Knee Treatment

At St. Elizabeth, we know knee surgery isn’t always the answer. Our Orthopaedic team’s primary focus is to create a customized treatment plan that minimizes your knee pain and maximizes your quality of life. Your treatment plan will include nonsurgical treatment options such as exercise, physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, and injections.

Common Conditions of Knee Pain

Knee Injury

If you have knee pain with a specific movement or a gradual increase in pain, especially during movement such as running, it may be linked to an injury. A key indicator of a knee injury is an abnormal running gait or feeling apprehensive about any type of movement.

Knee Soreness

Symmetrical or bilateral soreness after exercise is typical. With a careful approach, you can typically work through muscle soreness using pain as your guide. Take it slow and incorporate a lot of stretching before movement. If your pain escalates in any way, it’s important to listen to your body and stop to avoid further injury.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis worldwide, affecting more than 20 million people in the United States. The painful joint degeneration is most common in older adults and often affects large joints such as the knee, hip, neck and lower back.

In healthy joints, your cartilage provides cushioning that acts as a shock absorber and allows bones to move smoothly over each other. If you have osteoarthritis, that cartilage breaks down over time. This can lead to bone spurs and cause pain, swelling and stiffness that make it difficult for you to move without pain.

Sprains and fractures often occur during a sports injury for children and active adults, while a fall is the most common cause for wrist sprains and fractures for the elderly. If you or a loved one is still in pain after icing and elevating, go get an X-ray. Fractures mistaken for sprains can heal poorly and ultimately cause long-term problems.

Man suffering from knee pain sitting sofa

Learn More

If surgery is necessary, our physicians can provide a referral to one of our affiliated orthopedic surgeons. For more information on surgical options, please contact us at askortho@stelizabeth.com.

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Non-Surgical Knee Pain Treatments

Nonsurgical treatments can be used singularly or in conjunction with one another. Oftentimes, your physician will prescribe a combination of exercises and physical therapy along with NSAIDS to get the most effective combination of treatments.

Exercise – It may seem counter-intuitive that exercise improves your knee pain. However, studies show exercise can reduce and sometimes even prevent joint pain from occurring. Exercising gets your blood pumping and strengthens your muscles and joints. Low-impact exercise options may include activities such as, yoga, tai chi, walking or swimming. Make sure to warm up with gentile stretching before each exercise session.
Physical Therapy – St. Elizabeth offers many different Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy locations throughout the Tri-State region. Our physical therapists work with you to improve muscle strength and motion in your knee. Through manual therapy and supervised exercises, your physical therapist will help you reduce knee pain, have less stiffness in your knee joint and improve your knee’s functional ability. Physical therapy is often used in patients who are considering knee surgery as a means to improve function without surgical intervention.
Anti-Inflammatory Medications – Your physician may suggest anti-inflammation medication to help reduce the inflammation in and around your knee. These medications, known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), can help relieve mild to moderate pain by reducing inflammation.
Injections – A corticosteroid (also known as a cortisone shot) is often given as a temporary solution to help relieve your knee pain. The steroid is injected directly into your knee joint, helping to reduce inflammation and pain. However, there is a downside: too many injections can cause joint damage, so typically there is a limit on the number of cortisone shots a patient can receive.