'Educated Consumers' Opt to Keep Their Knees

OAKLAND, N.J., Oct. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- An estimated 4.7 million Americans have had one or both knees replaced, according to the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and there are definitive cases when it may be the sole remedy for a life of mobility. However, doctors of chiropractic medicine will tell you that mechanical treatments like chiropractic care and physical therapy are often a better option than surgery, allowing the body to repair itself. 

"What we have found is that at the extreme end stages of joint deterioration, there is a point of no return and surgery is typically the only option," says Dr. Brad Butler, Chief of Staff at the Oakland Spine & Rehabilitation Center in Oakland and Wayne, NJ. "However, people have to choose what they want. Do they want to treat what's causing the problem, which is almost always a mechanical issue, or do they want to wait until significant deterioration occurs and choose their fate?"

Americans are known for going for the quick cure, shortcuts in everything from losing weight to quitting smoking. And there always seems to be a procedure or a drug that will get you there quicker. While total knee replacement may seem a radical shortcut, the technology is so advanced that sometimes buying the new takes precedence over rebuilding the old. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates there are about 600,000 knee replacements in the United States every year.

A study released last summer and reported in Arthritis and Rheumatology magazine (July 28, 2014) concluded that more than a third of total knee replacements were "inappropriate" and labeled 22 percent of them "inconclusive," leaving about 44 percent of them to be categorized as appropriate from data analyzed in 175 surgeries over a five-year span. That seems to leave room for treatment or therapy other than surgery.

"Medicine is limited because it's mainly centered on either early detection of disease or treating the disease after it's already present," says Dr. Butler who believes U.S. medical doctors and surgeons take a backseat to no one. "The reason we have the most expensive health care in the world is because our entire system is run primarily by medicine. Treating disease is a very expensive proposition."

Doctors of chiropractic medicine treat more than 30 million people annually, according to Sharecare.com, and a big reason, says Butler, whose practice includes physical therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture and deep tissue laser therapy, is that "this is the age of the educated consumer."

The emphasis, he contends, should be on prevention and a commitment to "educate our entire culture on what to do before hand."

SOURCE Oakland Spine & Rehabilitation Center