For many years, the most successful treatment for severe arthritis of the knee has been total knee replacement. Twenty years of gradual improvements has made this become the most reliable and lasting treatment for the relief of pain and restoration of movement for patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
When you undergo a total knee replacement, you not only remove the diseased area of the knee but also the healthy parts of the joint, including the menisci (washers). The menisci are located between the bone ends in each compartment, which allows the bones to slide forwards and backwards on the tibia, or 'shin', tracking the motions of the femur (thigh bone), making it a smooth movement.
As a Total Knee Replacement is a simplified mechanism to that of the natural knee, it is unable to mirror the natural movement provided by the menisci, resulting in an artificial joint that does not have the equivalent function to the natural one.
Even with twenty years of research and experience, the researchers and developers are still unable to provide an identical substitute, resulting in the replacement knee having a much simpler mechanism than natures own.
The main issue with a total knee replacement is the removal of both diseased and healthy parts of the joint. An alternative could be a 'half' knee replacement such as the Oxford® Partial Knee, which only removes the diseased areas of the bone.