[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/blogs\/taking-the-first-steps-life-and-language-of-oa-part-ii\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/blogs\/taking-the-first-steps-life-and-language-of-oa-part-ii\/","headline":"Taking the First Steps: Life and Language of OA Part II","name":"Taking the First Steps: Life and Language of OA Part II","description":"  Although the pain of\u00a0osteoarthritis (OA)\u00a0had not yet shown up in her knees, Dr. Lawson was quick to see the benefits her patients were having through treatments at Reflex. She learned about the studies behind Hyaluronic Acid injections and supplements like Fish Oil and their benefits in treating inflammation, the driving force behind OA, \u201cjust […]","datePublished":"2016-03-28","dateModified":"2024-01-09","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/author\/developer\/#Person","name":"Nick Petersen","url":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/author\/developer\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ea7fc410413ee0b715aee4c6b2d912c09623af5f85eaca6f6d7e0a2c223e1df?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ea7fc410413ee0b715aee4c6b2d912c09623af5f85eaca6f6d7e0a2c223e1df?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Reflex Knee Specialists","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/b1ec2b6df7.nxcli.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo.png","url":"http:\/\/b1ec2b6df7.nxcli.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo.png","width":169,"height":104}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2625808.webp","url":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2625808.webp","height":1044,"width":1536},"url":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/blogs\/taking-the-first-steps-life-and-language-of-oa-part-ii\/","about":["Blogs"],"wordCount":593,"articleBody":" Although the pain of\u00a0osteoarthritis (OA)\u00a0had not yet shown up in her knees, Dr. Lawson was quick to see the benefits her patients were having through treatments at Reflex. She learned about the studies behind Hyaluronic Acid injections and supplements like Fish Oil and their benefits in treating inflammation, the driving force behind OA, \u201cjust because we\u2019re physicians doesn\u2019t mean we know about\u00a0everything\u00a0in medicine\u2026 I started taking\u00a0Fish Oil\u00a0for my arthritis and I felt a difference,\u201d she said. Slowing Down However, between working at Reflex, working in the ER and her volunteer time as a SWAT doc, she started to notice a change in her knees. Dr. Lawson says \u201cphysicians spend a lot of time sitting and charting, getting up after sitting still for so long was painful\u201d. What was once a gradual stiffness in her knees that only came from sitting for too long soon progressed to an ache while being active, and then serious pain. After a day of SWAT training with the Clackamas County team, she would ice her knees and rest as much as she could, but the pain was always there. When she finally had\u00a0imaging\u00a0done on her knees and saw the OA that was present, she had the good fortune of already knowing what her next steps would be. \u201cI graded myself a 2 [out of 4] for OA and started HA injections with Dr. Riggs right away the injection was so smooth I felt no pain, \u201c she said. Physician\u00a0and Patient  Unlike the NSAIDs she had been taking for pain the\u00a0HA injections\u00a0didn\u2019t work the same day, but it wasn\u2019t long before the benefits became evident.\u00a0After several weeks, she was able to garden without pain and continued her work with the SWAT team. \u201cIt alleviated most of the pain,\u201d she said,\u00a0\u201cI have good days and bad days, but for 6-7 months I\u2019d have near complete relief- I was sold.\u201d\u00a0Having completed seven series of HA injections Dr. Lawson has experienced a large range of what OA symptoms and HA injections feel like. That helps when talking through the treatment with patients, \u201cI can explain the differences in sensations they could experience, it helps to be at both ends of the needle\u201d. With no proven cure for OA yet available, maintenance of inflammation and symptoms is the name of the game, slowing the progression of the disease and putting off knee replacement surgery. For years, HA injections were the only available therapy directly injected into the joint, but that is no longer the case. Looking Ahead  In the last several years, biologic treatments like\u00a0Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)\u00a0and\u00a0Stem Cell Therapy (SCT)\u00a0have progressed leaps and bounds in proving their effectiveness at battling knee OA. Dr. Lawson said \u201cI always wanted to try PRP because it\u2019s your own body working for you, but HA was working for me. So I decided to wait for Stem Cell Therapy.\u201d It is now eight weeks out from Dr. Lawson taking that next step and getting Stem Cell Therapy on both of her knees. Like any other patient, Dr. Lawson is excited to see what\u2019s in store for the next few months as the treatment takes full effect and what the future of her life with OA will look like. \u201cMy knees are starting to feel terrific- it\u2019s pretty awesome.\u201d Next Month: Hit the Ground Running \u2013\u00a0The Life and Language of Osteoarthritis, Part III"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blogs","item":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/blogs\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Taking the First Steps: Life and Language of OA Part II","item":"https:\/\/reflexknees.com\/blogs\/taking-the-first-steps-life-and-language-of-oa-part-ii\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]