If osteoarthritis severely damaged one of your knees, you may need treatment for it soon. But if traditional surgery is out of the question for you, you may choose to manage your knee pain with over-the-counter medicines instead. You can repair the damage in your knee with non-surgical knee treatment. You can learn more about non-surgical knee pain treatment below, including where to find it.

How Does Non-Surgical Knee Pain Treatment Work?

Doctors previously treated osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee with traditional surgeries, such as joint replacement surgery and arthroscopy. However, some adults may not feel comfortable undergoing traditional knee surgery. The adults may put off their treatment until their condition worsens, or they may skip treatment altogether. To prevent OA patients from missing out on the treatment they need, doctors now offer non-surgical treatments for knee pain.

Non-surgical treatments, such as viscosupplementation therapy, don't require you to go under the scalpel. Orthopedic surgeons and other physicians use viscosupplementation therapy to replace the synovial fluid in your knee joint. The replacement fluid, or gel, cushions and supports the joint during movement. You experience less pain and inflammation in your arthritic knee over time.

You can treat OA of the knee without taking over-the-counter medications. All you need to do now is schedule a consultation with a knee specialist soon.

How Do You Schedule Your Treatment?

An orthopedic doctor or knee specialist will need to examine the tissues in your knee before they treat your condition. If your OA of the knee has completely destroyed your knee joint, a doctor or specialist may ask you to undergo knee replacement surgery. Replacing the joint in your knee may be the only way to ease your pain.

If OA hasn't completely damaged your knee joint, a physician will treat it with viscosupplementation therapy or another non-surgical treatment. A doctor will inject small amounts of gel into the areas or pockets surrounding your knee joint. You may or may not experience immediate relief from your pain after the injection. However, some adults do find immediate relief during and after therapy.

A doctor will most likely schedule you for additional non-surgical treatment in the future. The condition of your knee joint now may determine how many treatments you receive for it later. A doctor will discuss your treatments with you before and after they administer your injections.

Learn how to treat your arthritic knee pain with non-surgical treatments by contacting a specialist today.