Living with chronic knee pain is frustrating. It limits your movement and takes time away from the things you love — like strolling through the garden, shopping in Buckhead or doing yoga. Many people believe surgery is the only option, but Atlanta Medical Clinic offers non-surgical treatments designed to provide lasting relief. Learn more about how our knee pain clinic can help improve your quality of life.
What Causes Chronic Knee Pain, and Who’s at Risk?
People develop knee pain for many reasons, but one of the most common causes is osteoarthritis. This medical condition develops when the cartilage around your joints breaks down. Cartilage reduces friction, protects the bones from stress and absorbs shock. Once it wears away, the bones rub together, causing inflammation.
If you don’t have osteoarthritis, your knee pain might be from an injury, such as a tear in your meniscus. The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of cartilage that provides cushioning for your knee joint. If you tear this tissue, you might experience knee swelling or have difficulty bending and straightening the affected leg.
Other causes of chronic knee pain include infections and gout. In people with gout, uric acid builds up in the joints. Uric acid crystals are sharp, so they can cause intense pain. If you have gout in one of your knees, you might also notice stiffness, tenderness, swelling or discoloration.
The Best Non-Surgical Knee Pain Treatments Available in Atlanta
At Atlanta Medical Clinic, we use viscosupplementation and alternative therapies to help patients recover from chronic knee pain. Viscosupplementation addresses pain caused by a lack of lubrication, while alternative therapies focus on preventing the destruction of additional cartilage. No matter which option you choose, an experienced knee pain doctor will deliver the treatment and monitor your progress.
How Atlanta Medical Clinic Uses Viscosupplementation to Relieve Knee Pain
Many people develop knee pain due to a loss of synovial fluid, a viscous liquid that nourishes cartilage and reduces friction. Viscosupplementation uses injections to replace lost synovial fluid, reducing pain and improving joint function. This non-surgical treatment option provides long-lasting relief, making it more effective than over-the-counter medications or prescription painkillers.
Before performing viscosupplementation, a knee specialist in Atlanta injects a local anesthetic to numb the area around the joint. Numbing the knee ensures that you feel no discomfort during the procedure. We use a small needle to deliver hyaluronic acid directly to the affected joint. Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance found in synovial fluid.
After viscosupplementation, you might have a little swelling or discomfort. We also ask that you avoid walking, jogging and standing for long periods for at least 48 hours. This extremely short recovery time makes viscosupplementation preferable to invasive surgical procedures.
Alternative Therapies for Knee Pain Relief Without Surgery
Viscosupplementation is just one of the non-surgical treatments offered at our knee pain clinic. We also specialize in alternative therapies, which are injections designed to stimulate the body’s natural healing process. This type of treatment involves administering growth factors that can reduce inflammation, eliminate pain and protect the affected joint. It takes less than 15 minutes to administer one of these injections, but patients report long-lasting results.
Why More Atlanta Patients Are Choosing Non-Surgical Knee Pain Solutions
Surgery can help with knee pain, but it’s invasive, expensive and leaves you out of commission for weeks on end. Having surgery is also risky. Any time you receive general anesthesia, there’s a risk of allergic reaction, breathing problems and other complications. Conservative treatments help you avoid these risks.
Non-surgical treatments also have much shorter recovery times than surgical ones. For example, it typically takes 1 year to recover completely from a total knee replacement. Yes, you improve over time, but a 1-year recovery period makes it difficult to stay active and keep doing the things you love. Viscosupplementation and alternative therapies don’t require long-term physical rehabilitation, so you can return to your normal activities fairly quickly.
Compared to surgery, conservative treatments are also extremely affordable. With a surgical procedure, you have to think about the cost of staying in a hospital overnight, attending regular physical therapy sessions and purchasing medical equipment for your recovery period.
How to Schedule a Knee Pain Consultation at Atlanta Medical Clinic
If you’re ready to get your life back, Atlanta Medical Clinic makes it easy to book an appointment. You can schedule online just by providing your name, contact information and some details about your pain. At your first visit, you’ll describe your symptoms and discuss your medical history with a knee pain doctor. We may also do some imaging to identify the cause of your knee pain.
There’s no need to let knee pain get the best of you. Contact Atlanta Medical Clinic to discover how our non-surgical treatments can restore your quality of life.