The knee joint is the largest joint in our bodies, making it particularly vulnerable to the stresses of daily life. Living with knee pain can significantly deteriorate your quality of life and prevent you from doing the things you love.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in four adults suffer from chronic knee pain, causing it to be one of the most common musculoskeletal conditions in the United States. While knee replacement surgery is sometimes necessary, many people seek effective non-surgical alternatives for managing their knee pain.
If you’re looking for non-invasive, non-surgical alternatives to knee pain relief, you’re in the right spot. This article explores:
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Common causes of knee pain
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Non-surgical treatment options
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Advanced non-surgical medical intervention
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Lifestyle changes that support knee health
Common Causes of Knee Pain
Pinpointing the origin of knee pain is crucial for effective treatment. Accurate diagnosis guides the selection of appropriate therapies, ensuring optimal outcomes. Seeking a medical professional's evaluation is often necessary to determine the underlying cause of knee pain.
Here are some of the most common causes of knee pain:
Osteoarthritis and Other Forms of Arthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent form of knee arthritis and occurs when the protective cartilage in your joints wears down over time. Other arthritis types include rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition affecting joint health. Osteoarthritis and other arthritis conditions can lead to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility.
Injuries and Structural Problems
Our knees are vulnerable to injuries, specifically the ligaments, tendons, and cartilage within the joint. Many sports, including running, skiing, cycling, dancing, and team sports, can lead to knee injuries. These injuries can range from minor discomfort to more severe injuries requiring surgery. Some common knee-related injuries include:
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Meniscus Tears: Injuries to the C-shaped cartilage in the knee that acts as a shock absorber. Caused by twisting or rotating the knee.
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Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injuries: Tears or sprains of the ligament that connect the shinbone to the thighbone, providing stability to the knee. Often occur during sudden stops and changes in direction.
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Torn Ligaments: Injuries involving stretching or tearing the strong bands of tissue that connect bones. It can cause pain, instability, and limited range of motion.
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Runner's Knee: Pain around the kneecap, often caused by overuse and repetitive stress on the knee joint.
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Jumper's Knee: Pain in the tendon below the kneecap caused by overuse and repetitive jumping or landing motions.
Overuse and Strain
You can also experience knee pain due to repetitive motion, excessive pressure, and overuse of the joint. Jobs that require constant standing, bending, and walking can lead to overuse and knee pain. These daily activities put added pressure on the knee joint and can lead to additional conditions affecting the soft tissue, such as:
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Tendinitis: Painful inflammation that attacks the thick fibrous cords that attach muscle to bone. Swelling is often a symptom of tendinitis and can impact mobility.
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Bursitis: A painful condition that impacts the fluid-filled Bursea that cushions the bones, tendons, and muscles near your knee joints.
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Muscle strain: Also known as a muscle pull or tear. When you overextend the muscles around your knee and part of the tissue tears, you experience a painful muscle strain.
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Synovitis: Inflammation of tissues surrounding the knee. This soft tissue covers the joint cavity and tendons, and inflammation can be painful.
Knee pain is frustrating and uncomfortable. It drastically impacts your quality of life. While minor injuries and overuse require rest and ice, more extensive, long-lasting, and chronic knee pain will benefit from more innovative interventions.
Non-Surgical Treatment Options
Before considering surgery, you may want to try non-surgical treatment options that can help manage your knee pain and improve function. From simple conservative methods, like rest, to more extensive options, like cortisone shots, you have options to meet your needs.
Conservative Treatments
Conservative treatments are those that require little to no medical intervention but still provide a level of relief from knee pain. You may want to try these options before extending your treatment to more rigorous or invasive methods.
Rest and Modified Activity
When experiencing acute knee pain, medical professionals recommend the RICE protocol (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation), which can help reduce swelling and ease pain. Furthermore, low-impact exercises, such as swimming or cycling, can help maintain fitness while putting less pressure on affected knees.
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist is knowledgeable about improving mobility, flexibility, and joint recovery. A skilled physical therapist can develop a program that significantly enhances your knee function through strategies such as:
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Targeted strength exercises for leg muscles (quadriceps and thighs)
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Flexibility and range-of-motion exercises
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Balance and stability training
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Proper movement techniques
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Gait training
Medications and Anti-Inflammatory Treatments
Some over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication targets knee pain as a result of sports-related injury or overuse. Many of these methods do not require a prescription, though for more powerful medications, a doctor will need to approve their usage. Treatments may include:
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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
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Topical treatments
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Ice/heat therapy
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Knee braces for support and stability
Advanced Non-Surgical Treatments
When non-invasive methods prove ineffective, patients have advanced non-surgical options to choose from that bridge the gap between conservative treatments and medical intervention through surgery.
Injectable Therapies
Medical professionals may recommend injectable medications that target knee pain directly. These injectable treatments can provide significant pain relief and include options such as:
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Corticosteroid injections for temporary pain relief
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Hyaluronic acid injections to improve joint lubrication
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Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, which uses your body's own healing factors
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Stem cell therapy to promote tissue healing
Advanced Muscle Stimulation Technology
Motive is a new solution delivering knee pain relief for patients and doesn’t involve drugs with side effects or medical procedures. Motive offers an FDA-cleared therapy that helps address one of the primary root causes of knee pain by fortifying the muscles surrounding the joint. This innovative approach:
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Strengthens quadriceps muscles
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Improves knee stability
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Provides app-controlled, personalized treatment
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Allows for convenient at-home use
Advanced muscle stimulation technology, like Motive Knee, allows you to target pain before considering knee replacement surgery. Few other non-surgical methods are as impactful as Motive for treating knee pain.
Lifestyle Modifications
Nobody wants to hear that diet and exercise are effective treatment options, but doctors agree that lifestyle plays a massive role in recovery and pain management. Small adjustments in your lifestyle pay significant dividends when treating knee pain.
Excessive body weight damages your knee health. Each pound of added weight puts additional pressure on your knees during daily activities. Doctors recommend low-impact exercises with proper warm-up and cool-down routines to manage your weight. To further reduce pain, wear appropriate footwear and adjust your activity to suit your skill level.
The foods in your diet can be almost as powerful as prescription medication. Anti-inflammatory foods, like spinach, kale, and blueberries, reduce inflammation, while adequate protein aids muscle growth and maintenance. Key nutrients and proper hydration are essential for joint health and contribute to a general feeling of wellness.
Empower Your Knee with Motive
While traditional treatments like joint injections and physical therapy play important roles in managing symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, strengthening the surrounding muscles is necessary for long-term joint health. By combining innovative muscle stimulation technology with proven therapeutic approaches, you can work towards reducing inflammation and improving joint function without surgical interventions.
Whether you're dealing with chronic knee pain or looking to maintain healthy joint function, non-surgical treatment options can provide the relief you need.
Motive is an innovative knee pain solution that uses neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to strengthen the quadriceps muscles around the knee. This helps improve knee stability, reduce pain, and increase mobility, offering a non-surgical alternative for managing knee pain.
Ready to take the first step toward better knee health? Learn more about how Motive can help you achieve lasting knee pain relief through non-surgical intervention.
