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Stronger quadriceps muscles, relative to the hamstrings, may lower the risk of total knee replacement, according to research. Researchers said the findings could inform strength-training programs for people with advanced arthritis in the knee. "The two muscle groups act as counter forces, and the balance between them enables a wide range of activities while protecting the knee joint," said Upasana Upadhyay Bharadwaj, M.D. "An imbalance, in addition to other factors, leads to a change in the biomechanics resulting in the progression of osteoarthritis." Dr. Upadhyay Bharadwaj and colleagues evaluated thigh muscle volume in 134 participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. They...

An exploratory analysis of the LoDoCo2 (Low-Dose Colchicine 2) randomized, controlled, double-blind trial found that daily therapy with a low dose of colchicine was associated with lower incidences of both total knee replacement and total hip replacement surgeries. Osteoarthritis is an increasingly common joint disease that can be associated with low-grade inflammation in response to weight-bearing traumatic injury. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between the use of anti-inflammatory therapies and the slowing of osteoarthritis disease progression. Colchicine is effective in many inflammatory and fibrotic conditions, but it is not currently recommended for treatment of osteoarthritis. Its long-term effects have...

A study led by Vinod Dasa, MD reports that a novel surgical pain management strategy following total knee arthroplasty (TKA), or total knee replacement, provided pain relief without opioids. The researchers also found that changing prescriptions for opioids at discharge from automatic to upon request dramatically decreased opioid use. "About 70% of opioid-naïve patients needed only Tylenol and anti-inflammatory medications to manage their pain," notes Dr. Dasa. "Opioid use in health care is improving but remains difficult to manage. Surgical pain was long thought to be unavoidable, requiring a large amount of pain medications. Creating innovative strategies to enhance surgical...

Knee replacement surgery is increasingly common among people over 80 sidelined with knee pain, and the procedure isn't as hazardous for them as often assumed. That's the main message from a new study of more than 1.7 million seniors who underwent knee replacement surgery. Octogenarians do have longer hospital stays after knee replacement surgery and are also more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 90 days than patients aged 65 to 79, but the two age groups tend to have similar risks for other complications, the study team found. Varghese conducted the study at Maimonides Medical Center, in...

Former President George W. Bush has successfully had a partial knee replacement in Chicago. Bush spokesman Freddy Ford says Bush had the procedure Saturday and returned home to Dallas Monday. Ford said in an email Tuesday that Bush was “doing great” and was able to “get up, walk around, and go up and down stairs just a couple (of) hours after the procedure.” …

THERE is nothing like a new hip or knee to put the spring back in your step. Patients receiving joint implants often are able to resume many of the physical activities they love, even those as vigorous as tennis and hiking. No wonder, then, that joint replacement is growing in popularity. In the United States in 2007, surgeons performed about 806,000 hip and knee implants (the joints most commonly replaced), double the number performed a decade earlier. Though these procedures have become routine, they are not fail-safe. Implants must sometimes be replaced, said Dr. Henrik Malchau, an orthopedic surgeon at...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A study is checking whether an injection of adult stem cells can re-grow the spongy tissue between people's shinbones and their thighbones.  The injection would be for people who have surgery to remove torn parts of a meniscus. The surgery can lead to trouble in the future if arthritis sets in where the tissue is missing. Doctors hope that a stem-cell injection after such a surgery can re-grow meniscal tissue so future problems can be avoided. In animal studies, the shot led to tissue regeneration in 11 weeks. If it works in humans, it could change the way...

Some Twin Cities doctors are using stem cells to give relief to people who suffer from chronic pain in their knees. More than one million Americans will have a knee procedure this year to ease chronic pain, but any complications can have a painful cost. One week after minimally invasive surgery, Andrew Gantman's knee is looking good and nearly pain-free. But his orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Joel Boyd said Andrew has a 90 percent chance of developing arthritis in that knee at some point. "You may have patients who go onto arthritis within two to three years versus patients who go...

I'm interested in hearing the experiences of any Freepers that have had knee replacement surgery.