my dad is over 60 and has arthritic knee pain which prevents him from sleeping/?

Question

he has used heat pads but they don't work.He is fit +healthy and does manual work full-time

Answer 1

Try "Tylenol Arthitis" pain-medication. It is specially
formulated for arthitic pain. It might help for a while.
But like John E. said - Knee-Replacement is the next best
thing. I had both my knees replaced (at the same time)
and I'm really glad I did.
I went through the injections - expensive, glucosamine,
diet, therapy - in the end I got new Knees!

Answer 2

Specialists do inject the nerve in the knees with a nerve block if it is as effective as a spinal nerve block, which I have had, it should help to relieve some of the pain for possibly up to a year. When I had my last nerve block half of the people in for an injection had there knee injected, so it must be effective. A steroid or the newer Botox injection which can helps relieve arthritis in the knee may well negate the need for surgery. Has your partner tried a combined drug treatment or using an epilepsy drug like Gabapentin which can help with nerve pain. Get a second opinion and push for a knee injection first and see if there is much improvement. One of my mates had operations on both knee caps, he was nearly crippled before the ops, within six months he was walking fine without any problems. I haven't heard of any complications with modern knee surgery, recovery time can be very quick, about a month. If pain rather than arthritis is the main problem a hospital pain clinic can prescribe much stronger drugs than a GP, especially long acting capsules or 7 day patches like Butrans for constant pain relief. best wishes Andy

Answer 3

Your poor dad. I'd try some non-invasive stuff first. Heat is a good start so a hot water bottle but of course that will cool down but you can get these gel pads which you click and it activates the heat. To deactivate you have to boil them in water, let them cool until they're ready to use again. Don't know if they're the ones he's tried without success. Has he tried heat creams or gels such as Deep Heat or Ibuprofen?

I know many people swear by magnets! You know the bangle type thing people wear on their wrists? The bangles have moved on to be a much wider range these days so might be worth checking out. Just search for magnetic arthritis!

Arnica gel (get the purest you can) is a great soother. If you're a QVC shopping channel customer, you'll know it already. If not, here's a link
http://www.qvcuk.com/ukqic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail/params.item.211637/walk.yah.UKHB-U072

the description is mostly for strains, sprains and bruises but trust me, it does a lot more!

Have you considered perhaps seeing a homeopath or even better, a chinese herbalist? Any one of these worth their salt may recommend some oil or bath additives which soothe muscles and aches/pains before bed.

Taking sleeping pills is not gonna address the cause....just a sympton so apart from discussing with his GP, the above are alternative options worth looking into.

Hope something in here helps.....regards.

Answer 4

I am an alternative medicinal therapist and i can tell you that his pain is caused by inflammation so you should NEVER treat this with heat because you will only make it worse,use a COLD compress and get him some ARNICA cream from the health shop. To help Him relax you should get him some VALERIAN tablets or PEACEFULL NIGHT tablets these you can also get from the health store. Get him to go to a massage therapist they can really help him.

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Answer 5

Theres a product called synvic which is injected into the knee
and it works as a lubricant and boy does it work well. Its works
as good as having knee surgery.

Answer 6

I have just bought the 'Deep Freeze' cooling gel for my back problem. It's amazing and only £2.59 a tube. It numbs the whole area and reduces inflammation in the muscles and joints.

Answer 7

So--???-- its all part of growing old-- had it for years so well qualified to answer, a full knee replacement will be needed at some time in the future.

Answer 8

Tell him to ask the Doctor for Cortisone shots. They work very well for some people.

Answer 9

Cannabis....works everytime...if Doctor's were allowed they would prescribe it everyday...also great for women with cramps...my Ex was not a druggie but she swore by it....

Answer 10

tell him to go to the tanning bed the heat helps w/ the pain