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.
Symptoms of Knee Osteoarthritis
- Pain with weight-bearing, stairs, and standing from a chair
- Stiffness after sitting, easing after a few minutes of movement
- Swelling, warmth, or a sense of fullness in the joint
- Grinding or crunching (crepitus) with bending
- Buckling or a feeling that the knee may give way
- Difficulty fully straightening or fully bending the knee
- Night pain in advanced disease
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.
Our treatment options include:
- Knee joint injections — corticosteroid delivered into the joint under image guidance, for inflammation and effusion
- Viscosupplementation — hyaluronic acid injection to improve the joint's lubricating and shock-absorbing properties, typically as a single or three-injection series
- Genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation — interrupting the sensory nerves that carry pain from the knee, with relief that commonly lasts six to twelve months. A particularly valuable option for patients who are not surgical candidates, or who want to defer replacement
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for selected patients with early to moderate disease
- Medication management, with dosing coordinated against your kidney function
- Physical therapy referral for quadriceps and hip abductor strengthening
- Referral for total or partial knee arthroplasty consultation when appropriate
| Approach | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Weight management + physical therapy | The most effective long-term steps — proven to reduce pain |
| Medications | Anti-inflammatories and topical agents |
| Injections | Corticosteroid for flares; viscosupplement or PRP in selected patients |
| When to consider surgery | Joint replacement for advanced arthritis that limits daily life |
Relief from Knee Arthritis at Remix Medical
The gap between "take ibuprofen" and "replace the joint" is wide, and it is where most of interventional pain medicine lives.