Channel NewsAsiaOrthopaedic specialists said that the typical age of patients who require knee replacements was over the age of 60. However, there was a minority of those who suffer knee pains in their 40s.
Adjunct Assistant Professor Wang Lushun, Head and Senior Consultant of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital's Division of Hip and Knee Surgery, said that their patients in their 40s make up less than 5 per cent of the knee replacement patients.
However, knee pain in more common than you think. In fact, there are nearly as many patients in their 40s with knee pain as those over 60 years old – or at least in the outpatient clinic at Alexandra Hospital, according to Dr Melvin Tan, an Associate Consultant with Orthopaedic Surgery.
Fortunately, pain for the average 40-something is still “manageable with non-surgical treatment”, said Dr Chua Wei Liang, Head and Consultant with National University Hospital’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Division of Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Surgery.
Generally, ageing, weight gain and being female predispose patients to require knee replacement surgeries. Secondary factors include injuries, inflammatory arthritis and infection.
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