Is chronic knee pain interfering with routine activities, but you aren’t ready to consider surgery just yet? Multiple options for early-stage arthritis can help get you back moving and decrease the pain associated with your knee condition. Consult with an orthopedic specialist to explore these non-surgical alternatives and develop a personalized treatment plan tailored to your needs and lifestyle.
- Physical Therapy: A tailored physical therapy program can strengthen the muscles around the knee, improve flexibility, and enhance joint stability.
- Medications: Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help manage mild to moderate knee pain. Please check with your physician to make sure that you do not have any contraindications.
- Lifestyle Changes: Simple lifestyle modifications, such as losing weight, adopting a low-impact exercise routine, and avoiding activities that exacerbate knee pain can significantly reduce discomfort and improve knee function over time.
- Injections: These may include corticosteroid injections (for more severe acute pain) to reduce inflammation, hyaluronic acid injections to lubricate the joint (to help lubricate the joint, decrease pain, and possibly slow down the progression of arthritis), or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to promote healing.
- Bracing or Orthotics: Customized knee braces or orthotic inserts can sometimes provide support, stability, and alignment to alleviate pressure on the knee joint and reduce pain during daily activities or exercise.
- Assistive Devices: Using assistive devices such as canes or walkers can help offload weight from the knees, reducing stress on the joint and minimizing pain during walking or standing.
Knee replacement surgery becomes the most reasonable option when you have end-stage arthritis or the pain becomes unmanageable, despite exhausting nonsurgical knee treatments. Advancements in joint replacement surgery allow healthy patients to undergo same-day surgery and to return to most activities in 4-6 weeks. Improvement in symptoms causes many patients to wish they had undergone the knee replacement sooner.
Dr. Eddie El-Yussif is a Board-Certified Fellowship-Trained Orthopedic Surgeon and Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons specializing in Knee Surgery at Henry Ford Health, serving the greater Detroit area.
References:
1. https://www.orthoinfo.org/en/diseases--conditions/osgood-schlatter-disease-knee-pain/