Re : Osteoarthritis of the knee

caitlen138
caitlen138 Member Posts: 1
edited 5. Jun 2025, 07:50 in Living with arthritis

Hi , can everyone give me some recommendations on how you manage osteoarthritis in your knees. I’m 23, and have recently been diagnosed , and at this moment in time I have lots of swelling and redness of my knees which is causing me so much pain. What tips do you have to manage the pain, and reduce swelling. Also , has anyone ever had bruises forming on your knees, I keep getting bruises on my knees during flare ups and my doctor has told me this is normal.

Thank you

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Comments

  • chrisb
    chrisb Moderator Posts: 797

    Hi @caitlen138

    Welcome to the versus arthritis forum.

    There are lots of very relevant articles as regards knee osteoarthritis on our main website. Here's an example:

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

    Also, if you enter 'Osteoarthritis of the knee' into the search facility on the forum, you'll see lots of past, relevant discussions.

    I hope this is helpful.

    Best wishes

    ChrisB (Moderator)

    Need more help - call our Helpline on 0800 5200 520 Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm

  • janiebin
    janiebin Member Posts: 56

    Hi Caitlin

    Swelling of the knees is really painful, I use cool pads ( bought from the local chemist and chilled in the freezer) Some people use heat pads (heat in the microwave). I also massage my knees, you could use oil or cream there are lots of over the counter products. You just have to try a few until you get one that suits you, some are greasy, some oily, some make the skin burn, some don't make any difference.!

    I don't know about bruising, maybe someone else has experienced that.

    Keep trying to exercise your knees even though they are painful becuse otherwise your muscles will get weaker. Go to the top left for a link to the exercise videos. They are really helpful.

    Take care

  • DODGYKNEES
    DODGYKNEES Member Posts: 107

    Hi @caitlen138 there are a few ways I have found to help reduce pain with knee osteoarthritis. I use hot water bottle and ice packs throughout the day. I find ice pack work well for reducing swelling and heat works well to ease the dull ache. I also elevate my legs through the day. Tens machine works well. Compression sleeves. Knee brace. It is also important to exercise when able to strengthen the muscles. I have also had unexplained bruising on the knees, front and back. The doctor didn't give an explanation as to what caused it. Frustrating. Hope this helps

  • Tokey1962
    Tokey1962 Member Posts: 2
    https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/64602/re-osteoarthritis-of-the-knee
  • Tokey1962
    Tokey1962 Member Posts: 2

    find using ice really helpful when my knee is inflamed and pain unbearable, heat and cold together helps relieve pain too for me

  • PJoanne
    PJoanne Moderator Posts: 316

    Hello @Tokey1962

    Welcome to the forum, it's great to have you here with us. We hope that you find the forum friendly and informative.

    All the best Joanne

    Need more help - call our Helpline on 0800 5200 520 Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm

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