Patients should be aware of the various nonsurgical treatment options for knee problems. There are significant advantages patients need to consider regarding nonsurgical procedures.

The following are six reasons why you might want to opt for nonsurgical knee osteoarthritis treatment. 

Many nonsurgical knee osteoarthritis treatment methods improve a patient's overall health.

Doctors often recommend treatments such as weight loss and physical therapy to patients who seek treatment for knee problems but don't want to undergo surgery. Other possible nonsurgical treatments could include taking nutritional supplements.

Exercising more, losing weight, and improving one's nutrition are ways to not only treat certain knee osteoarthritis conditions but to improve one's overall health. They are therefore a holistic type of treatment that can help prevent additional health problems down the road. 

Undergoing surgery is a scary experience for many patients.

Many patients don't like the idea of going through surgery. It can be frightening for some patients to be given general anesthesia and to be rendered unconscious for surgery. Nonsurgical treatment can therefore reduce fear and stress for patients dealing with knee osteoarthritis. 

Any surgical procedure involves some risk.

Although surgical procedures are generally safe, it's still important to realize that there is some risk inherent in any type of surgery. Things can go wrong during surgery that not only compromise the effectiveness of the surgery itself, but also a patient's overall health. 

Surgical treatment for knee osteoarthritis is not always completely successful.

Unfortunately, it can be hard to predict whether certain types of surgery will be successful for individual patients dealing with knee osteoarthritis.

Surgery might be highly effective for one patient but fail to lead to significant improvements for another patient. This lack of certainty can make some patients disinclined to choose surgical treatment for knee osteoarthritis. 

Surgery can be expensive.

Cost can be an important factor for some patients. Not all health insurance policies will completely cover the costs of surgery for knee osteoarthritis.

Depending on a patient's insurance policy, he or she may be required to make payments for the policy deductible or coinsurance expenses. Nonsurgical treatment could therefore be more affordable for some patients. 

Knee surgery can involve a long recovery period.

It can take weeks or even months to recover from knee surgery. During this time, patients might not be able to work or engage in activities that they enjoy. Nonsurgical treatment methods typically don't involve a long recovery period, so they're less disruptive to patients' everyday lives. 

To learn more about nonsurgical knee osteoarthritis treatment, contact a healthcare provider near you.

Share