Replacement Alternatives - Knee & Hip Problems Message Board

Queeneev · 09-03-2005, 10:13 AM

I didn't see any discussion of this topic, so I thought a thread was warranted:

Has anyone done alternatives to hip or knee replacements to correct osteoarthritis? I have read about cartilage substitution (taking some from another place in your body), cartilage harvesting (growing your own cartilage in a lab), and Synvisc.

I would like to hear about results, issues, and experiences. Thanks.

Ripanco · 09-03-2005, 10:56 AM

Hi Queeneev,

I just posted a LONG reply to your question about running, but didn't touch on this at all. I did do lots of research on all of these things plus a few more. In my case however my OA was too advanced with just bone on bone. In fact I only found out my only option was THR when I was refered to my surgeon for an athroscopy. He looked at my MRIs and said there was no catilage left to work with.

Cost and lack of proven results of most of the other alternatives you mention led me away from them too.

Tobias · 09-03-2005, 03:59 PM

In the future, medical research may indeed bring us workable and effective alternatives to the surgical solution for hip arthritis. However, the reality is that the best and most effective, tried and tested treatment readily available today is the total hip arthroplasty.

Synvisc is approved for the relief of knee arthritis but is rarely used in hips (and it would be off-label if used in the hip). I don't know that it does more than postpone the surgical treatment and relieve pain temporarily.

Other temporary (and variously effective) treatments for a painful joint include cortisone injections to the joint. This works for awhile for some people, not at all or not very long for others. In any case it isn't a permanent fix, but more of stop-gap, sometimes to relieve pain in someone waiting for a THR.

Others, in their zeal to avoid surgery, pursue a wide variety of remedies, from glucosamine/chondroitin supplements (these may relieve pain in some people), special diets, magnets, copper bracelets, and I am sure there many that I haven't even heard of. My opinion is that if these things really worked, no one would need a hip replacement. Obviously that's not the case because people are lining up at surgeon's offices with bad joints. The baby boom generation will no doubt make this line longer.

Until and unless workable, effective, alternative solutions are developed, I'm afraid we're stuck with surgery.

Queeneev · 09-04-2005, 07:13 AM

Tobias, thank you for your words. Everything you wrote is pretty much what I had been presuming. Fortunately for me, I believe I still have time, and the longer I wait, the better (from the standpoint of technology and cures). I have to keep reminding myself, "no one dies from arthritis" and count my blessings.

Funny about all the miscellaneous "remedies"; as I was sitting in the doc's office last week, I read an article in an arternative health magazine and listed foods that are GOOD and foods that are BAD for arthritis. I walked out feeling terribly confused. It all seems so contradictory! Meat and eggs are bad for it, but yet I am told I should increase my protein intake and work on building strong muscles around my joints. Iron is bad (???) but I have low iron and was told to supplement. They just announced how WONDERFUL tomatoes are in fighting disease, and yet it is a big no no for arthritis.

We cut off the nose to spite the face, it seems. Grr.

Waynoiam · 09-07-2005, 04:56 AM

Synvisc is an alternative to a TKR.

SYNVISC is an elastic and viscous fluid that is made from a substance called hyaluronan that is found in normal joint fluid. Hyaluronan acts as a "shock absorber" and lubricant in your knee joint and is needed for your joint to work properly.

Synvisc is indicated for the treatment of pain in osteoarthritis of the knee in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative nonpharmacologic therapy and simple analgesics, e.g. acetaminophen, which occurs before NSAID therapy. Synvisc has been shown to be effective in all stages of osteoarthritis, although it is most effective in the early stages of this disease.