Data from the UK, USA and Finland has found an increasing trend for people in their fifties to have knee replacements. In the UK, experts are putting the rise in younger knee replacements down to increased levels of obesity. Obesity is thought to increase the load and strain on the knees leading to osteoarthritis and other degenerative knee complaints.
The journal Arthritis & Rheumatism is warning that the durability of replacement knee joints is, as yet, untested in patients in their fifties. Knee joints are thought to last for about 15 years in older individuals and those who are less active; in younger, fitter patients these knee joints may become worn out needing a revision replacement. Arthritis Research UK is asking for companies and doctors to ensure that artificial knees last 30 years.
The chairman of Arthritis Research UK, Prof Alan Silman, says that younger patients are often requesting replacement knee surgery in order to maintain their active lifestyle. It is important that younger patients are informed of all the treatment options available to them. For example, a partial knee replacement may be less likely to require revision surgery in the future and will have a shorter recovery period. A new non-invasive treatment option for knee osteoarthritis is AposTherapy which can realign the legs when walking to reduce the pressure and ground forces on the knee.
