Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common condition that affects a person’s joints, causing chronic pain, but did you know that this condition affects women more frequently — and perhaps even more severely — than it does men? Approximately 10% of women between the ages of 40 and 49 have knee OA (compared to 7% of men), while 35% of women between 60 and 69 have the condition (compared to 19% of men). This makes it clear that chronic knee pain is a very real issue for women’s health.
As anyone with chronic knee pain will tell you, the condition has serious consequences for quality of life. Knee pain can make everyday activities — like walking, climbing stairs, and doing household chores — painful and more difficult. Beyond the physical discomfort it causes, knee pain can also have psychological effects such as depression, anxiety, and social isolation. And unfortunately for women, studies have found that women have significantly worse effects from knee pain than men.
The typical solutions for knee pain can vary depending on the severity of the situation. For minor pain, rest, ice, compression, and over-the-counter pain relievers may do the trick. Chronic moderate to severe pain may require physical therapy and, in many cases, prescription painkillers and/or invasive injections or surgery. However, many patients with moderate to severe knee pain are understandably hesitant to embrace these treatments due to their risk of complications.
A non-invasive, FDA-approved treatment for knee OA
Thankfully, there is a non-invasive treatment option that can help patients with their knee pain without requiring surgery or potentially addictive medicines: Apos. Apos is an FDA-cleared footworn medical device with a treatment plan that has been clinically proven to reduce chronic knee pain associated with OA and improve function. Patients only have to wear Apos for up to an hour a day at home as they go about their daily routine, and then they can get back to doing the things they love to do. Best yet, Apos is covered by many insurance plans, making it an affordable alternative to more expensive options like surgery.
Apos is not a new name in the medical industry, either. It has been around for over 15 years and has served over 150,000 patients worldwide. Apos’s clinical results speak for themselves — according to over 70 clinical publications, 89% of knee surgery candidates delayed surgery for up to 6 years, 98% would recommend the device to their family or friends, and patients reported an average 70% reduction in pain. With these numbers, it’s no wonder that so many patients are beginning to turn to Apos as a treatment for their knee pain.
How Apos treats chronic knee pain
Apos helps alleviate knee pain by training a patient’s gait — how they walk. This personalized treatment addresses the unique cause of each patient’s knee pain, helping them move and live better. Studies have long shown that gait can be a leading cause of knee pain, so rather than managing symptoms like other noninvasive solutions like ice, compression, and pain relievers, Apos seeks to reduce that pain by addressing its root cause.
The first aspect of Apos’s approach is neuromuscular retraining. The convexity of the device’s pods (pertupods) creates microinstability, which increases proprioception and re-educates neuromuscular pathways. At the same time, the custom pod positioning has the effect of biomechanical redistribution. In other words, the device redirects forces away from unhealthy joint compartments and improves patients’ gait.
This combined approach of neuromuscular retraining and biomechanical redistribution has profound effects on a patient’s knee pain. In the short term, the device helps individuals redistribute their weight away from painful areas, and in the long term, it helps patients retrain how they walk, providing relief even when they are not wearing the Apos device.
Simply put, Apos treats not only the precise symptoms but also the underlying causes of knee pain — safely and in the comfort of a patient’s home — using complex science made simple.
How Apos helps people live with less pain
The Apos website offers several testimonials from patients whose lives have been changed thanks to the treatment provided by Apos. “I don’t have time in my schedule, in my life right now, for the recovery it would take from a surgery, and I was really looking for an alternative — something that was not narcotic, something that was not surgical, and something that worked,” says patient Margaret J. “Using this shoe every day has really made a tremendous difference. I highly recommend it.”
Indeed, gone are the days when people had to rely on invasive surgeries or potentially addictive painkillers to treat the symptoms of their knee pain. Countless patients have seen success thanks to the non-invasive footworn medical device Apos, and you, too, can join the ranks of the patients living with less pain and greater mobility. Find out today if you qualify for Apos.