Knee Pain

What Causes Chronic Knee Pain?

Knee pain can result from an injury to the knee, often suffered in a fall or during high-impact physical activity like some sports or jobs. You can also develop chronic knee pain due to underlying medical conditions that cause inflammation and/or deterioration in the joint and soft tissues of the knee.

The most common causes of chronic knee pain include:

• ACL tears
• Bone fractures
• Meniscus tears
• Ruptured tendons

Chronic conditions like osteoarthritis can cause wear-and-tear of the protective coverings at the end of your joints. This results in your bones rubbing together, causing chronic pain and limiting your range of motion.

Rheumatoid arthritis is another common condition that can affect your knee health, causing chronic inflammation and pain in the joints due to an underlying autoimmune disorder.

How is Knee Pain Diagnosed?

To better understand what’s causing your pain and interfering with your mobility, the staff at Health Atlast offer on-site diagnostic tests. Your provider first performs a thorough physical exam of your knee, testing your strength and flexibility and identifying areas of pain and weakness. They also listen carefully to your description of your symptoms to pinpoint a diagnosis.

Imaging tests like X-rays or ultrasound can show areas of soft-tissue or bone damage that’s responsible for your pain.

Following your tests, your Health Atlast provider creates a custom treatment plan with the goal to ease or eliminate your pain, improve your knee’s range of motion, and reduce your need for surgery.

What Treatments are Available for Knee Pain?

Initially, your Health Atlast provider will recommend physical therapy to strengthen the muscles that support your knee. This type of therapy can also use hot-and-cold therapy to reduce inflammation and pain, giving your knee time to heal naturally.

For pain that doesn’t go away with physical therapy, your Health Atlast doctor can recommend injections of Hyalgan®, a lubricating substance that cushions your knee joint and reduces friction due to osteoarthritis.

The staff at Health Atlast also offers innovative platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, which use your body’s own growth factors to heal soft-tissue damage. PRP is found in your blood. To extract the growth factors, your provider takes a sample of your blood and spins it in a centrifuge.

They then reinject the resulting high concentration of platelet-rich plasma into the injured or damaged areas of your knee. Over time, new, healthy cells grow to replace damaged ones, providing you with more efficient healing, pain relief, and increased range of motion.

Learn more about these and other treatments available for knee pain by calling the office nearest you or by booking a consultation online today.