Treatments for Arthritis Hip and Knee Pain

Treatments for Arthritis Hip and Knee Pain

Arthritis literally means "inflammation of the joints". There are more than 100 distinct forms of rheumatic or clinical conditions considered as arthritis, making it difficult to diagnose and treat this complex disorder. Arthritis is not fatal but can affect any one from any age group. Age, anatomy and degeneration of joints are some of the reasons that cause arthritis. Pain, swelling and immobility are common manifestations of arthritis. Statistics indicate that every one in three Americans suffer from chronic joint pains or arthritis.
When it comes to treating osteoarthritis in your knees and hips, you may have more options than you realize. In February 2008, the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting osteoarthritis research and treatment, published its first evidence-based recommendations for treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. The goal was to eliminate inconsistent treatment approaches by creating simple guidelines that would enable health care providers to determine which therapies would be most useful for an individual patient.

The committee took the scientifically proven commonalities it found in the international literature, evaluated the level of scientific evidence, proposed a strength of recommendation for each modality, and then condensed them into a comprehensive “playbook” of 25 treatment recommendations. The first of the 25 recommendations is to combine drug and non-drug treatments for optimal results. The remaining 24 fall into three categories: non-drug, drug and surgical. Following are the 25 recommendations with updates and links to further reading by Arthritis Today.

1. Drug and non-drug treatments. The optimal osteoarthritis (OA) treatment program should consist of both medications and non-drug treatments.

Non-drug treatments

2. Education and self-management. The initial focus of treatment should be on what patients can do for themselves, rather than on passive therapies delivered by a health professional.  Learn about the Arthritis Foundation Self-Help Program.

3. Regular telephone contact.  The best evidence for the benefit of phone contact came from a study of 439 OA patients in which monthly phone calls from lay personnel promoting self-care were associated with improvements in joint pain and physical function for up to a year.

4. Physical therapy. Studies consistently support the usefulness of an evaluation by a physical therapist and instruction in appropriate exercise to reduce pain and improve function. Physical therapists can also provide assistive devices to make daily tasks easier.

5. Aerobic, muscle-strengthening and water-based exercises. A rounded exercise program can promote muscle strength, improve range of motion, increase mobility and ease pain. Read this Arthritis Today articles on fitness and exercise.

 6. Weight loss. Maintaining your recommended weight or losing weight if you are overweight can lessen your pain by reducing stress on your affected joints. Weight loss specifically helps ease pressure on weight-bearing joints such as the hips and knees. Arthritis Today’s special weight-loss guide.

7. Walking aids. Canes and crutches can reduce pain in hip and knee or OA. If both hips and/or knees are affected wheeled walkers may be preferable.

8. Footwear and insoles. If osteoarthritis affects the knee, special footwear and insoles can reduce pain and improve walking.

9. Knee braces. For osteoarthritis with associated knee instability, a knee brace can reduce pain, improve stability and reduce the risk of falling.

10. Heat and cold. Many people find the heat of a warm bath, heat pack or paraffin bath eases OA pain. Others find relief in cold packs. Still others prefer alternating the two.  Learn more about using heat and cold.

11. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).  A technique in which a weak electric current is administered through electrodes placed on the skin, TENS is believed to stop messages from pain receptors from reaching the brain. It has been shown to help with short-term pain control in some patients with knee or hip arthritis.

12. Acupuncture. A form of traditional Chinese medicine involving the insertion of thin, sharp needles at specific points on the body, acupuncture has been touted as a treatment for osteoarthritis pain. A recent trial of 352 patients with knee osteoarthritis showed small but statistically significant improvement in pain intensity two and four weeks after a course of acupuncture. Read more about acupuncture.