Knee Pain Treatment

Connecticut Pain Solutions provides pain management and neurology services in Ridgefield and Wallingford, CT. Call 203-724-9290 (Ridgefield) or 203-626-9080 (Wallingford) to learn more and schedule your appointment.

Connecticut Pain Solutions has a very simple but powerful goal: to help you avoid surgery through our technologically advanced, minimally invasive techniques. We are safe but aggressive in our approach to treating knee pain.

The first step is to evaluate your pain to determine whether it is anatomical or neurological in nature, and to discover exactly which structures are affected. Depending on what we find, we use a range of knee pain treatment options:

Epidural Steroid Injections

Epidural steroid injections are most commonly used to treat back pain, but can also be highly effective for certain types of knee pain. They are typically used in tandem with other pain management techniques.

Genicular Nerve Block

A genicular nerve block is generally used as a diagnostic procedure to see if you are a candidate for a genicular radiofrequency ablation. However, it can stop knee pain in its tracks if nerve compression is the source of your pain.

Genicular Radiofrequency Ablation

This procedure is normally performed after a genicular nerve block confirms the source of the pain. The affected nerve is burned off via radiofrequency waves, providing partial or full pain relief. The nerve will eventually regenerate, which may result in another ablation in 12 to 24 months, but some people do not experience pain in the regenerated nerve.

Joint Injections

If the pain originates in a specific joint, we can inject steroids and numbing agents directly into that joint. Some people achieve relief from one injection, while others need a series of two or three. The pain relief from these injections can last for months or years.

Trigger Point Injections

Regardless of cause, knee pain generally results in trigger points—very tight muscle knots that can be excruciating. Massage can eventually work these out, but trigger point injections often have faster and more complete results.

Medication Management

A first line of treatment for any pain, including knee pain, is medication. We can manage your medications, with the goal of gradually reducing the amount of pain medication you need to take.

Physical Therapy

If you want to avoid knee surgery, or to recover more quickly after surgery, physical therapy is absolutely essential. In fact, the goal for all other types of knee pain management is to relieve the pain enough that you can participate in physical therapy.

Your physical therapist will perform a thorough initial evaluation, checking such factors as your posture, gait, and range of motion. He or she will also take a full health history, and consider the cause of your pain. You will then embark on an individualized treatment plan filled with exercises that are carefully crafted to improve both the strength of your knee and the range of motion. Pain management remains primary throughout physical therapy, and your therapist may offer such treatments as heat, ice, or electrical stimulation as part of your therapy.

Note that physical therapy requires your active participation both in the treatment room and at home. The more you put into the program, the better results you will achieve.

‍