Dr. Lanny wrote the book on arthroscopic surgery.
Dr. Lanny is Lanny L. Johnson, M.D., an internationally recognized orthopedic surgeon. He suffered his own arthritic knee problem. It was bad enough to interfere with what he wanted to do but not bad enough to have more surgery. So, the same curiosity and ingenuity that lead him to be one of the pioneers in arthroscopic surgery were applied to his own knee arthritis problem.
The result was a scientifically based and medically sound program using various unique appliances to diminish his symptoms and get him active again in a very short time; back to golf, walking and gardening. It worked for him and he now shares the ideas with you.
It all started 10 years ago with torn cartilages in both knees during one violent golf swing during competition. This was not smart, but it is history. The cushion cartilage (meniscus) shifted across the joint and tore off the articular cartilage (gliding cartilage). This is permanent damage. After two surgeries to remove the debris, he was not much better and in fact grew worse over the years so that he was severely limited in even walking. He had trouble with stairs and could not climb a ladder without pain. He could not comfortably dig a hole with a shovel.
Here is the problem he shared with many people who have knee arthritis. He had an injury to the inner compartment of the knee. The cartilage was lost and the joint collapsed. The knee became bowed. He lost ability to extend or straighten his knee. He limped. He loved activity and just could not do it even with NSAI medicine even though he tried.
Finally, in the summer of 2006, the knee was so swollen he had it drained and cortisone put into the joint.
The problem now was a fixed bow leg deformity, lack of extension of the knee with weak quadriceps muscles and total body weight gain due to inactivity.
To reverse this process, he devised the following appliances to correct the fixed deformities. Before one can actively extend their knee, they must first be able to passively extend the knee. So the Exercise Triangle was designed to correct the lack of knee extension while providing an exercise component to strengthen the quadriceps motion.
To correct the fixed bowleg deformity, a simple Fulcrum wedge was designed to hold the ankles apart while intermittent pulling of the knees together was accomplished with a dynamic strap.
After the soft tissues and ligaments were stretched he used a dynamic wedge shaped insole to provide a change in gait to unload the forces that otherwise would come across the medial joint line.
All this worked in a very short time so that, although not cured of the arthritis, he is able to walk several miles without pain, play golf at liberty, and do yard work he enjoys. He admits he is still working on the body weight issue.
This is only one case, but hugely successful. The success is based upon known scientific principles as will be shown on the general arthritis information page of RxKnee.com.
Knee joint arthritis affects different people differently. The location of the pain and the potential deformity may differ. Some experience pain without deformity, especially early in the disease. Many will develop a bowed leg as time goes on. Pain on the outer side of the knee is often accompanied by a knock-kneed deformity.
In order to address your specific condition, please make one of the following selections that best describes how knee joint arthritis has affected you.
Painful knee, but no deformity
Pain on inner side of knee with bowlegs
Pain on outer side of knee with knock-knees
Learn more about knee joint arthritis