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What Are Your Treatment Options for Knee Pain?

There are many causes of knee pain: injury, disease, and arthritis are the main offenders. Not surprisingly, each cause has different symptoms and treatments. The good news is that there are lots of ways to help relieve the pain caused by these conditions.

Care for your pain often involves more than one type of treatment. Treatment may vary over time and may differ depending on the type of injury or arthritis you have. We encourage you to discuss the following options with your doctor to determine the best course of treatment for you.

Lifestyle changes

While it’s hard to make changes in your everyday life, your knee pain is probably already forcing you to do so. The challenge is making those changes beneficial. By altering some small daily habits, you can positively affect the way you feel every day. Think about:

• Exercising. Developing a daily fitness routine is important to keep the body moving and the knee flexible. It may lessen pain, increase movement, reduce fatigue, and help you look and feel better.
• Controlling your weight. Simply reducing the stress on your joints may help ease pain in your knees.
• Using heat or cold. The use of hot or cold compresses on joints may provide short-term relief from pain and stiffness.
• Pacing yourself. Alternating periods of activity with periods of rest may help protect your knees from the stress of repeated tasks and reduce fatigue.
• Protecting your joints. Learning to use your body in ways that avoid excess stress, such as walking with a cane or not lifting heavy items, may guard against joint degeneration.
• Building self-help skills. Educating yourself on ways to better manage the emotional effects of arthritis (e.g., talking about your feelings with family members and friends, doing mental exercises, joining a local arthritis support group) may make coping with the physical effects easier.

Learn more about how positive lifestyle changes can help alleviate pain.

Medications

Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, can be used to treat knee pain. Some may help ease pain and help you sleep. Others can even change the way arthritis affects your body. Possible medications include aspirin-free pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, and sleep medications.

Learn more about the various medications available to treat knee pain.

Knee replacement surgery—is it time?

If you’re still experiencing knee pain even after you’ve made lifestyle changes and taken medications, knee replacement surgery may be the best option for you. It can help relieve your pain and get you back to living an active life. However, not all knee replacements are alike—especially for women. The Zimmer^® Gender Solutions™ Knee is the first and only knee made specifically for a woman—for a better fit, higher flexion, and more natural movement. And when used with a Zimmer Minimally Invasive Solutions ™ Procedure, most people have a smaller scar, a shorter hospital stay, and quicker recovery time.

Find out more about how surgery can help treat arthritis.

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