Few Unknown Facts About Knee and Knee Surgery

Brief information on Knee:

The knee is possibly one of the most stressed joints of the human body. Hence it is also one of the most complex parts. All joints have tendons, bones, cartilage, muscles, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels to allow its function. The knee depends on 12 muscles to perform its function. It also has the most well developed cartilages in the body, the menisci, between the femur and the tibia, and the thickest cartilage covering the back of the kneecap.

Total Knee Replacement:

Most total knee replacement operations include replacing the joint surfaces at the end of your thigh bone (femur) and at the top of your shin bone (tibia). A total knee replacement may also include replacing the under-surface of your knee-cap (patella) with a smooth plastic dome. Some Knee specialist prefers to preserve the natural patella if that is possible, but sometimes the decision will need to be made during the surgery.

Unicompartmental (partial) knee replacement:

Partial knee replacements can be carried out through a minor cut (incision) using a method called reduced invasive or minimally invasive operation. A smaller incision may further lessen the recovery time. Partial knee replacement isn’t appropriate for everyone because you need to have strong and healthy ligaments within your knee. Research done by knee specialists in Mumbai show that people who have partial knee replacements are more probable to have the knee revised than people who have a total knee replacement; about one person in ten needs further surgery after 10 years.

Is there any reason why I can't get a knee replacement done?

Unfortunately, some individuals may not be able to have a knee replacement even though they’re suffering from severe arthritis. This may be because: your thigh muscles (quadriceps) are not strong enough and may not be able to support your new knee joint. The function of the knee is mainly important for weight bearing activities, such as walking, jogging, running and going up/down while taking stairs. The load distributed over the kneecap can be up to 4-5 times of the body weight, particularly while going down stairs.

However, for the knee to work smoothly and perfectly it relies on a perfect balance between hip and ankle support, therefore exercises that also include these joints are usually more beneficial to the knee than the ones where movement only occurs exactly at the knee joint.