Knee Implant
The hip, knee, and ankle joints that allow us to walk and the shoulder joint that will enable us to use our hands and arms that allow us to do work are the joints where prosthetics and implants are often made.
Of these, the hip and knee are the most commonly implanted joints. Our leg joints, which enable us to carry out the movements we do in our daily lives, such as carrying body weight, doing sports, sitting, and getting up for years, begin to deteriorate and cause problems over time.
The knee joint is used 10-15% of the day in adults, with an average of 4000-10,000 cycles. A person who does sports goes up to 14-20 thousand cycles in 15-20% of the day. Articular cartilage deteriorates with aging, weight, daily use, and genetic factors.
This deterioration limits the movements of the joint over time. It causes pain. It prevents us from doing our daily life activities. In such cases, a knee implant is applied.
The most common knee joint
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Trauma
Treatment Process
Doctors apply medication, and exercises, depending on the degree of deterioration and age. Then they use physical therapy and intra-articular injection treatments. If the decline does not improve with medical treatment, They find meniscus surgeries, cartilage repairs, and medical and biological solutions. As the deterioration increases, it becomes difficult for the joint to perform its normal daily activities. He begins to be unable to walk due to pain and has difficulty in climbing and descending stairs.
After this stage, the biological solution to protect the joint; is unavailable in today’s conditions.
The task is to decide on the lifestyle. It is necessary to either choose to accept the use of continuous medication, decrease daily activities, or, if the health condition allows, take the application of a prosthesis or implant to the knee joint.
In Which Situations Are A Knee Implant Necessary?
Knee implants are applied for two reasons; pain and limitation in daily life. Although pain is an essential factor, The extent to which the joint deteriorates and whether solutions to protect the joint are possible or not should be revealed. If treatments to preserve the joint is possible, these treatments should be applied first. If the joint deforms over time and loses its movement, the patient has difficulty performing his daily life.
Difficulty walking, difficulty going up and down stairs, and difficulty sitting and standing. If the joint is damaged beyond repair, implant surgery is recommended if age and health conditions allow. The average lifespan of a knee implant in the human body is 15-20 years. Therefore, knee implant application is recommended between 50-80. Under 50; tries not to apply knee implants as much as possible. However, in inflammatory rheumatic diseases or severe intra-articular fractures, knee implants are sometimes used at an early age.