Pillar 1: Get Informed
It usually starts with the pain . . .
Typically, your first experience of Knee OA happens without any injury or event to start it. One day you might start feeling some pain in your knee, and you think ‘now what did I do that caused that’? There are times when an injury leads to the discovery of knee OA, or causes a knee that was without symptoms to become painful. The Knee OA was already there - it just wasn’t showing itself yet.
So what will you notice? These symptoms are the typical ones . . .
occasional and intermittent pain, most often on the inside of the knee, but can also be on the outside and around the kneecap
aching
morning stiffness lasting less than 30 minutes
reduced range of movement
creaking or grinding in your knee or kneecap
swelling
These symptoms usually lead to a loss of ability to do activities that put stress on the knee like walking, going up and down stairs, hiking, and playing sports.
But is it Knee Osteoarthritis?
How do you know if the pain is actually Knee OA though? Knee OA more likely if you are over 40, are overweight, have had previous joint injury, or have had a physical job or sports history. All of these things lead to extra strain on the knee and potentially joint damage.
A useful tool is the Arthritis Society’s Symptom Checker . This tool helps you identify if your pain might be arthritis, and the earlier the better so you can start managing your condition and minimize further damage! The Canadian Arthritis Society puts out some great information, so feel free to explore their website while you are there (just be careful not to get lost in all the information! And remember - the symptom checker is covering all different types of arthritis and does not replace a doctor’s diagnosis).
It is also possible that you are getting some early indications of Knee OA, or just want to know if you might be at risk for developing it. For these situations, the Arthritis Society’s Risk Assessment tool that looks at what factors might in your life might put you at risk for Knee OA in the future.
Getting it confirmed by a health professional
If you think you may have knee osteoarthritis after going through this self-analysis, the best thing to do is to start with your doctor to get it confirmed. Your doctor may wish to take x-rays or other imaging to help confirm the diagnosis. If Knee Osteoarthritis is diagnosed, consideration will be given to the severity and location of the damage in the knee (see the next section for more details on this). From there, a care plan should be discussed. For most people, that will mean a conservative care plan - that is, without surgery or injections. The majority of people with Knee OA can manage it with education, exercise, weight loss, physiotherapy and / or home self-management. These are what we help you with.