HEALTH AND WELLBEING: JOHN APPLETON
I have been writing articles on topics related to our health for a number of years and in Channel I keep you up to date on ways in which we might improve our health by becoming more aware of the many options that are available to us. John Appleton.
Sore Knees? You are not alone As I see it - by John Appleton
How many of us have friends or family members who have hobbled around often for years, putting up with pain from knees that are showing signs of wear and tear? I am sure we all know of people who have had to resort to surgery to in order to get their ‘life’ back. As we age and injuries suffered on the sports field many years prior significantly reduce our ability to get around, it becomes very clear just how important our knees are. Arthritis (inflammation of a joint) is the most common form of chronic knee pain. Arthritis tends to creep up on us and the problem for many is that they rely on pain relieving medications for too long, only taking action when the almost constant pain becomes unbearable. Surgery (knee replacement) can be very successful and it’s certainly something that is an option for many people if other less invasive interventions don’t achieve the desired outcome.
PRP is a treatment option that can be described as ‘very cool’. It’s totally safe, relatively inexpensive and it’s been around for many years. When I was in my 20s I spent a lot of time hurtling down steep European mountains on skis. An injury to one of my knees has recently come back to ‘bite’ me. An ultrasound showed that the joint had become arthritic and because I am very active, I investigated a potential ‘fix it’ that may avoid the need for surgery when the situation progressed beyond what could be described as a progressively worsening level of discomfort. I had previously had treatment with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) in a shoulder joint and given that the result was much better than I anticipated, I decided to see if the same ‘magic’ might work for my knee. PRP is a treatment option that can be described as ‘very cool’. It’s totally safe, relatively inexpensive and it’s been around for many years. Dr Zaid Matti is a musculoskeletal doctor in Albany who specialises in PRP treatments. The process involves an ultrasound ‘tour’ of the joint which Dr Matti uses to help with a diagnosis. The next step involves a local anesthetic which is injected around the site to be treated.
The really ‘cool’ part of the process involves drawing a cylinder of blood from an arm and spinning it in a centrifuge until the red blood cells end up in the bottom leaving the yellowy coloured fluid, plasma at the top. Within the plasma are the platelets, which are the smallest of our blood cells and so called because they resemble ‘plates’. They have a key role in forming clots to stop bleeding when we sustain an injury, but they have another very important function as regenerative cells that release growth factors which promote healing and repair. They actively ‘recruit’ stems cells to the site of injury which go about rebuilding damaged tissues. Armed with a syringe filled with plasma ‘rich’ in regenerative platelets, Dr Matti injects the PRP around the joint using ultrasound for guidance. It’s all but painless and apart from limiting my exercise programme (powerwalking) for a couple of days, I was ‘good to go’. I have been very pleased with the outcome. I am walking pain-free with only a minor ‘niggle’ when walking up steep hills. The cost is around $1,500 for a treatment and I understand that some health insurance companies will cover it. I am with Southern Cross and they don’t. For the benefit that I have felt and the likelihood that I may sidestep a surgical intervention, I think it’s well worth the outlay. One treatment may provide sufficient relief, but additional treatments may be necessary for some folk. I am going with two. A retrospective study conducted in Spain which included 667 patients found that with PRP treatment, 86% of patients in the survival analysis study did not undergo joint replacement surgery during the five year follow-up period. As I see it, the most important thing is to seek treatment as early as possible in the disease process. John Appleton john@johnappleton.co.nz 09 489 9362 www.johnappleton.co.nz
www.channelmag.co.nz Issue 120 - June 2021
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