I’m shocked at the number of patients who come into my office for a consultation and report that their doctor said they were bone on bone and need knee replacement. Some patients have been told that there is nothing that can be done beyond pain management.
Oftentimes, these same patients haven’t even had X-rays or a comprehensive work up. Others who have had X-rays aren’t actually bone on bone.
If you have been diagnosed as bone on bone, yet you haven’t had a comprehensive physical examination including an MRI, there may be another underlying cause to your joint pain. A thorough physical examination, complete with an MRI, is necessary to evaluate whether soft tissue (meniscus, tendon, ligament) is damaged which cannot be seen on X-rays. Tissue damage is often the true cause of knee pain. Regenerative treatments can often effectively address or heal the cause of discomfort from soft tissue damage.
In most cases, a good orthopedic surgeon will encourage patients with arthritis to wait as long as possible to have surgery. If knee surgery is inevitable for you in the long term, regenerative therapy can help prolong your need for surgery and help to alleviate pain in the meantime. Regenerative injection treatments can both slow down the rate of degeneration of a knee that has osteoarthritis and significantly reduce or eliminate pain and discomfort by healing the supporting soft tissue, reducing inflammation, and providing added stability to the joint.
The bottom line is, a thorough physical examination and comprehensive radiological imaging is necessary to determine the actual cause of discomfort, decreased mobility, and whether a surgery is necessary due to significant loss of cartilage in the knee.
