A Guide to Knee Osteoarthritis after Menopause

When you develop knee osteoarthritis, you may experience pain, swelling, stiffness and a limited range of motion in your joints. As such, you may need to seek a medical procedure in order to find relief. Unfortunately, diagnoses in post-menopausal women are on the rise, according to research. And, since younger patients often wish to delay or avoid knee replacement surgery, this could lead a large population of women to seek alternative treatment options. Here's what you need to know.  

Knee Osteoarthritis after Menopause

After reviewing data from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease study to discover important health trends, this study noted a 1.3 fold increase arthritis diagnoses for post-menopausal women in the years between 1990 and 2021. Notably, there was an increase in all forms of arthritis, but cases of knee osteoarthritis increased the most. And, despite contributing factors including age and weight, researchers identified menopause as the biggest reason for this increase. For that reason, they noted that post-menopausal women should be given more frequent and better screenings to reduce their arthritis risk factors.

Finding Knee Pain Relief in Your 50s

Many women enter menopause (defined as not having a period for one full year) by the time they are 50. And passing that milestone means they immediately have an increased risk for knee osteoarthritis. Moreover, if you develop osteoarthritis in your 50s, you may need knee pain relief after several years. But, at that stage, you would not want to undergo knee replacement surgery, since implants typically need to be replaced after 20 years.

Are you dealing with knee osteoarthritis, but want relief without the need for invasive surgery? Do you want to avoid general anesthesia and overnight hospital stays while reducing your pain and protecting your mobility? Genicular artery embolization (GAE) could be right for you! This is a minimally invasive treatment that can help you delay or avoid surgery. Reach out to our team at the Georgia Knee Institute to start exploring your candidacy.