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Non-surgical options for knee pain

Knee pain doesn't necessarily mean knee surgery. There are many options for you to discuss with your doctor to help alleviate knee pain.

Exercise and weight control– Research shows that exercise is one of the best treatments for osteoarthritis. Exercise may help decrease pain, improve flexibility and maintain weight. A healthy diet can facilitate weight loss resulting in reduced stress on weight-bearing joints and limiting further injury.

Physical therapy– Your doctor may prescribe physical therapy as a course of treatment. It is important for you to work with your physical therapist and learn proper technique of your exercises. These exercises are specifically designed for your condition and may prove effective in building supporting muscles and loosening stiff muscles that cause pain.

Bracing– Your doctor may also suggest bracing or other assistive devices to add external stability to your knee or to improve your stability while walking.

Medication– Heat and cold are non-drug ways that may relieve pain. A warm bath, hot packs or cold packs are simple techniques that may help with pain. Medicines commonly used in treating osteoarthritis include: acetaminophen, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), topical pain-relieving creams and sprays, narcotic painkillers , corticosteroids, and hyaluronic acid. Many medicines used to treat OA have side effects, so it is important for patients to learn about the medicines they take. Consult your doctor before using medications for pain relief.

Injections– Steroid injections may provide relief from knee pain. Your doctor will advise you on the efficacy of this treatment and monitor how effective this course of treatment is for you.

Joint fluid therapy (hyaluronic acid)– Joint fluid therapy is a treatment to help treat the pain of osteoarthritis of the knee. It provides long-lasting relief from arthritis pain for many patients. Joint Fluid Therapy involves injecting a substance called hyaluronic acid into the knee. This substance is similar to the fluid that occurs naturally in the knee, synovial fluid, which helps to lubricate the knee, reducing friction and protecting from pain.

There are many other options promoted for relief of pain, and while some may be effective, others could be potentially harmful. Always consult your doctor before embarking on any course of care to ensure you will get the maximum benefit for your condition.


All information provided on this website is for information purposes only. Please see a healthcare professional for medical advice. If you are seeking this information in an emergency situation, please call 911 and seek emergency help.

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The information listed on this site is for informational and educational purposes and is not meant as medical advice. Every patient’s case is unique and each patient should follow his or her doctor’s specific instructions. Please discuss nutrition, medication and treatment options with your doctor to make sure you are getting the proper care for your particular situation.

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OXINIUM OXIDIZED ZIRCONIUM

*using OXINIUM GENESIS◊ II implants

  1. 2005 ASM International Engineering Materials Achievement Award.
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  4. Long M, Riester L, Hunter G. Nano-hardness Measurements of Oxidized Zr-2.5Nb and Various Orthopaedic Materials. 24th Annual Meeting of the Society for Biomaterials. April 22-26, 1998.
  5. Papannagari R, Hines G, Sprague J. Long-term Wear Performance of an Advanced Bearing Technology for TKA. Poster presented at: ORS 2011 Annual Meeting 2011.
  6. Parikh A, Hill P, Pawar V, Sprague J. Long-Term Simulator Wear Performance of an Advanced Bearing Technology for THA. Poster presented at: ORS 2013 Annual Meeting.
  7. ISO 14243-2 Implants for surgery — Wear of total knee-joint prostheses — Part 2: Methods of measurement. 2016.
  8. ISO 14243-1 Implants for surgery — Wear of total knee-joint prostheses — Part 1: Loading and displacement parameters for wear-testing machines with load control and corresponding environmental conditions for test. 2009.
  9. ISO 14242-2 Implants for surgery — Wear of total hip-joint prostheses — Part 2: Methods of measurement. 2016.
  10. ISO 14242-1 Implants for surgery — Wear of total hip-joint prostheses — Part 1: Loading and displacement parameters for wear-testing machines and corresponding environmental conditions for test. 2012.
  11. Davis ET, Pagkalos J, Kopjar B. Bearing surface and survival of cementless and hybrid total hip arthroplasty in the National Joint Registry of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Journal of Bone Joint Surgery. 2020;5(2):pe0075.
  12. Peters RM, Van Steenbergen LN, Stevens M, et al. The effect of bearing type on the outcome of total hip arthroplasty. Acta Orthopaedica. 2018; 89(2):163-169.
  13. Atrey A, Ancarani C, Fitch D, Bordini B. Impact of bearing couple on long-term component survivorship for primary cementless total hip replacement in a large arthroplasty registry. Poster presented at: Canadian Orthopedic Association; June 20–23, 2018; Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
  14. Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry (AOANJRR) Hip, Knee & Shoulder Arthroplasty: 2022 Annual Report.
  15. Innocenti M, Matassi F, Carulli C, Nistri L, Civinini C. Oxidized zirconium femoral component for TKA: A follow-up note of a previous report at a minimum of 10 years. The Knee. 2014;21:858–861.

ROBOTICS-ASSISTED SURGERY

  1. Gregori A, et al. Accuracy of imageless robotically assisted unicondylar knee arthroplasty. Paper presented at: International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery (CAOS) 15th Annual Meeting; 2015; Vancover, Canada.
  2. Bollars P, et al. Preliminary experience with an image-free handheld robot for total knee arthroplasty: 77 cases compared with a matched control group. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol. 2020;30(4):723-729

JOURNEY II Total Knee System

*Compared to non-JOURNEY II knees; Based on BCS evidence

  1. MaymanDJ, Patel AR, Carroll KM. Hospital Related Clinical and Economic Outcomes of a Bicruciate Knee System in Total Knee Arthroplasty Patients. Poster presented at: ISPOR Symposium;19-23 May, 2018; Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  2. Nodzo SR, Carroll KM, Mayman DJ. The Bicruciate Substituting Knee Design and Initial Experience. Techniques in Orthopaedics. 2018;33(1):37-41

POLAR3

  1. Bespoke.Bespoke.Report.HP_Stem_Polarstem Cementless (Oxinium XLPE R3 cup)_All.05/11/2021.18:31 ©2021 NEC Software Solutions (UK) Limited

* We thank the patients and staff of all the hospitals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who have contributed data to the National Joint Registry. We are grateful to the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), the NJR Steering Committee and staff at the NJR Centre for facilitating this work.   The views expressed represent those of the authors and donot necessarily reflect those of the National Joint Registry Steering Committee or the Health Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) who do not vouch for how the information is presented.

The data used for this analysis was obtained from the National Joint Registry (“NJR”), part of the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (“HQIP”). HQIP, the NJR and/or its contractor, Northgate Public Services (UK) Limited (“NPS”) take no responsibility (except as prohibited by law) for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of any data used or referred to in this report, nor for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of links or references to other information sources and disclaims all warranties in relation to such data, links and references to the maximum extent permitted by legislation including any duty of care to third party readers of the data analysis.