You should feel comfortable asking questions about your knee osteoarthritis (OA). Providers should also welcome questions from you, about their background. Talking with your healthcare provider can help keep you healthy.
The following are some possible questions for your health care provider:
- What can I hope to achieve through treatment for my condition?
- What goals should we work toward?
- How severe is my knee OA?
- What assistive devices might help me?
- What sort of exercise program do you recommend? Why?
- What nonmedication treatments do you recommend? Why?
- Should I change my diet?
- Do I need to lose weight?
- How can I lose weight?
- What medication treatments do you recommend for me? Why?
- What are the possible side effects of this specific medication?
- Can the different medications I am taking interact with each other?
- Am I a good candidate for knee surgery?
- What type of knee surgery should I have? Why?
- What is my personal risk of complications from surgery?
- What are the alternatives to my current treatment?
- Should I use heating or cooling therapies? What is the right way for me to use them?
- Am I at risk for any other conditions because of my knee OA? What other checks do I need?
- How often should I come in for check-ups?
- How much experience do you have with each possible treatment?
- What are your personal success rates for each possible treatment?
