Steve Bownes
Steve Bownes, 73, from the Isle of Wight, has had knee problems since his early teens. He then underwent a surgical procedure following a football injury to remove a torn and damaged meniscus, followed by further meniscal knee surgery when he turned 24.
Steve worked as a PE teacher, later transitioning into sports leadership and senior educational management roles. Having retired 12 years ago, he has remained active in the sports world. Living on the Isle of Wight, where sailing is a major part of the local culture and economy, Steve has a passion for the sport, having previously participated in Cowes Week and becoming Divisional Winner in the celebrated Round The Island Race (RTIR). Sadly, he has since been unable to take part due to the pain and discomfort caused by knee osteoarthritis.
Steve has experienced increasing knee pain and reduced mobility, even struggling with basic tasks like sitting on the couch or changing clothes. This was increasingly impacting his daily life and hampering his ability to carry out the usual tasks he’d previously enjoyed such as gardening and DIY.
Over the years, he has tried many treatments and remedies to try to reduce the pain, including over the counter medications & injections of steroid & hyraulonic acid. It was his son, Dr George Bownes a Sports and Medicine Consultant who recommended an innovative treatment – a single, hydrogel injection called Arthrosamid® that is performed as an outpatient injection which helps to delay the progress of osteoarthritis and therefore can delay or in some cases avoids the need for knee replacement surgery. Steve underwent treatment with Arthrosamid® in April this year and, as advised, began a rehabilitation programme of light stretching and recovery exercises, drawing on his background in physical education.
Over the following weeks he began to notice significant improvements — including increased flexibility, improved mobility, being able to stand and change in and out of clothes pain-free, walk with ease around his home town and the ability to “put pressure” through the knees again.
In the weeks and months since treatment, Steve has been much more active – walking on the beach, gardening, driving longer distances and started to play Padel in Portugal. Not only that, he’s back on the seas, sailing his way to recovery.
