

Shasta Regional Medical Center: “Knee Anatomy.” Rush University Medical Center: “5 Tips for Preventing Knee Pain.” Medscape: “Surgical Treatment of Medial Compartment Arthritis.” Journal of Anatomy: “Exercise and osteoarthritis,” “The effects of exercise on human articular cartilage.” Harvard Health Publishing: “Why weight matters when it comes to joint pain.” It may be better to avoid exercise in which you kneel, bend deeply, or run downhill.Īmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: “Unicompartmental Knee Replacement,” “Arthritis of the Knee,” “Viscosupplementation Treatment for Knee Arthritis.”Īrthritis Foundation: “Osteoarthritis,” “Benefits of Exercise for Osteoarthritis,” “Weight Loss Benefits for Arthritis.” Talk to your doctor if you already have knee pain and you don’t want to make it worse. Exercise won’t harm your joints and actually seems to help keep them healthy, as long as you don’t do the same motion too much or overstress a joint with an injury.

That’s 40 fewer pounds of wear and tear on your knees every day, which could add up to a big difference over time. Drop 10 pounds and you’ll take as much as 40 pounds of pressure off your knees, depending what type of activity you’re doing. Prevention of Tricompartmental OsteoarthritisĪ study of overweight and obese adults with osteoarthritis of the knee showed that 1 pound of weight loss removes 4 pounds of pressure from the knee. Replacement of all or part of the knee joint - bone and cartilage (arthroplasty).Replacement of cartilage on the bone by grafting tissue.Injections of hyaluronic acid into your knee (viscosupplementation).Meds for pain and swelling, like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories ( NSAIDs).There are a number of things your doctor can do to manage osteoarthritis in your knees: Treatment of Tricompartmental Osteoarthritis Imaging of your knee with X-rays or CT scan or MRI can help to zero in on the problem area and make a diagnosis, but they’ll also: They might take a sample of your blood to check for levels that suggest arthritis. Your doctor will ask about your health history and symptoms. Your genes, smoking habits, and body weight can also affect your risk for tricompartmental OA.ĭiagnosis of Tricompartmental Osteoarthritis But an injury, or constant lifting, jarring, or bending also might cause it or make it worse. Normal wear and tear is a big part of the reason you get osteoarthritis, especially after age 50. Appearance that your knees have shifted in (knock-kneed) or out (bow-legged)Ĭauses of Tricompartmental Osteoarthritis.Difficulty straightening your leg all the way.More pain in rainy weather or after hard exercise.You might not be able to move your knee as freely as you used to, and you may notice a scraping or crunching feeling (called crepitus). It may be most uncomfortable and stiff in the morning when you wake up. The main symptom of osteoarthritis in the knee is pain that worsens over time.

Symptoms of Tricompartmental Osteoarthritis When OA affects all three compartments, doctors call it tricompartmental osteoarthritis.

The patellofemoral compartment is made up of the space between your kneecap and your thigh bone.The lateral compartment includes the spot where your thigh bone meets your shin bone and the space around it on the other side (outside) of your leg.The medial compartment includes the spot where your thigh bone meets your shin bone and the space around it on the inside of your leg (the side closest to the other knee).There is some crossover between compartments: Tricompartmental refers to the three parts, or “compartments,” that make up your knee. Typical symptoms like pain, swelling, stiffness, and loss of motion often get worse over time.Īge, injury, and repeated motion can all lead to osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis in the knee. This allows bones to rub together at the joint. In osteoarthritis, or OA, the smooth, slippery cartilage that covers the ends of your bones and helps them glide over each other slowly wears away. Tricompartmental osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that affects your knee.
