Having Knee or Hip Pain?

Do you find that you can’t chase after your kids or your grandkids anymore? Do you have trouble going up or down the stairs? Would you say that the quality of your life has been significantly impacted because of knee or hip pain?

You are not alone. Over 43 million people in this country now have some form of arthritis. It is estimated that that number will reach 60 million by 2020.

According to Dr. Michael Ciminello, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the hip and knee, the number-one treatment is weight loss. 

"For every pound that you lose, your knees and hips feel a 4- to 6-pound loss,” Ciminiello said. “It doesn’t cost anything, but it can be difficult. Especially when your joints are inflamed, and it’s hard to exercise. So you end up getting depressed. And you eat. It’s a vicious cycle. But losing weight will help you."

This type of advice was prevalent earlier this week when Ciminiello along with Drs. Eric Putterman and Dorothy Scarpinato as well as Ron Bredow, a physical therapist from NY Physical Therapy and Wellness, gave a free workshop to a packed house at Premier Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine in Melville.

The four answered questions from close to 50 audience members about hip and knee pain and the available options to deal with each. Dr. Jonathan Luchs, director of musculoskeletal imaging and procedures and director of ultrasound at Metropolitian Diagnostic Imaging, was in the audience, but chimed in to answer a few questions as well.

Most of the people in the audience seemed to be dealing with knee pain, which Dr. Ciminiello discussed along with a PowerPoint presentation with visuals for those in the crowd. He recommended total knee replacement surgery over a partial knee replacement, but he said injections are also available, as well as other possibilities.

“When I do a knee replacement,” he said, “the new knee will last 15 to 20 years, and that’s a conservative estimate. It can last 25 to 30 years.”

Ciminiello said that after the surgery, a patient stays in the hospital for three days, and then will receive two weeks of home physical therapy and then six weeks of physical therapy at a place like as NY Physical Therapy and Wellness, where they work on getting the range of motion back. Bredow said that NY Physical Therapy and Wellness is offering a free pain/injury assessment. 

Ciminiello, who sees patients at Premier Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine every Wednesday and Thursday and performs surgery at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, added that it usually takes about six months after the surgery for the patient to get their strength back in their hip or knee. 

“Between six months and a year after the surgery, the knee starts to feel more and more like a knee,” Ciminiello said. “And at a year, that’s as good as I can get you.”
He added, “You don’t have to live with bad arthritis. If you can’t do the things you want to do: golf, skiing, whatever, you should come see us.”

Premier Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine in Melville will host three more workshops to discuss the best solutions to relieve hip and knee pain on Tuesday, March 8, Tuesday, April 5 and Tuesday, May 3, all at 6:30 p.m. Seating is limited. To register, please call 631-367-4371.