If you’re active in sports or other physical activities, you may be at increased risk for painful injuries to your knee joint. The team at OrthoCare in Harlingen, Texas, offers minimally invasive and surgical solutions for chronic knee pain. Experienced orthopedic surgeons Jose A. Cobos, MD, and Sujan Gogu, DO, customize a treatment plan that may include steroid injections, physical therapy, or joint replacement surgery to restore function in your knee and keep you pain-free. Learn more about your options for treating persistent knee pain by calling OrthoCare or by requesting an appointment online today.
Acute knee pain often develops due to overuse injuries that affect your muscles and connective tissue. You may also experience sudden knee pain after a fall or sports-related injury. Acute pain typically resolves with rest and at-home care within four weeks.
However, when knee pain is chronic, meaning it lasts longer than six months, it can be the result of underlying medical conditions that compromise the structure of your knee joint or surrounding nerves. Chronic pain can also be due to severe knee injuries.
Common causes of chronic knee pain include:
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are also a common cause of chronic knee pain. The ACL is the large ligament that crosses your knee joint and keeps your kneecap in place. Tears can result from direct trauma to your knee joint or from repetitive use injuries common with sports, exercise, and manual labor.
When you experience sudden knee pain following an injury, you should stop putting weight on your knee and apply ice to reduce inflammation. Over-the-counter medications can also reduce inflammation and treat pain.
If these methods aren’t enough to resolve your knee pain, the team at OrthoCare offers on-site diagnostic testing, including ultrasounds and X-rays, to get a better understanding of what’s causing your pain. Your provider physically examines your knee and tests the range of motion in your joint.
Once they confirm the root cause of your knee pain, your OrthoCare provider customizes a treatment plan to relieve your pain and protect the function of your knee joint.
If medications aren’t enough to treat your persistent knee pain, your OrthoCare physician may recommend intra-articular knee injections, which contain a numbing agent and a steroid to reduce pain and inflammation.
You may also be a candidate for regenerative medicine therapies that use stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to heal soft tissue and joint damage from the inside out.
If you have a more serious knee injury, your provider may recommend surgery to repair or replace your knee joint. Surgical options available for knee pain include:
Following your surgical procedure, you can benefit from physical therapy with the on-site therapy team to restore function in your knee and strengthen the muscles that support your joint.
Find a solution to end your persistent knee pain by calling OrthoCare or by booking a consultation through the online booking system today.
