How to Avoid Arthritis Caused by Knee Surgery

If you have been told you need knee surgery, be sure to check with a doctor versed in Prolozone® before you go ahead with it.

That's because the most common knee surgery called meniscectomy often results in severe arthritis years later.

That complication can be avoided by healing the injury with Prolozone instead of surgery.

And now a report in the American Journal of Sports Medicine is saying the same thing about another common form of knee surgery: ACL repair.

The term ACL stands for anterior cruciate ligament. The ACL is an internal knee ligament that is instrumental for the stability of the knee when it’s under stress. Because of this, it’s common for a person to tear their ACL during various athletic activities, especially those that stress the knee.

If the tear is complete, there is no treatment for it other than surgery. But, if it’s a partial tear, surgery is not the only option.

To do the study, radiologists examined X-rays of both knees of people who had ACL surgery on one knee more than 14 years earlier. They were looking to see if arthritis was more common in the knee that had the ACL surgery than in the knee that did not have the surgery.

Based on their assessments, 57% of ACL-reconstructed knees had arthritis compared to only 18% of non-surgical knees. The results indicated that ACL surgery increased the risk of developing arthritis in the knee by more than 300%.

About 200,000 ACL injuries happen each year in the United States. Half of those injuries end up being surgically repaired. And although the surgery can be very successful on many occasions, it does not always restore completely normal function. And here’s the point.

If you suffer a complete tear of your ACL, you have one of two choices. One, you can have it surgically repaired. The odds are good that you will be able to continue to compete. The problem, however, is that you now have a 300% greater chance of having significant arthritis in that knee 5-10 years later.

Two, you can give up your sport and any form of exercise that’s stressful to the knees. You don’t need an intact ACL unless you engage in activities that are particularly stressful to the knee. Note that Prolozone will not be helpful for a complete tear.

But what if you have a partial tear of the ACL?

Many times, a partial tear will heal over time. Sometimes it won’t. When it doesn't, there could be a level of permanent loss of full function and possibly chronic pain. And that’s where Prolozone can be helpful. By using Prolozone, especially when combined with PRP (platelet rich plasma) therapy, it’s much more likely that a partial tear will not only heal, it will heal faster, and the knee will ultimately return to full function.

Nothing, including surgery, is 100%. And Prolozone is not 100%. But there’s nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain by going in for a series of Prolozone/PRP treatments before going under the knife. And that way, if it is successful, there will be no chance of arthritis later on.

You can find a doctor trained in Prolozone and PRP at www.aaot.us.