Q: My mother is 49 years old and has been suffering from many diseases. She has high blood sugar, arthritis and now recently has developed a gap in her knees. Because of the gap in the knees, she is not able to walk and there is a lot of pain. She became menopausal at the age of 40 years and since then has been gaining weight. She has taken a lot of treatment like physiotherapy about 50 times etc and has gone to many doctors but they said nothing about the problem - whether it will be cured or not. Kindly suggest a solution and the best doctor for this so that she may at least be able to walk. We are really worried about her health.

A:I can understand the agony your mother and your family members are going through but, there is no need to panic so much. First of all, you will have to make sure your mother loses some weight. Secondly, you can use some hot fomentation for relieving pain. Thirdly, she can use knee caps while walking but stair climbing should not be done. I would suggest you to see some orthopaedic Surgeon in your city so that medication can be monitored and you can also get a bone density test done for your mother so that the condition of her bones can be monitored. Once her weight is under control, pain is relieved, she can do the exercises taught by the physiotherapist and gradually keep a record of her activities and walking. Well the gap in the knees is not so alarming as at that age many X-ray reports read that. If you have over and over been suggested physiotherapy, this must be within acceptable levels. If you have not taken a recent X-ray, take one more and along with the bone density test, your doctor will advise you the regime. I feel if the X-ray reports are within acceptable norms, then a regime of medication, weight loss, exercises and walking should help her and she should come around in a month’s time. In the meantime, let her not sit cross legged or squat on the floor.