Manage knee pain with effective home measures, says expert

Our Correspondent
Hoshiarpur, June 30

“Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, patients suffering from knee pain can manage with effective home measures. They should consult a doctor only in unavoidable circumstances,” said Dr Gagandeep Gupta, orthopaedics and joint replacement surgeon at the Ojas Hospital, as he addressed a webinar comprising different age groups.

The webinar revolved around people who experienced physical pain such as that of joints, knee pain, backache etc. amid these hard times, as they were locked in at their respective dwellings.

Elaborating on the reasons, he said there could be three. Firstly, the main reason for knee pain was overexertion at home, as people indulged in such activities at home which they were not used to before, he informed. Gardening, household cleansing among other chores due to unavailability of domestic help, he pointed out could be a key factor.

The second reason is injuries endured due to falls and twisting injuries of knee and ankle due to performing unaccustomed activities, said Dr Gupta. The third reason largely applies to the senior citizens suffering from osteoarthritis. As their main activities of routine walking, physiotherapy was halted during the lockdown, they began experiencing the pain, he said.

Delving into the home treatment, he said pain related to overexertion and injury is intermittent or immediate rest. “A patient shouldn’t keep on performing their activities for prolonged hours. If the pain doesn’t settle with this, they should do some hot fomentation, apply painkiller gel, crepe bandage, which can also provide some relief. Others can settle with common painkiller tablets such as crocin etc.”, he said.

In rare cases, patients may consult their family physician, physiotherapist, or an orthopaedic surgeon, asserted Dr Gupta.

However, patients suffering from the pain of osteoarthritis need to take some extra precautions along with these general measures, he advised. Those having knee pain should not sit cross-legged, especially on the floor, squatting position, and climbing stairs unnecessarily. Patients must sit on a relatively higher surface for prayers or any other work, and avoid squat toilets if possible, he said.

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