Before you begin

This is a tool to prepare you, not to diagnose you

It takes about five minutes. Your answers stay on your own phone or computer and are not sent anywhere or saved by us.

What this tool does: it helps you understand what usually happens with an arthritic knee, lays out every option side by side, and gives you a one page summary with the right questions to ask.

What it does not do: it cannot examine you, read your X-ray, or tell you which treatment is right for you. Only a consultation and examination can do that. If your knee needs urgent attention, the next step will help you recognise that.

Step 1 of 5 · Safety check

First, a quick safety check

Some knee problems need attention sooner rather than later. Please answer honestly. This screen can only tell you to seek care sooner, never that everything is fine.

Is your knee hot, badly swollen, and very painful, together with fever or feeling unwell?Fever meaning a temperature above 100.4°F, or shivering and chills.

Yes✓No✓

Did your knee pain begin right after a fall or injury, and you now cannot put weight on that leg at all?

Yes✓No✓

Is your knee stuck so that you genuinely cannot straighten or bend it, as if it is jammed?A truly locked knee, not simply a stiff or aching one.

Yes✓No✓

Is your calf (below the knee) painful, swollen, warm, or red on that same leg?Especially if this came on over a day or two without an injury.

Yes✓No✓

Please answer all four questions to continue.

You can still continue and read about knee options for later. Please treat the advice above as the more important next step.

Step 2 of 5 · About you

A little about you

This helps tailor what you read. It is used only on this page and is not stored.

Age (years)

Height (cm)

Weight (kg)

Which knee?

Do any of these apply to you?Tick all that are true. These affect the conversation, not whether you can have treatment.

Diabetes✓ Heart or blood pressure condition✓ On long term steroid medication✓ Previous surgery on this knee✓ None of these✓

Step 3 of 5 · Your knee day to day

How much is it affecting your life?

There are no right answers. This simply captures how the knee is affecting the things you do.

On most days, how bad is the pain?5 of 10

No painWorst imaginable

Does the pain wake you at night, or keep you from sleeping?

Yes, most nights✓Rarely or never✓

How far can you walk before the knee makes you stop?

As far as I like✓ About fifteen minutes✓ Only around the house or street✓

Which everyday activities have become hard because of the knee?Tick all that apply.

Sitting cross legged on the floor✓ Squatting for the Indian style toilet✓ Kneeling or sitting for prayer✓ Climbing stairs✓ Getting on or off a two wheeler✓ Standing up from a low chair✓

What have you already tried?Tick all that apply.

Losing weight✓ Physiotherapy or exercises✓ Pain relief tablets✓ An injection into the knee✓ Nothing yet✓

Step 4 of 5 · What matters to you

What matters most to you?

Two people with the same X-ray can make very different, equally sensible choices. Your priorities are part of the decision.

How ready do you feel to consider an operation, if it were offered?

I want to avoid surgery for as long as possible✓ I am open to it if it is the sensible next step✓ I feel ready and want a lasting solution✓

A knee replacement gives lasting relief but needs a recovery of some weeks. A longer recovery for a more complete fix is…Balanced

Not worth it to meVery much worth it

What is your main hope from treatment?

To sleep and rest without pain✓ To walk and manage daily life comfortably✓ To return to active things like travel or worship✓

Step 5 of 5 · Your options

Your options, side by side

For an arthritic knee these are the usual paths. They are not either or. Most people move through the earlier ones first, and the right time for surgery is a shared decision with your surgeon.

1

Weight and activity

Every kilogram lost takes several times that load off the knee with each step. Along with switching to knee friendly movement such as walking, cycling, or swimming, this is the foundation the other options build on.

Suits

Everyone, at any stage
Those carrying extra weight
Early to moderate arthritis

Keep in mind

Takes months, not days
Needs steady effort
Helps pain but does not reverse the arthritis

2

Physiotherapy and exercise

Strengthening the muscles around the knee, especially the thigh, can meaningfully reduce pain and improve how the joint feels and functions. A guided programme works far better than exercising blindly.

Suits

Most people with knee arthritis
Those wanting to delay or avoid surgery
Preparing for surgery, if chosen later

Keep in mind

Needs regular practice
Benefit builds over weeks
Does not repair the joint surface

3

Pain relief medicines

Tablets, gels, and creams can ease flares and keep you moving. They are best used thoughtfully and for defined periods rather than continuously, and some need care if you have kidney, stomach, or heart conditions.

Suits

Flare ups and bad patches
Alongside exercise and weight loss

Keep in mind

Manages pain, not the cause
Long term use needs supervision
Not for everyone

4

Injections into the knee

An injection can quieten a painful knee for a period of weeks to months. It can be a useful way to get through a difficult phase, or to buy time, though the relief is temporary and it does not change the underlying arthritis.

Suits

A painful flare that is not settling
Buying time before deciding on surgery

Keep in mind

Relief is temporary
Cannot be repeated endlessly
Does not halt the arthritis

5

Knee replacement surgery

When arthritis is advanced and the earlier steps are no longer keeping pace with the pain, replacing the worn joint surfaces gives reliable, lasting relief for most people. It is a considered step, not a last resort, and the right moment is one you choose together with your surgeon.

Modern knee replacements last many years for the great majority of people. Recovery involves several weeks of rehabilitation, and the effort you put into that rehabilitation strongly shapes the result.

Suits

Advanced arthritis on X-ray
Pain that is ruining sleep and daily life
When earlier steps no longer help enough

Keep in mind

A recovery of several weeks
Small risks, as with any surgery
Best chosen at the right time, not too early

Your personal summary

What to take to your consultation

This pulls together what you told us and the questions worth asking. It is a starting point for the conversation, not a verdict.

Questions to ask your surgeon

Get your summary as a PDF

Enter your details and the summary will download to your device, ready to print or carry to clinic.

Full name

Email

Phone

You are a

Your privacy: only the contact details above are sent to us. Your answers about your knee and your health stay on this device and are never transmitted.

Please fill in your name, a valid email, phone, and role.

Understanding your knee options

This is a tool to prepare you, not to diagnose you

First, a quick safety check

A little about you

How much is it affecting your life?

What matters most to you?

Your options, side by side

Weight and activity

Suits

Keep in mind

Physiotherapy and exercise

Suits

Keep in mind

Pain relief medicines

Suits

Keep in mind

Injections into the knee

Suits

Keep in mind

Knee replacement surgery

Suits

Keep in mind

What to take to your consultation

Questions to ask your surgeon

Get your summary as a PDF

Your summary is downloading

Read more before your consultation