Keeping our joints healthy is crucial to our daily lives, especially as we age. However, almost four million Australians suffer joint arthritis, and experts say this figure is likely to double in the next two decades due to our ageing population and obesity rates. The problem is equally bad if not worse in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regards to the knee joint.

Arthritis is a degeneration of our joints and the major cause of joint pain. Most joints in our body are made up of bones lined with a smooth, shiny layer of ‘polish’ known as cartilage, which allows for a smooth movement to occur between two bones. Wear and tear caused by ageing and accelerated by obesity, high impact sports and other factors, leads to erosion of this cartilage resulting in pain, swelling and stiffness of the joints.

This is particularly true of larger weight-bearing joints such as our hips and knees that are more commonly affected by arthritis. Arthritis causes pain and affects mobility which, on the severe spectrum, can be very debilitating. This is just as important when a person is younger, but it poses different challenges at different phases of a person’s life.

Arthritis can be managed with some simple lifestyle changes. Weight control and avoiding impact activities, such as running, will hopefully slow down the progression of degeneration and improve symptoms in the early stages of the disease.

Physiotherapy to help keep the muscle envelope strong and joints mobile, as well as prescribed medications, are the next step in helping sufferers alleviate arthritic symptoms. Patients can also turn to injections such as steroids and Hyaluronic acid as a way of controlling their symptoms. Other injectables such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cells therapy may also have a role.

When simpler non-operative measures are no longer effective, joint replacement is the definitive treatment and patients generally experience remarkable results post successful surgery. Advances in biomaterials have led to improvements in longevity whilst newer, minimally-invasive techniques have significantly improved functional recovery and downtime after surgery.

In fact, joint replacement surgery is amongst some of the most successful medical developments of the 21st century, positively transforming lives. Patients who 20 years ago may have been severely debilitated or even restricted to a wheelchair may in today’s world lead near normal and active lives thanks to modern joint replacements.

With Hip and Knee replacements, short-term functional recovery, such as day-to-day activities and return to work, is expected within weeks for hip replacements and a couple of months for knee replacements.

But the joint replacement is only recommended when a patient’s symptoms are intrusive in their daily lives and simpler, non-operative measures are no longer effective.

The key to any successful outcome is the right treatment for the right problem at the right time.