Lisa Makrides, MD, PC
We also provide services for Shoulder Pain, Tendonitis, Medial and Lateral Epicondylitis, Tennis Elbow, and Golfer’s Elbow.
Knee pain is a common condition...
Knee pain is a common condition that may be a result of injury, a ruptured ligament or torn cartilage, medical conditions including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and septic infections can also cause knee pain. On occasion, an injury or degeneration of bone or cartilage can cause a piece of bone or cartilage to break off and float in the joint space. This can cause pain with knee joint movement. Sometimes if a patient has hip or foot pain, they change the way they walk, which can also impact the knee and cause pain.
There are a number of factors...
There are a number of factors that increase a patient’s risk for new or worsening knee pain. These include excess weight, lack of muscle strength and flexibility, as well as certain sports. These include alpine skiing with its rigid ski boots and potential for falls, basketball’s jumps and pivots, and repeated jumping for patients that run or jog. Jobs that require repetitive stress on the knees such as construction or farming also can increase your risk. Having had a previous knee injury makes it more likely that you will re-injure it.
Some of the signs and symptoms...
Some of the signs and symptoms of knee pain are redness, swelling, and increased warmth to the touch. The affected knee may pop and grind or not extend fully.
Regenerative medicine...
Regenerative medicine is now being utilized more and more. Treatments like Platelet Rich Plasma and Exosomes are utilized to heal and restore damaged tissue and bone with an individual’s own cells. Platelet Rich Plasma is an in-office procedure that requires drawing a patient’s own blood, isolating the nutrient rich platelets, and re-injecting them into the area of damage. The platelets are then able to slow down and alter the course of disease while aiding in the healing process. There are many athletes who have had these treatments and avoided surgeries such as Stephen Curry and Jerryd Bayless, both professional basketball players. This is because platelets cut down on healing time by 50%.
Treatment and Prevention
Prevention is also an integral part of staying healthy and avoiding knee injury. Some things to do to stay healthy is maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, or adding low impact aerobics. If you play a competitive sport, work with your trainer and coach to make sure your body is ready for play. Strength training and maintaining flexibility also go hand in hand for preventing injury.
Some of the minimally invasive procedures that can help alleviate chronic knee pain include steroid joint injections, hyaluronic visco supplementation, and genicular nerve blocks. Sometimes it’s a combination of treatments and physical therapy that helps the pain go away.
Over-the-counter medications, heat/ice, rest, elevation, braces, and sometimes physical therapy can help knee pain.
Surgery is sometimes recommended if the knee is unstable or the disease process so severe that a patient requires a total knee arthroplasty.
There are a number of reasons...
There are a number of reasons for hip pain including arthritis, both inflammatory and noninflammatory, infectious causes (septic arthritis), fracture, Gaucher’s disease, avascular necrosis, sciatica, sprains, strains, and iliotibial band syndrome that may contribute to hip discomforts. Several types of injuries may contribute including bursitis, dislocation, hip fracture, hip labral tear, inguinal hernia, and tendonitis.
Hip pain can be treated...
Hip pain can be treated a variety of ways including trochanteric hip joint injections with steroids and hip joint nerve blocks with radiofrequency ablation. These in-office procedures can be life changing for patients that deal with chronic pain on a daily basis.
Sometimes after total hip surgery...
After total hip surgery, patients sometimes continue to experience hip pain even when the hip has been replaced. The hip joint nerve can block those nerves that send the painful signal. The RFA can last 6 months or more and can be repeated. For patients with little alternative, this can be a major improvement in their quality of life.
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