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Knee preservation
Options that aim to keep your own knee working before replacement is considered — and clear advice when replacement is the better choice.
The basics
What does keeping your own knee mean?
As a knee wears, the cartilage thins and the joint can become painful and stiff. Wear is often uneven — one side of the knee may carry more load because of its alignment. Preservation care aims to reduce pain and protect the joint you have, for as long as it serves you well.
Clear choices
Preserve or replace?
There is no single right answer. It depends on your age, activity, how much of the joint is worn, and what you want to do.
Preservation may suit you if…
- Wear is limited to one part of the knee
- You are younger or very active
- Alignment is adding load to one side
Replacement may be discussed when…
- Wear is advanced across the joint
- Pain limits daily life despite other treatment
- Walking and sleep are badly affected
What’s involved
The options, step by step.
Exercise & physio
Building strength around the knee to reduce load on worn areas.
Everyday changes
Activity, footwear and weight changes where they help.
Injections & braces
Injections (PRP, hyaluronic acid or steroid) are offered case by case after assessment, and discussed with you. A medial offloader brace, which takes some load off the inner side of the knee, is another option.
Surgery, when it helps
Keyhole knee surgery (arthroscopy): small cuts and a camera to treat a specific problem, such as a torn meniscus or a loose fragment. It is not a treatment for wear itself.
Meniscus root repair: reattaching a torn meniscus root to the bone, so the cushion can carry load again.
Knee realignment surgery (osteotomy), such as high tibial osteotomy (HTO): reshaping a bone near the knee to shift load off the worn side, to help keep your own knee working. It suits some people whose wear is on one side, and aims to ease pain and put off replacement, though no operation can promise that.
What to send
Send these on WhatsApp.
- Any knee X-ray reports (standing X-rays help)
- Any MRI reports
- A short note on your symptoms and what you want to get back to
- Your name and town
Send to +91 84477 30708. We reply with an appointment time. We don’t give a diagnosis or treatment advice over WhatsApp. For emergencies, call 112.
Questions
Common questions.
Am I too young for knee replacement?
Age is one factor among many. Preservation options are often discussed first in younger, active people.
Will exercise make a worn knee worse?
The right exercise usually helps. A physiotherapist can tailor it to your knee.
Patient guides
Read the guide.
Knee arthritis: is walking good for it, or bad for it?
Walking and knee arthritis: what guidelines and studies say about pain, function and the joint, how to build up gently, and when to get your knee checked.
Read the guide →GuideNoisy knees: does cracking your knee cause arthritis?
Clicking or cracking knees are common. What studies show about knee noise and arthritis, why it’s a link and not a proven cause, and when to get checked.
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