Physical Medicine Options for Knee Pain Relief

We’ve discussed the types of knee pain a patient can experience. Now, we will focus on knee pain relief treatments offered by our qualified physical medicine practitioners. The first step in determining which physical medicine services should be incorporated in a customized knee pain treatment plan is to conduct a complete physical evaluation.  Once the root cause of knee pain is identified, we can then determine the best physical medicine services to treat the condition.  Let’s take a look at some treatment options for knee pain relief:

Physical Therapy

The goal of physical therapy is to re-train the body to function properly.  When the body is functioning properly, injury occurrences are significantly decreased.    Physical therapy can help relax soft tissues and tight muscles that are related to knee pain.  Physical therapy is also used to strengthen and stabilize the muscles, tendons and ligaments around the knee joint. Passive physical therapy may be recommended for individuals with severe knee pain. This can involve transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), ultrasound, heat, ice and stretching.

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy is a type of physical therapy that uses water to take the weight off of joints and allow the muscles to relax.  Knee exercise and knee extensions performed during hydrotherapy can help a patient regain and/or improve muscle strength.  Hydrotherapy is also used to increase blood circulation, which is especially helpful for people suffering from arthritis related knee pain.

Joint Injections

Joint injections can help relieve knee pain in a matter of hours.  Joint injections reduce inflammation and are used in physical medicine as an alternative to pain medication. There are many types of injections that may be used including:  hyaluronate to improve the cushioning in the joint, as well as more traditional medications. At Advantage Healthcare of Charleston, all joint injections are administered under fluoroscopic guidance. A fluoroscope is  a real time x-ray that allows our providers to see the joint at rest or in motion. This technology also enables our provider to efficiently deliver medication to the appropriate joint space.

These are just some of the treatments we may recommend to you for knee pain relief.