Newly diagnosed with knee oa

fiona83

Just been newly diagnosed with knee oa but found my doctor wasn't clear explaining what exercise could be done and tbh im actually struggling with this diagnosis as i dont know how this has came about.

helpline_team

Hello @fiona83

Thank you for posting on Chat to Helpline and welcome to the Online Community. We are a friendly and supportive group and I hope that will be your experience too.

I am sorry to hear that you have recently been diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. It can be an anxious time when you are first diagnosed with a new condition and, understandably, you want to make sure you are receiving the right advice and treatment. It is frustrating that your GP didn't explain the condition and exercises as clearly as you hoped.

If you would like to talk things through informally and in confidence about your arthritis, you are welcome to call our Free Helpline on 0800 5200 520 9am - 6pm weekdays.

Osteoarthritis (OA) causes the cartilage in your knee joint to thin and the surfaces of the joint to become rougher, which means that the knee doesn’t move as smoothly as it should, and it might feel painful and stiff. When you are less mobile your muscles may also become weaker. So, as well as pain medication, gentle exercises a little and often are important to help keep the movement in the joint, reduce stiffness and increase muscle strength to improve joint stability. Referral to a physiotherapist may be worth considering. You can talk to your GP about this. I have included more information about knee exercises below.

NSAID gels, such as Ibuprofen or Voltarol, or naturally occurring Capsaicin cream on prescription or Flexiseq bought over the counter, may help to reduce the number of tablets you are taking. A heat or cold pack may help too. Eating a healthy balanced diet and keeping a healthy weight will help to put less strain on your joints.

I hope the information given below will be of some help.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-knee/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/exercises-for-healthy-joints/exercises-for-the-knees/

If you would like to have more replies to your post, you are welcome to repost on our Living with Arthritis forum which is another source of support to ask questions and share experiences with others facing similar challenges.

Please keep posting and let us know how you are getting on and I am sure that others will connect with you to share their support and experience as well.

Best wishes,

Fiona, Helpline Advisor

Secretgarden39

Hi

I was diagnosed a year ago with severe osteoarthritis of the left knee, and it's really painful. It keeps me awake at night and continuesly give way. I was told unless it pops they won't operate. How is you knee affecting you ? And if you've been referred to hospital yet ?. I haven't been referred.

Kind regards

Secretgarden39

helpline_team

Hi @Secretgarden39

Thank you for posting on our Online Community, we are sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with severe Osteoarthritis in your knee and to hear that it is very painful.

Unfortunately, your knee giving way is one of the systems of the condition, in a healthy joint there is a coating of tough but smooth and slippery surface called the cartilage that cover the surface of the bones and helps it to move freely against each other, when a joint develops OA the cartilage thins so less support in the joints so will often give way. The best way to help to build up the muscle in the joint that can also help with pain stiffness and swelling is to exercise that joint.

Do please speak to your GP for a medication review and do mention that it is affecting your sleep. As you will see from Fiona's reply to @fiona83 she has given her information on how to manage the condition with links to exercises for the knee.

I have added a link to our Living with arthritis page hopefully you will get some replies from members there.

https://community.versusarthritis.org/categories/living-with-arthritis-forum

Best wishes

Chris (Helpline Advisor)