Did you know there are more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions? People of any age and sex can develop arthritis, which is characterised by pain, stiffness and a loss of normal movement in the joints.
Often when people use the term ‘arthritis’ they are referring to osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of the disease.
What causes knee osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis affects the cartilage that protects the ends of the bones. Meniscal cartilage acts as a shock absorber as you walk or run, while articular cartilage lets you bend and move your knees. Weight-bearing joints – hips and knees – are particularly at risk of cartilage damage.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease, causing bone strength to deteriorate, connective tissues to weaken and inflammation to damage the joint lining. When you have osteoarthritis of the knee, the loss of cartilage in the joint causes the bones to rub together, resulting in stiffness and swelling. You may be particularly at risk of damaging your knee joint if:
- you are overweight with a body mass index of 30 or more
- you injure your knee
- your knee is subjected to regular stress, for example by participating in certain sports or types of job
- you have an abnormality of the knee joint.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of knee osteoarthritis may be mild in the early stages but worsen as the condition develops. They include pain, stiffness and loss of function particularly when you have been sitting for some time. Your knee may appear swollen and it may crack or grind when you move it, or it might lock up or feel like it is about to give way.
How is it diagnosed?
Your doctor will carry out a physical examination to assess the range of motion in your knee joint, how you walk and whether there is instability or swelling. You may be given an X-ray, MRI scan or blood test to assess the condition of the joint and rule out other possible causes.
What other types of arthritis can affect the knees?
While osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, there are others that can cause knee pain and stiffness. These include rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune condition (where the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue) and psoriatic arthritis, which is another type of autoimmune arthritis that occurs alongside the skin condition psoriasis. Other common causes of knee pain include stress injuries such as tendonitis, sprains, strains and cartilage tears.
What is a Mako Total Knee Replacement?
As knee pain and stiffness worsen, you may no longer be able to manage the symptoms using conservative treatments like painkilling medication, physiotherapy exercises and bracing. At this point, your doctor or orthopaedic surgeon may suggest injections of corticosteroids or hyaluronic acid into the knee joint to help relieve the pain, or arthrosamid injections.
In the latter stages, however, the symptoms of osteoarthritis can become so severe that they start to interfere with your ability to do everyday tasks, like walking any distance, problems with uneven ground, going up and down stairs or getting in and out of a car. This is when people may start to consider knee replacement surgery. This now routine surgery involves removing the damaged knee joint and replacing it with a prosthetic implant. A total knee replacement involves removing the entire knee joint while a partial knee replacement only removes the damaged sections of the knee, leaving the remainder intact.
A Mako Total Knee Replacement is the next generation in knee replacement surgery. It uses ground-breaking robotics to support the orthopaedic surgeon on the operating table and innovative computer software to enable them to plan the procedure in detail prior to surgery.
How is it used to treat knee arthritis?
Before surgery, patients have a CT scan of the damaged joint. A 3D virtual model of their unique anatomy is loaded into the Mako system software, which then together with the surgeon creates a fully personalised pre-operative plan. During the surgical procedure itself, the orthopaedic surgeon guides the Mako robotic arm, using it to prepare the joint to receive the prosthetic implant. Mako’s unique Accustop technology supports them to remain within the pre-defined area of the joint, so only damaged or diseased tissue is removed and healthy tissue is retained. This enables the implant to be positioned in precisely the right place and because as much of the patient’s natural joint as possible is retained, if a revision joint replacement is needed at a future date to replace a worn-out prosthesis, there is a perceived lower risk of complications.
The Mako system has been shown to improve outcomes for patients in several important ways:
- In laboratory studies, it enables surgeons to implement their surgical plans with greater accuracy which improves performance of the implant.
- Mako protects soft tissues and ligaments from damage, according to clinical studies.
- Patients who undergo Mako surgery report lower pain scores than those who have conventional surgery, when surveyed after six months.
- In clinical studies, Mako patients surveyed six months after surgery report better patient satisfaction scores compared to those who have conventional joint replacement surgery.
Carrothers Orthopaedics has been at the forefront of Mako joint replacement surgery over the past six years. To date, Andrew Carrothers has completed over 750 Mako Joint (Total Hip,Total Knee and Partial Knee) Replacements. For more information, contact us.
Talk to an orthopaedic consultant | Cambridge
We are always happy to provide information and guidance about the various treatment options, both surgical and non-surgical, including Mako robotic arm assisted surgery and conventional surgery.
For more information, please contact us.
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For your convenience, we offer appointments at both Nuffield Hospital Cambridge and Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital.
