It’s been estimated that one in four of us over age 55 have knee osteoarthritis: that feeling of pain and stiffness (and sometimes that awful grinding sound) caused by the deterioration of cartilage that should be cushioning our knee joints. Why does this happen? Much of the problem can be attributed to wear and tear from our younger years, but other factors may also contribute. Are you female, overweight, or is it in your family? All of these may put you at higher risk. For an overview of knee pain, and osteoarthritis in particular, carefully take a seat and click here.

There are multiple ways to address the pain and stiffness- all of which have varying degrees of success. The easiest and perhaps most counter-intuitive way to is to keep moving. While you may think exercise might exacerbate your discomfort, in fact, it’s valuable to strengthen muscles around the knees and other parts of your body to take pressure off your knees. New research has even come out touting the value of hip exercises for reducing osteoarthritic knee pain. For more information on exercise and osteoarthritis, pull out your resistance bands and read the advice from the Arthritis Foundation.

Once you look beyond exercise, there are an array of interventions that can alleviate pain in some, but not all, situations. While anti-inflammatory medications can bring short-term, temporary relief, many find steroid or lubricant injections into your knees can help- but not always, and not as a long-term solution. New interventions, such as injecting stem cells into the knee, have proven controversial, expensive and possibly even dangerous. And the jury is still out on the value of supplements, even though some find glucosamine and chondroitin to be effective.

And if none of these help? There is always the last alternative of knee replacement surgery, a significant intervention that can be highly effective yet carries the risk of major surgery and recovery time. The number of these surgeries has skyrocketed in recent years and many find it life-altering in returning to their previous functioning and quality of life. But not everyone does- and given the risks and recuperation time, it’s clearly a last resort. To learn more, put down the pain killers and take a look here.