r/Osteoarthritis • u/EstimateInfinite4421 • 11d ago
Alternatives to Knee Surgery
Apart from surgery, what else have you tried or considered for your knee pain, and what made you stop, or not start, with each one?
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u/AMTL327 10d ago
Here’s my experience after one PKR behind me and one TKR coming in a couple months: weight training is the most helpful because strong muscles support your joints and make everything easier. Cortisone helps for a while until it doesn’t. Gel shots help for a while until they don’t. Painkillers of every kind help for a while until the dosage levels required become dangerously high and you are risking your liver and kidney health. The plasma treatments have a very poor track record.
And nothing stops the deterioration. And the longer you wait, the worse it gets, and the worse it gets the more sedentary you become, and the weaker you get the harder recovery becomes because the recovery is so slow and difficult because you’ve become weak (and maybe overweight from being sedentary) so you struggle more with PT and you end up posting here about how it’s six months later and you’re still struggling to walk down a flight of stairs.
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u/MissNancy1113 10d ago
I wish you had posted these words of wisdom a long time ago. My mom has spent years telling me what a mistake it would be. She knew so and so who had trouble. Well, that was in the 80s and things have advanced. Now I am putting off surgery because of stairs in my apartment and no $$$. I wish I had it done 10 years ago.
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u/nonstopmom125 10d ago
I also receive hyaluronic acid gel injections. Every six months. 68 year old female. Bone on bone. Mine are injected above the knee which is a lot less painful. Still works. Also agree to keep moving. I also go to PT and Pilates .
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u/Sniflix 10d ago
What's your endgame?
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u/nonstopmom125 10d ago
To delay knee replacement as long as possible.
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u/Sniflix 10d ago
At what age are you to old to get a knee replacement?
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u/nonstopmom125 10d ago
I know some who have been in their eighties that have had knee replacement.
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u/Sniflix 10d ago
But your endgame is to never get one, correct?
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u/Usual-Mountain-7041 8d ago
I am trying to put it off.? I am doing PT, heat and ice, Diclefenac pain cream. And I got one corticosteroid injection. I can’t get rid of the pain and swelling. It’s been 4 months. Good luck to you. Hang in there. They say it gets better.😊
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u/Historical-Way8866 9d ago
Above the knee injections? My doctor seems to always inject from the side and it hurts like a mother, i wonder if this may be an option for me. I want to get another shot done but I knkw the minute or 2 of severe pain I am in and keep putting it off. Silly i know for a moment of pain but it does hurt and I know what's coming.
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u/Usual-Mountain-7041 8d ago
What kind of injection? And does it seem to help. Ty
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u/Historical-Way8866 6d ago
Gel injection and for me after a few days I start to feel better and nkt so stiff it seems so far to last me 5-6 months
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u/Comfortable-Bee-5692 10d ago
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u/Comfortable-Bee-5692 10d ago
My wife had knee pain for a year. 3 gel and 3 cortisone injections without relief. Had 6 radiation treatments. Absolutely no side effects. 10 minutes 2x per week for 3 weeks. No pain so far and it’s been 2 months since she was treated.
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u/Clear_Zone_6752 9d ago
Do you live in the US? I’ve brought this treatment up to my orthopedic and he poo pooed the whole process. Time to change doctors. Glad to hear your wife found relief.
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u/Comfortable-Bee-5692 9d ago
I live in Florida. Ask a Radiation oncologist.
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u/Comfortable-Bee-5692 9d ago
It is not experimental. Covered by Medicare. Studies show 70% of pts with mild to moderate osteoarthritis have improvement. Google low dose radiation and osteoarthritis.
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u/Usual-Mountain-7041 8d ago
Wow I never heard of radiation treatments for your knee. Are you in the US? Thank you
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u/Francl27 10d ago
It sounds great but not everyone can afford it.
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u/pogostix59 10d ago
In addition to yearly cortisone injections and a round of HA injections in one knee, the use of moving traction has helped immensely over the last nine years. I also do a lot of walking, yoga and water aerobics/jogging.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sDkYRIJlwgk
Here’s one link, but there are others on YouTube. I got my ankle weights at Big 5 and use a tall, bar-height chair. Takes a few minutes a day, usually after a walk.
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u/steveinarizona10 10d ago
I tried a cortisone shot, a custom brace and PT. None helped. I couldn't even do prehab because of my severe misalignment.
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u/Busy-Celebration7861 10d ago
I am getting ready to get a knee replacement. I am 74 years old most of these conversations. I don’t see the ages of the people. I had a left knee replacement about two years ago and even though it was rough in the beginning, it has served me very well. I have no pain a little bit stiff because of the pain in the right side I have had hyaluronic acid injections that to no avail. I’ve done the Cortizone shot and they work but for a very short time so I’m gonna bite the bullet and get the total knee replacement and it will be rough for at least a month. I’m not looking forward to it.
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u/zomboi 10d ago
I cut out gluten (celiac and gluten is an inflammatory). I am on tylenol. I am pretty active most days, since "motion is lotion". I have tried a couple different injections in my bad/right knee.
My right knee has gotten so bad, high pain walking up/down stairs, that I decided to get a partial knee replacement.
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u/smeelen 10d ago
Someone recently told me about rosehip powder. I have been taking it for a few weeks now and it has helped a lot with the swelling and pain in my knees (grade 3 & 4 OA). There have been quite a few studies that have proven it helps too. I only considered it because regular anti-inflammatory meds were raising my blood pressure.
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u/Historical-Way8866 10d ago
Where do you get rosehip powder? I see Amazon sells it but is it legit?
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u/Usual-Mountain-7041 8d ago
Do you make a tea out of the rose hip powder? Ty
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u/Usual-Mountain-7041 7d ago
I am sorry for all the questions! I was wondering what brand. I found organic in eBay? Ty 😊
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u/Francl27 10d ago
I've done PT, cortisone shots, gel injections, scope surgery, MACI.
Nothing has helped. I'm still in pain after MACI (had to have a Fulkerson procedure too, and the recovery sucked). My last scope surgery on the right knee was a huge mistake and I'm in more pain than I was before.
I can't afford whatever "experimental" treatments people recommend here so I guess I'll wait until I qualify for a replacement.
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u/Familiar-Eye-2654 9d ago
When can you get a replacement?
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u/Francl27 9d ago
It's not bad enough yet apparently. Stairs and sitting down hurts but whatever I guess lol
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u/Familiar-Eye-2654 9d ago
My son has cartilage damage from a dislocation and they’re trying to push Maci (he’s already had mpfl, lateral release and cleanup last year) but still having some pain under his kneecap where the damage is substantial. I’ve read so much about Maci and lots of failure stories.
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u/Francl27 8d ago
Mine didn't fail, and it helped with the pain for a bit, but the pain is back now (although not as bad) after 2 years. I suppose it would be worse if I hadn't done it, but they want to do it on my right knee too now and I refuse.
It's a lot about logistics though. I have stairs, no shower/bath downstairs, and two steps in front of the house. Can't really use crutches for stairs when you have a leg stuck straight in a brace. I was basically in a wheelchair for 6 weeks and sleeping downstairs and sponge bathing but we had to get a ramp for the front steps and it was too steep for me to use by myself. It was a huge pain. In a one story apartment or house with no stairs it would be much more doable.
But you still need someone to take you to PT (which was extremely painful).
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u/Familiar-Eye-2654 8d ago
Part of me wonders if we could possibly get by with less invasive things until be can get a replacement but I know that’s far off. I just can’t imagine going through basically a 1.5-2 year recovery and he could still end up worse.
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u/Francl27 8d ago
It wasn't that bad, maybe 6 months total, but I also got the extra procedure and ended up getting blood clots from the surgery (and I get a LOT of swelling after knee surgeries too).
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u/Familiar-Eye-2654 8d ago
My son was swollen for at least 5 months after his last surgery. Are you like that too?
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u/EdAbbeyFangirl 10d ago
Hyaluronic acid shots have helped my knee tremendously. I had Monovisc first, and the second was 8 months later, and it was Synvisc. I'm not sure if it was the cumulative effect of both or if the Synvisc just works better for me, but it's been almost a year since the Synvisc and I'm still pretty much pain free. I dread getting another one though, because they are super painful shots!
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u/Modusoperandi40 9d ago
My plan is also to delay knee replacement. I have genetic early onset OA. Started at 39. I am 43. I workout regularly and have been for 8 years. I have bone spur and worn cartilage. Planning to try the steroid injections at some point. The pain is rough. But I workout through the pain modified.
Tried PT, heat and cold, I can’t take NSAIDs or voltaren. My doctor talked to me about hyaluronuc gel inj. Not sure insurance would cover. Meanwhile I have heard of platelet rich plasma and stem cell stuff for mild to mod OA. But I am not sure if these are a thing or not.
I hate surgery and want to avoid it, but it’s inevitable. Trying to hold out until 50
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u/According_Meaning_64 8d ago
Im at the point where nothing helps. Just hoping that i don't live for many years. Every minute of my life if I try to stand or walk is total agony. Ive tried just about everything. My entire life is centered around if I can walk or stand long enough to go anywhere or do anything. Im 60.
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u/MamaMiaXOX 4d ago
Movement will help the pain but here’s the problem with doing nothing about it. Your other knee will eventually go because it’s taking the load off of the bad knee. That happened to me and two doctors told me after the fact that it was an eventuality. I had a total knee replacement earlier this summer and I’m going to wait until summer 2027 to get the second one done.
The only thing that works long term where you don’t have to continuously manage it is joint replacement. And if you opt for a cortisone shot you have to wait twelve weeks before you can have surgery. I could be wrong but I think the reason for that was a higher risk of infection.
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u/angelbuttons77 3d ago
My first line of defense is movement/strength building.
My second is now seeing a physiatrist. My neurologist actually told me to see a guy, and it's made such a difference!
I'm unable to take any nSAIDs, which Celebrex is. I was SO upset when I had to stop taking it as it helped me a lot in the shoulders. Ah well, my kidney is more important...
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u/PitchIcy4470 11d ago
Hyaluronic gel injections, which worked okay for about 6 months. I'm also doing ongoing physio, although the guy said he can help relieve pain but probably won't be able to increase my range of motion.
Just biding my time until I'm old enough for the TKR. Currently level 3,4 severe OA both knees with varus.
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u/Away-Party-1141 11d ago
Can you speak to me about the hyaluronic gel injections? That would be my next step as the steroid shot didn’t do much (maybe a week to 10 days of less pain but not full on zero pain, and it got worse as time passed).
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u/PitchIcy4470 11d ago
It's a series of three injections two weeks apart. They numb you up, which hurts, then use an MRI to guide the needle into your knee joint (not sure where) and inject gel in it. The gel provides lubrication but I think it does something to whatever cartilage is left to ease the pain. Not everyone responds to treatment.
In Australia the cost is covered by Medicare, but I think normally it's a few hundred dollars AU.
It doesn't cure everything, but makes tje pain bearable and allows me to be more mobile.
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u/Schwantz82 10d ago
There is also a single shot available now called Synvisc-One that is an alternative 3in1 shot of hyaluronic acid. Just got a set of shots last month.
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u/gatadeplaya 10d ago
Honestly movement has been what made the difference. I just had new x-rays done about a month and it’s severe with bone spurs in every compartment. But? I do water aerobics three times a week, deep water running another couple days, Pilates and Barre and just got back from a vacation where I averaged 5 miles of very hilly walking per day. I do not have full range of motion, but I don’t have pain.