The knee carries several times your body weight with every step, and it does so through a joint with a demanding geometry and a poor blood supply to its cartilage. It is the joint most likely to wear out, and the one that most reliably shrinks a person's world when it does. At Remix Medical in Houston, our pain management physicians offer a full ladder of non-surgical options for knee arthritis.
What is Knee Osteoarthritis?
Knee osteoarthritis is the degeneration of cartilage within one or more of the knee's three compartments — medial, lateral, and patellofemoral. As cartilage thins, bone contacts bone, the joint lining inflames, and osteophytes form at the margins.
The medial compartment is most commonly affected, which is why many patients develop a progressively bowed alignment as the disease advances.
Common Causes of Knee Arthritis
1. Prior Meniscal or Ligament Injury
A torn ACL or meniscus, even one repaired successfully, markedly increases the risk of arthritis in that knee years later.
2. Body Weight
Each additional pound translates to several pounds of force across the knee during gait. Weight change is one of the few interventions that modifies the disease rather than the symptom.
3. Malalignment
Varus (bowed) or valgus (knock-kneed) alignment overloads one compartment.
4. Occupational and Athletic Load
Repetitive kneeling, squatting, stair climbing, and high-impact sport.
5. Age and Genetics
Both substantially increase risk, and neither is modifiable.
How Remix Medical Can Help
Weight-bearing X-rays reveal joint space narrowing and alignment. MRI is reserved for cases where a meniscal tear or other soft-tissue problem is suspected alongside the arthritis.
The gap between anti-inflammatories and joint replacement is wide, and it is where most of interventional pain medicine lives.
| Approach | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Weight management + physical therapy | Quadriceps and hip abductor strengthening, with weight change one of the few interventions that modifies the disease rather than the symptom |
| Medication management | Anti-inflammatories and topical agents, with dosing coordinated against your kidney function |
| Image-guided corticosteroid injection | Delivered into the joint for inflammation and effusion during flares |
| Viscosupplementation | Hyaluronic acid to improve lubrication and shock absorption, as a single or three-injection series |
| Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) | For selected patients with early to moderate disease |
| Genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation | Interrupts the sensory nerves carrying pain from the knee, commonly giving six to twelve months of relief — particularly valuable for patients who aren't surgical candidates or want to defer replacement |
| Arthroplasty referral | Total or partial knee replacement for advanced arthritis that limits walking, stairs, or sleep |