Knee pain is not uncommon, and it has various potential causes, including injury, wear-and-tear arthritis, and repeated stress on the knee.
There are a variety of treatments available that can help effectively relieve your knee pain. The type of treatment you need will depend on the cause and severity of your condition.
Let’s explore the various nonsurgical and surgical treatment options for knee pain.
Nonsurgical Treatment Approaches for Knee Pain
Your orthopedic specialist will likely recommend any or a combination of the following nonsurgical treatment modalities apart from the standard pharmacological interventions.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy utilizes a combination of various therapeutic modalities and exercises aimed at relieving knee pain and preventing problems in the future. Physical therapy can help improve strength and stability of the muscles surrounding the knee and increase range of motion.
Your physical therapist may also recommend that you wear supportive knee braces to shift your weight off the damaged area of your knee, consequently alleviating the pain and helping you walk comfortably.
Joint Injections
There are different types of injections used for alleviating knee pain. These injections can provide significant pain relief for up to six months.
- Corticosteroid injections can help to relieve pain and inflammation.
- Hyaluronic injections can help to lubricate the knee joint, to improve mobility and ease pain.
Regenerative Medicine- PRP and Stem Cell Therapy
PRP (platelet rich plasma) therapy is a regenerative treatment approach that utilizes a concentration of important growth factors in the patient’s own blood to reduce inflammation, repair soft tissue damage, and promote natural healing. The treatment requires drawing small amount of blood, processing it in a centrifuge, and injecting into the injured or diseased area of the knee to initiate healing.
Stem cell therapy involves a somewhat similar process, but it uses stem cells drawn from fat tissue or bone marrow to stimulate the growth of new, healthy cartilage.
Surgical Treatment Options for Knee Pain
For persistent pain or significant damage to the knee, your orthopedic specialist will likely recommend surgery. Depending on your diagnosis, your orthopedic specialist may employ any of the following:
Knee Arthroscopy
Arthroscopy is a surgical technique that allows surgeons to view, diagnose, and treat joint problems using a miniature camera (arthroscope) and small surgical tools inserted through very small incisions. This technique may be used to repair tissue damage, or remove fragments of loose bone, cartilage, or inflamed tissue within your knee.
What makes knee arthroscopy advantageous over conventional open surgery is that involves tiny incisions, so there’s less risk of infection and complications, and the recovery is quicker.
Knee Osteotomy
A knee osteotomy involves reshaping or cutting either the thighbone or the shinbone to relieve pressure on the joint. An osteotomy may help to delay or avoid knee replacement surgery in the future.
Knee Replacement Surgery
A knee replacement is often recommended when there is extensive damage to the knee—often caused by arthritis— or when the symptoms (pain, loss of function, mobility, and stiffness) no longer respond to nonsurgical interventions.
This type of surgery involves replacing part or all of the damaged knee with artificial components made of metal, plastic, or ceramic. The prosthetic joint is designed to replicate a normal, healthy joint as much as possible.
Find Long-Lasting Knee Pain Relief in Boynton Beach, FL
If you have knee pain and are interested in finding out about which treatment options can help you best, visit us at Personalized Orthopedics of the Palm Beaches. Our team of highly qualified orthopedic specialists offers high-quality, personalized care using an extensive range of cutting-edge nonsurgical and surgical treatments, helping scores of patients in Boynton Beach and neighboring areas move and live without pain and physical limitations.
To find out more about our knee pain treatment options or to set an appointment with one of our orthopedic specialists, call us today at (561) 733-5888. You may also fill out this online appointment request form.
