Knee Pain Treatment Singapore

What is Knee Pain?

Knee pain is a common symptom that can be caused by many different factors. There are several tests and procedures that should be performed to determine the cause of knee pain, so it can be treated properly.

Causes of Knee Pain

Because there are so many different reasons for knee pain, including arthritis, joint damage, and overexertion, it is important to schedule an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible if you suspect any discomfort or injury in this area. If left untreated, knee injuries will only get worse over time which could lead to greater problems down the road; as such, knee pain relief or knee joint pain relief should be considered in order to ensure longevity of your knees!

Type of Knee Pain by Medical Condition

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Gout
• Septic arthritis

Type of Knee Pain by Acute Knee Injuries

• Fractures
• Ligament injuries
• Meniscus injuries
• Dislocation

By Chronic Conditions

• Patellar Tendinitis
• Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
• Osteoarthritis
• Prepatellar Bursitis

Why Do I Have Knee Pain, Ache and Stiffness?

Many people suffer from knee pain, aches  and stiffness. While there are sometimes dangerous reasons such as an infection, tumors, and fractures, most causes are mechanical.

Mechanical causes of knee pain include:

• knee sprains
• degenerative knee osteoarthritis (wear and tear)
• meniscus tear
• anterior and posterior cruciate ligament tears (ACL tear, PCL sprain)
• medial and lateral collateral ligament injury (MCL injury, LCL tear)

These causes of knee pain are usually not dangerous, they can cause significant distress, making it hard to walk, causing time off work, affect a person’s social interactions and result in poor mood.

What Should I Do To Get Knee Pain Relief?

It is always a best to consult a knee pain doctor in Singapore when you have a knee condition. It is easy to find a knee pain clinic in Singapore.

Where the knee pain is severe, or when there is an obvious emergency such as an accident causing a potential fracture, it is important to consult a knee pain doctor urgently.

Other situations where it is important to consult a knee pain specialist (orthopaedic) in Singapore urgently include when there are “red flags” such as a fever, loss of weight, generally feeling ill and experiencing pain that wakes you up from sleep.

In long standing conditions which have been properly assessed by your doctor to not be dangerous or in mild cases of knee sprain, rest and self-help measures can be useful for knee joint pain relief.

Do I Need To Do an X-ray or MRI?

Many mild cases can usually be well managed by an experienced doctor who can provide a clinical diagnosis based on a patients clinical history and physical examination.

In cases where the initial treatments have not been effective, an X-ray would be a cost effective way to rule out most dangerous underlying problems.

In selected cases, an MRI might also be appropriate to provide a precise diagnosis.

What Are Common Knee Pain Treatments In Singapore?

There are many knee joint pain relief treatments in Singapore. For many patients, their doctors will likely prescribe a short period of rest and medications as a remedy for knee pain. Long term medications are less likely to be curative and risk potential side effects.
Physiotherapy when properly applied is another well accepted option.

Using techniques such as manual therapy, medical massage, ultrasound, stretches and exercises, it can have a good result in many cases.

Joint injection with viscosupplementation are sometimes used as a “lubricant” to the joint.

However recent medical opinion indicate that the benefit of viscosupplementation on pain and function in patients is minimal.

“Do not offer intra-articular hyaluronan injections for the management of osteoarthritis.” [2014], National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ,UK

Some doctors might also recommend steroidal injections though they are rarely recommended at our clinic due to the potential risks involved.

Should I Take Joint Supplements For Knee Joint Pain Relief?

This is a common question from people with knee issues.

Glucosamine based joint supplements have become very popular over the past few years for people looking for relief from knee pain. Some formulation include other ingredients such as MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) and chondroitin. Some can be expensive and well marketed. It is quite common to see television, radio and online ads promoting a new brand as the new knee joint supplement to try.

However, years of clinical experience have also now shown them to be of very limited benefit.

“Do not offer glucosamine or chondroitin products for the management of osteoarthritis.” [2014] National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ,UK

Why Are My Knee Treatments Not Working?

When the previous treatments are not successful, we often find a few common factors:

• The previous diagnosis was not precise. Imaging scans and clinical experience can often be very helpful in these cases.
• Treatment was prescribed which took into account only one aspect of the condition. e.g., treating only the inflammatory component of degenerative knee arthritis using painkillers without addressing the underlying wear and tear.
• Limited available options available. Patients were only offered painkillers and glucosamine instead of newer medical solutions.
• Patients were offered impractical treatment plans which they could not accept. Common examples include being offered expensive and frequent treatments for extended periods.

Is Surgery Necessary?

In occasions such as a fracture and an unstable knee joint, surgery with an orthopaedic knee specialist surgeon is a necessary option.

In most other cases, even where knee pain and stiffness are severe or have been present for a long time, there are multiple non-surgical options that a patient should first consider.

As knee surgery can have significant risks and cost, it is important to balance this carefully against the potential benefits expected.

I Had Knee Replacement / Arthrscopic Surgery And It Did Not Work. Why?

In rare cases, patients may continue to suffer from symptoms of pain and stiffness after knee replacement or arthroscopic surgery.

This can be a source of significant frustration especially when you expected knee surgery to be a dramatic “last hope for best knee pain relief”.

It can also be confusing when you are told “the scans are okay” or “the knee surgery was successful” but do not feel better.

This can be a complex condition and there are many possible reasons.

In some instances, the body has not had enough time to fully recover and symptoms will improve with rest.

At times, there could be some technical aspects of knee surgery that should best be discussed with your knee orthopaedic surgeon.

There are also cases where a patient’s original symptoms are caused by multiple factors such as inflammation, joint dysfunction, degeneration, and muscular trigger points.
Surgery may correct one specific cause of the patient’s symptoms but not be able to address the other causes.

In such instances, a comprehensive post-surgery treatment plan is likely the best knee pain relief option.

What Is Your Doctor’s Experience Treating Knee Pain?

Dr Terence Tan has been treating knee pain at The Pain Relief Clinic since 2007. For the past 15 years, he has been using non-invasive technology to help patients recover from knee pain problems.

He is accredited with both the Family Physician Accreditation Board and the Singapore Medical Council. He is also a member of the Singapore Medical Association and The Pain Association of Singapore.

Committed to providing quick knee pain relief, his philosophy is to always offer patients the safest, most effective and least invasive technology driven  treatments possible.

Can I Use Medisave And Medical Insurance To Pay For Treatments?

As our treatments are very affordable and cost-effective, many patients choose to self pay.
For those with insurance coverage, we are happy to help support medical claims.
Medisave is another very popular option to help pay for medical treatments.

What New Treatment Options Can The Pain Relief Clinic Offer For My Knee Pain?

At our clinic for knee pain, we adopt a biomedical targeted approach that addresses how the multiple component causes of knee pain affect you.

This allows us to provide a treatment strategy that targets the root causes of your condition using medical technology in a comprehensive and cost-effective way.

Depending on your specific condition, some of the useful options that can give very good results include: