Do you experience mild swelling and stiffness in your knee after a workout? Are there popping or crunching noises whenever you walk? Think that these are just normal consequences of aging? Too afraid of surgeries to seek for a proper medical evaluation?
Over-the-counter painkillers, a bag of ice or even a good night’s sleep might be the go-to treatments to ease minor pain and swelling. However, ignoring these subtle symptoms are more dangerous than you think. If left untreated and undiagnosed, your condition could become chronic and permanently diminish your quality of life. Some common injuries include cartilage and meniscus injuries, overuse syndromes or mobility issues, and ligament injuries.
What if we told you that there are alternative treatments specifically for musculoskeletal injuries or conditions with minimum downtime, and surgery as the last resort? That’s exactly what Hip & Knee Orthopaedicsis offering – tailored treatments and evidence-based alternatives such as recommending non-surgical options including physical therapy, taking medications, having injections, or making lifestyle changes.
Dr Tan Sok Chuen and Dr Adrian Lau, Co-Founders of Hip & Knee Orthopaedics
We speak to Dr Tan Sok Chuen, Co-founder of Hip & Knee Orthopaedics (and Singapore’s only female hip and knee surgeon) to find out more.
Q: Dr Tan, could you share what are the trends around musculoskeletal injuries amongst those living in Singapore, especially during the pandemic?
There is an increased incidence of overuse injuries arising from running or home exercises such as patellar and quadriceps tendinopathy, Achilles tendinopathy, and also cartilage injuries over the knee. Most of these arise from sudden increase in exercise intensity after a long period of rest, or unsupervised exercises with poor techniques.
Q: How then do you diagnose and provide tailored treatments and evidence-based alternatives to those who have musculoskeletal injuries or conditions?
At Hip & Knee Orthopaedics, we spend time to find out what patients are truly concerned about and what are their expectations, and whether the expectations are realistic after obtaining more information about their condition through physical examination, ultrasound or MRI scans of their affected areas. We keep ourselves up to date with our reading and we frequently discuss and debate between ourselves the best mode of treatment for a particular condition.
Q: What are some common modern causes of musculoskeletal injuries and how can individuals correctly alleviate such issues effectively?
Common musculoskeletal injuries are due to overuse, or improper training regimes and/or techniques. During the lockdown, there was an increased uptake of running, cycling, and home HIIT exercises. Common injuries that one can treat at home include sprains and strains. An acute muscle strain can be treated with a brief period of immobilisation and protection in a splint or rigid brace (e.g. 2-3 days); severe ligament sprain may require a longer period 10-14 days.
Ice or cold packs can be applied over the affected area. Cold packs are typically applied for 20-30 minutes every two hours for the first 48-72 hours after the injury. A towel should be applied between the cold pack and the skin to avoid frostbite. Light compression bandaging can be applied over the injured area, starting just below the swollen area, and extending upwards to at least one hand’s breadth above the injury zone.
Elevation of the affected lower limb helps to reduce swelling and edema, this can be easily achieved by placing the affected leg on a chair or pillow to bring it above the level of the pelvis. Things to avoid in the first 72 hours after the injury include: heat rubs, alcohol, vigorous massage as these could cause further injury and swelling to the affected area. Minor injuries can get better after two weeks, however, if the pain persists, please seek consultation with an Orthopaedic Specialist.
Q: Based on your experience, what are some insights into Singapore’s musculoskeletal practices?
Musculoskeletal practices now entail a wide range of disciplines, ranging from orthopaedic surgeons, sports physicians, physiotherapists, chiropractors, TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) and physical trainers. I think it is good to keep an open mind so that we can all learn from one another. Patients have ready access to online resources, which can be a double-edged sword as not all sources give accurate information.
By and large nonetheless, most patients would have tried some form of self-therapy before they seek professional help, thus by the time they come to doctors, they want something definitive. Patients nowadays are also expecting a quicker recovery to resume their usual activities, therein lies the challenge for doctors to continually update and improve our processes and treatment strategies.
We’d like to thank Dr Tan for her views and if you’d like to know more about Hip & Knee Orthopaedics, do visit their website https://www.hipkneeortho.com.sg/.
Images: Envato and Hip & Knee Orthopaedics
