IntroductionDefinition
The knee joint is one of the most complex joints in the human body. It consists of many different joint surfaces that are in contact with each other. In addition, there are a number of ligaments in and around the knee joint that are designed to stabilize its movements.
In addition, there are the two menisci, which act as a kind of buffer discs in the knee joint. An artificial knee joint is, as the name suggests, a replacement for the natural joint. An artificial knee joint is therefore not immediately inserted if the natural knee joint is slightly defective, but requires careful consideration.
In general, waiting and trying a conservative therapy in the context of a knee joint disease is always the first choice. First, one tries to stabilize the injured or damaged knee by means of medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers or by means of physiotherapy. At the same time, one would like to build up the thigh muscles through training and thus create a certain amount of relief.
The most common indication for the use of an artificial knee joint is the degenerative wear and tear of the knee joint, known as knee arthrosis. Arthrosis of the knee is also known as gonarthrosis. With arthrosis, the slow wear and tear of the cartilaginous joint surface occurs.
The increased abrasion of the cartilage surface causes severe pain and at some point can only be treated by replacing it with an artificial knee joint. In general, there are different models of artificial knee joints. Depending on how much of the knee joint is worn and defective, there is the partial knee joint replacement as well as the full knee joint replacement.
Please note that it is also possible to replace only the worn parts. For example, if the joint cartilage is only defective on the inner part of the joint surface, only this part will be replaced. The outer part of the joint remains intact.
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