KNEE PAIN
Your knee pain stops here!
Knee pain can be caused by a sudden injury,
an overuse injury, or by an underlying condition,
such as arthritis. Treatment will vary depending
on the cause. Symptoms of knee injury can include
pain, swelling, and stiffness.
Call now (727)789-0891
to schedule an appointment and live pain free!

As far as knee pain is concerned, the most common problem seen by pain specialists is the painful arthritic knee, which does not respond to cortisone injections or oral medications. Other patients respond to treatments, but cannot tolerate the treatment, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, for a prolonged period of time due to side effects, such as stomach upset.

Many patients are very sensitive to oral anti-inflammatory medications, even the new ones, and have significant gastrointestinal side effects or allergic reactions. Additionally, some diabetic patients are unable to tolerate cortisone injections in the knee due to potential increase in their blood sugar, and there are patients for whom cortisone injections do not provide relief.

For this group of patients, injection of the knee with a “joint replacement fluid” also called “viscous supplementation” is an excellent option, which often times can provide long-term relief. There are multiple joint replacement fluids that your doctor may choose from-many will be determined according to a contract that your insurance company may have with one of the makers of joint replacement fluid therapy, such as Euflexxa, Hyalgaon, Synvisc, Supartz, etc…. For the most part, they are a naturally occurring substance, normally found within the body, which is well tolerated when injected into a joint. The material itself is clear and somewhat oily in nature, and when it is injected into the joint it provides reduction or elimination of pain and resumption of more normal joint function. For many, it is the last ditch treatment for the arthritic knee prior to surgery. It can be repeated every 6 months until it no longer provides adequate pain relief, often-postponing surgery for several years.

Generally speaking, however, these injections are administered to people who have a history of failure by other conservative treatment or an inability to tolerate other conservative treatment programs. The injection can be administered in our office, using a local anesthetic and a small needle, rendering the procedure relatively painless. Normally, a series of 3-5 injections are performed every week until the series is complete. Many patients experience significant improvement for more than 6 months following a series of injection

Although it may not cure everybody’s problem, it has almost no down side to trying it as a treatment and is certainly something to try prior to moving up to surgery or living with the pain.