Knee Pain Treatments That Could Relieve Inflammation And Pain So You Can Stay Mobile
If you notice any problems with your knee, talk to your doctor. They can recommend a few treatments to try. First, the doctor may run tests to figure out why your knee is hurting. It could be due to arthritis or an old injury. They may analyze the way your knee moves when you walk and test the joint for flexibility and range of motion.
The doctor will choose the most appropriate knee pain treatment to start, but they may need to try different things, including surgery, to get the results you want. Here are a few knee pain treatments to know about.
Physical Therapy Can Strengthen Your Knee
Physical therapy treatments for knee pain might include stretching movements and muscle-strengthening exercises. If your knee is stronger, it may be easier for you to walk upstairs and get up from a chair.
If your doctor wants you to wear a knee brace, the therapist can fit you into a brace and teach you how to use one. A physical therapist can also teach you how to use tape on your knee, massage it, and how to use heat and cold treatments at home to help relieve pain.
Hyaluronic Acid Injections Lubricate Your Joint
When knee pain is caused by osteoarthritis, your doctor might recommend hyaluronic acid injections to add lubrication around the joint and act as a shock absorber when you walk. This could help relieve your pain so you can be more mobile.
The injections don't cure your knee pain, so you'll need to take more injections or continue to search for an additional knee pain treatment that can provide permanent pain relief.
Regenerative Injections Help your Tissues Heal
Your doctor might talk to you about stem cell injections or platelet-rich plasma therapy. These are taken from your body and injected into your knee. They have stem cells or growth factors that help your damaged knee regenerate itself so you get relief from pain. Platelet-rich plasma is made from your blood and stem cells may be taken from your bone marrow.
Corticosteroid Injections Relieve Pain
Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory medications that help with pain relief. Your doctor might inject corticosteroids alone or with hyaluronic acid to provide both long-term and immediate relief from pain.
Over-The-Counter Pain Relieving Oils and Creams
If your doctor agrees that capsaicin cream or CBD oil is worth trying for your knee pain, you might apply it to your knee joint every day to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. It's good to discuss the use of over-the-counter pain-relieving creams with your doctor to make sure they won't interfere with your medications or other knee pain treatments.
Surgery To Remove Or Replace Damaged Tissues
Surgery is usually reserved as a last option after you've tried less invasive treatments. There are a few surgical knee pain treatments. One is a knee replacement where your joint is replaced with an artificial one. Another surgery just removes damaged joint tissue and leaves healthy tissues in place.