Proper nutrition & healthy lifestyle keep knee problems at bay: Dr. Garg

Joint problems or we can say knee joint problems are rather rampant. Let alone old people, even young people are suffering from it these days. What are the prime reasons behind this?

Poor lifestyle and nutritional deficiency are primarily responsible for this health issue. Remember our great-grandparents never had these issues unless there were some genetic causes like arthritis (Gout, rheumatoid or other) only because of their lifestyle. They were hard workers, walked, or cycled a lot. With good nutrition, they always had a good supply to repair their damaged tissue readily. Nowadays, it is very common to find nutritional and vitamin deficiency.

What is your advice to someone who feels his/her knees are hurting?

Pain in the knee or other joints is common in day-to-day life and all pains need not require the attention of a doctor. However, if one feels that pain is not subsiding in 48 hours from the time of occurrence then he should certainly meet an expert. Proper investigations and precise diagnosis are the key to the way forward. The motto of the treatment should be preserving function and repairing damages without surgery. Many times surgery gives good relief from pain but at the cost of accelerated degeneration or loss of functions. Knee replacement is a good pain relief but one can't run or jump or do extreme bending of the knee joint. So, try to avoid these surgeries as much as possible. Anyways, what nature has created could not be replicated by man or science.

What is the line of treatment in case of a knee problem? Is surgery the only solution?

Yes; there are options other than surgeries, but due to lack of availability of latest technologies, awareness and training, most of the orthopedics in India either do not offer or oppose these treatment options. They are widely accepted and offered in western countries like the UK and the US. Depending on injuries, we can always go for the most suitable regenerative medicine options which have very good potential in handling these issues.

Is there any diet and physiotherapy regime one should follow to minimize joint pain and remain mobile?

Yes, of course a good diet rich in natural proteins (not supplements), vitamins, good fat, and proper physiotherapy are key to good joint health.

What precautions should people with knee problems take? Is Yoga advisable for them?

When yoga is done in the right way it will surely help patients suffering from joint issues, but it depends on many factors. Sometimes asanas have no or negligible effects on knee health. Precautions are key factors in already damaged or degenerated joints where you have to prevent further joint damage or give time to heal damaged knee tissues/injuries.

 Many sports persons whose wear and tear is far more than the ordinary persons see their career end abruptly. Is there any hope for them?

With proper usage of technology, such sportspersons can be back to track in much shorter time intervals as compared to standard surgeries. Many places (sports clubs, national teams) across the world have these technologies as an integral part of their injury management program.

You have designed a treatment process which promises a higher success rate. Please tell us about it.

When I was a young doctor, I always felt bad when I had to offer “surgeries only” as the option of treatment for joints, muscle and ligament injuries. With proper training and transfer of technologies, we are now able to treat these injuries in the most natural way with the help of patient’s own cells which play in natural repair mechanisms. The best part is there are no side effects as these are natural healing processes, and no or minimal scarring because no tissues are cut (incisions or sutures or any scar inside or on skin) while this healing occurs. We use the patient’s own healing cells to repair their own damages.

Downtime is really half as compared to surgical processes and long-term outcomes are at par. Over the period of time, all surgical techniques have emerged as minimally invasive and least destructive ways but major joint interventions are still open surgical procedures; and regenerative medicine is the best minimally invasive options for such patients.