Knee Pain

Why might I need surgery for knee pain?

You might need surgery for knee pain if conservative treatments aren't relieving your symptoms. In some cases, surgery is the only way to ensure an injury heals properly. 

Knee pain can develop from many causes. Injuries to the knee are a common problem, not just for people who are active or play sports but from falls and other types of accidents.

These injuries can damage the bones, cartilage, and connective tissue. Common knee injuries include:

• Meniscal tear
• Patellar (kneecap) instability
• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear
• Medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear
• Patellofemoral syndrome
• Patellar tendinitis (runner's knee)
• Articular cartilage injuries
• Iliotibial (IT) band injury
• Fractures
• Dislocations

Other than injuries, the most common reason to have knee pain is arthritis. There are many different types of arthritis, and knees are often one of the worst affected joints.

Osteoarthritis is the most widespread cause of arthritic knee pain. It's a condition in which the cartilage that coats the ends of your bones wears down over the years. As a result of the exposed bones rubbing together, inflammation, pain, and stiffness develop in your joints.

When is surgery appropriate for knee pain?

Surgery isn't usually the first treatment used when you have knee pain unless the damage to your joint is so severe that other methods wouldn't work. Standard treatments for most causes of knee pain include:

• Rest
• Hot and cold therapies
• Physical therapy
• Knee braces
• Steroid injections into the knee
• Viscosupplementation (hyaluronic acid injections)
• Laser therapy

There are also advanced, minimally invasive options like radiofrequency ablation and stem cell injections for treating knee pain. 

For most patients, a combination of some or all of these treatments resolves their knee pain.

Doctors can perform these and other knee pain treatments at Burlingame Orthopedics, even when anesthesia is needed.

If symptoms aren't improving or continue to worsen after these methods, surgery might be the best solution.

What types of surgery can help with knee pain?

The type of surgery you might need for knee pain depends on the cause of your condition. Ligament injuries might require repair with tendon grafts, for example, while arthritic joints might need replacing wholly or partially with prosthetic implants.

The Burlingame Orthopedics team offers access to minimally invasive arthroscopic techniques to perform knee surgery when your provider finds it an option. This involves the use of an arthroscope, a tubular instrument that requires only small entry points in your knee.

The arthroscope sends back a real-time view of your knee joint to a screen in the operating room, which your provider uses to guide the other arthroscopic instruments in performing the surgery.

Call Burlingame Orthopedics to learn more about your options for treating knee pain, or request an appointment online today.