going to have another 10 days housebound :-(.

i see braces, although the knee can still bend, would it be a good idea to have a splint or like a cast, or even gaffer tape and a 20 inch plastic pole, i feel if my knee was straight it would heel quicker and i could actually go out.

also the knee flare ups, will they happen more frequent with time? if i have a flare up 2 times in 4 months, will it be every 2 months next year?

thank you

stickywicket

If you're sure that what you have is arthritis then the last thing you should be doing is trying to immobilise the joint, especially with poles(?) Apart from other damage it might cause, it would put a strain on your other joints. A knee support might be OK for short periods but they encourage slack muscles and what we need are strong muscles.

The best way to deal with arthritic joints is gentle exercise when they're flaring and strengthening ones when they're not. Here is a Versus Arthritis YouTube video for knee exercises. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMkxh1Alz2A&list=PLXKNfcIcSzgXx4x8JP-HUb7nvhy5GmijK&index=2

I usually find, with my OA, that it flares because I've overdone things. If you can work out what way you overdid the knee and try to avoid that in future plus doing the exercises regularly to get your muscles supporting the joint, things should improve.