How to Relieve Knee Pain Without Surgery

Not only is your knee the biggest joint in your body, but it’s also one of the most complex. All of the components — your bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage — have to work together to provide you with pain-free mobility. 

As with any system, things can go wrong. Maybe your cartilage breaks down over time, or maybe you injure part of your knee joint during a pickup game of soccer. It happens all the time, with about 25% of adults reporting frequent knee pain. 

That’s why Dr. Jonathan D. Carlson specifically offers knee pain care here at Hawai’i Pain and Spine on the Windward side of Oʻahu in Kailua. With treatment tailored to your specific knee issue, he works with you to find relief. 

To help you avoid surgery whenever possible, Dr. Carlson starts with more conservative treatments first, only escalating care if your knee doesn’t respond. 

Lifestyle changes

Treating conservatively means Dr. Carlson starts with the easiest type of treatment: lifestyle changes. Talk with him about what your knee pain feels like and what triggers it. He can help you identify activity modifications that might help your knee heal. 

By avoiding certain triggering activities, you might be able to take enough stress off your knee joint to allow your body’s natural healing capacity to eliminate your knee pain.

In some cases, limiting stress on your knee means wearing a knee brace. This supports your knee, lightening the load on your joint so it can direct resources toward healing. 

At the same time, Dr. Carlson might recommend physical therapy. With targeted stretching and strengthening exercises, you can build longer, stronger supports around your knee, helping it move with less pain. 

Medical treatments

When these options don’t alleviate your pain, Dr. Carlson takes it a step further by applying medical treatments. That might mean:

• Steroid injections to alleviate inflammation
• Joint fluid replacement to provide more cushioning in your knee
• Regenerative medicine like platelet-rich plasma to bolster your natural healing capacity

Dr. Carlson tailors his recommendation to your knee. That means he chooses the right treatment to address the specific cause of your knee pain. 

What to do if your knee pain persists

Many people see relief when they pair lifestyle changes with medical treatments. If your knee doesn’t respond to that combination, though, it’s a sign that you need more intensive care. 

Fortunately, even a total knee replacement can now be performed using minimally invasive surgical techniques, which limits your downtime, discomfort, and risk. 

All told, you won’t know what works for your knee until you start trying out your options. To start with conservative treatments and work your way up as needed to find knee pain relief, call our office to schedule your appointment today.