In the recent past, Doctors have seen lot of arthritis patients coming across at a younger age where the age group of patients has been reduced drastically. With changing habits and lifestyles today, there is a surge in cases of arthritis affecting people even in their early 40s. Junk food, alcohol, steroid supplements, lack of exercise, obesity are all causes for the increase in demand for extreme procedures like knee replacements which have nearly tripled in this age group in just the last two to three years.

Arthritis is not only physically and emotionally painful, but it also has a social stigma associated with it. Often major life-events, such as establishing a career, get delayed if the disease flares up. Not only does arthritis impact daily activities, but the pain can be more severe and constant, even interfering with sleep. Arthritis happens due to the normal wear and tear of cartilage tissue, causing infection or injury to the joints. It has been observed that Indians in the age group of 30 to 50 years are falling prey to this disease, contrary to the previous generation where it was mainly a disease of the aged.

Under certain conditions, if the knee is severely damaged it becomes hard to perform simple activities, such as walking or climbing stairs. Pain aggravates even when someone is sitting or lying down, and the patient has to undergo Total Knee Replacement (TKR). Since knee implant designs till date could only survive a maximum of 10-15 years, it became necessary to have artificial knees designed for younger patients lasting at least 30 years or more, considering that a surgeon’s long-term goal for the TKR procedure is an extended life for the replaced knee.

A surgeon’s long-term goal for the replacement is an extended life for the total knee implants. Smith & Nephew recently introduced advanced bearing material composed of Oxidised Zirconium, called Oxinium has played a major role in replacements due to the reduction in wear rate between the metal and polymer, thus increasing the longevity of the prosthetic, which is almost twice as much as other alternatives available in the market. Oxinium implants genetically last long because Zirconium as a material has proved to be a far superior metal for use in production of total knee implants because of its hardness, smoothness and resistance to abrasion and scratching. Patients in their 40s or 50s with extreme wear and tear in their knee and seeking TKR to return to an active lifestyle need implants which can endure them. Earlier designs could only survive for10-15 years. However, the latest Oxinium (Oxidised Zirconium) implants last much longer. Due to their longevity, these Oxinium implants help bring lasting relief to the patients for their decades of active life ahead which include activities like sports, dancing, gardening, or other strenuous work

Risk factors for early onset of Arthritis:

Arthritis can affect virtually every area of a person’s life from work life to family life, having arthritis mean facing difficulties in doing every day jobs.  It can interfere with your life by making it more difficult to do the daily tasks — such as cooking, bathing, and dressing — that many people take for granted.

Comfort in your home

Sitting on the floor

Walking long distance

Working long hours

Sports and exercise

Bathroom comfort

Lifting weights

All of these activities and more will become daily drudgery should one be inflicted by the curse of arthritis.

Source : Sachin Murdeshwar