Good News for Bad Knees

As much as some of us may loathe our knees--for the unreliable, sore, creaking company they provide--we’d just as soon keep them. Even a run-down, sports-scarred, crunchy pair of walking joints seems more noble than knee replacements, as useful as those prosthetics can be.

That’s why orthopedic surgeons nationwide are encouraged by experiments with a device, called the Uni Spacer, that is inserted in the knee to restore stability and alignment while relieving arthritis pain.

About 170 patients in the United States have received the UniSpacer, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration but for now is available only to patients in research studies. Surgeons insert the device through a small incision in the knee during a one-hour procedure, says Dr. Marc J. Friedman of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Van Nuys. No alteration to the surrounding bone or soft tissue is required.

The device works by providing a smooth surface for bones to glide over when the knee cartilage has worn away. Some patients experience immediate pain relief and improved knee function as soon as six weeks, Friedman said.

The device won’t help everyone with knee pain. The best candidates are healthy people with arthritis only in the medial, or inside, compartment of the knee joint.

--Shari Roan