When the knee joint cartilage begins to deteriorate and become inflamed, it leads to pain and is often diagnosed as arthritis. Cartilage plays a large part in being able to easily use a joint without the pain of bones rubbing against each other. When it begins to disappear, the pain that comes from the area can be debilitating and make it difficult for that person to perform many daily living functions.
A person’s knee cartilage covers the end of the thigh bone, the top of the shinbone, and the backside of the knee cap. When that cartilage begins to wear away, the space between the bones becomes narrower and eventually the bones rub together, and painful bone spurs can occur. The knee(s) may even become deformed and make it difficult to walk, especially when trying to change elevation such as going up some stairs or stepping on or off of a curb.
Three Types of Arthritis that Affect the Knees
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of knee arthritis and is a degenerative joint disease. For most people, it will continue to worsen as they age and the joints continue to be affected by the wear and tear of usage.
Rheumatoid arthritis of the knee is an autoimmune disease. When a person has an autoimmune disease, the body begins to attack healthy tissue. It can occur in any joint of the body and may occur in many of them at the same time. These attacks cause the membrane surrounding the knee joint to become inflamed and painful. Eventually, the substances released by the inflammatory cells will break down the cartilage of the knee.
Post-traumatic knee arthritis develops after a serious injury to the knee joint or after years of misuse or overuse of those joints. Repeated injuries to the ligaments surrounding the knee joint make it less stable and breaks down the cartilage in the area.
Home Care Assistance Can Help Your Loved One Stay in Her Home
Some people who develop arthritis of the knees determine their best living option is to move to a home or apartment that doesn’t have stairs to climb every day since stairs can often be one of the most difficult activities to perform when the knees are in constant pain. Stairs can also be dangerous if your loved one suffers from her knees occasionally buckling under her or locking up.
If your loved one lives in a multi-story home and wants to continue living in her home, having a home care assistance team visit regularly to help with household chores that involve stairs can be one way to allow your loved one to still live in her home without the risk of hurting herself. A home care assistance provider can help with carrying laundry up to another floor, taking garbage out, or bringing in a load of groceries. If your loved one has a dog that needs to be walked regularly, your home care assistance team can help with that as well.
Making some in-home modifications, employing a home care assistance team, and using some support devices such as a cane, can help your elderly loved one stay safely in her home even when her knees are acting their worst.
If you or an aging loved one are considering home care assistance in Sudbury, MA, please contact the caring staff at PlatinumCare+ today. Call (617) 237-0867.
PlatinumCare + was born out of the desire and passion to provide the very best home health care possible in Brookline, Dover, Newton, Needham, Watertown, Weston, Cambridge, Lincoln, Sudbury, Belmont, Boston MA, and surrounding areas.
All with decades of experience, Tim in IT Operations, Support, and Management, Brenda in Client Relations, Healthcare Services & Sales Management, and Anne in Healthcare as a Nurse Practitioner combined their skills to form what is now PlatinumCare +.
As immigrants to the US, all came from backgrounds where Healthcare for aging parents was a responsibility of the immediate family and the entire community. Aging, sick, or terminal community members were cared for physically, emotionally, and financially by family, friends, including strangers! This community approach, Healthcare with a difference, delivered with the utmost love, care, sacrifice, and passion, forms the basis of how PlatinumCare + grounds itself.
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