Conservative Treatments for Arthritis

Osteoarthritis, or arthritis, is a common disorder caused by a loss of cartilage that affects the joints. Here are five conservative treatments for treating the hip and knee pain and stiffness that come with arthritis. (More about the condition can be found on this page of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons website.)

1. Exercise

An exercise routine can help increase your range of motion and flexibility as well as help strengthen the muscles in your legs. Exercise is often effective in reducing pain and improving function. Unfortunately, in the setting of advanced arthritis (bone-on-bone), exercise can sometimes increase pain in your hip and knee joints. Your physician or a physical therapist can help develop an individualized exercise program that meets your needs and lifestyle.

2. Physical Therapy

Physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around your joint may help absorb some of the shock imparted to the joint. Physical therapy can help to reduce the pain, swelling, and stiffness of osteoarthritis, and it can help improve joint function. It can also make it easier to walk, bend, kneel, squat, and sit.

3. Injections

Cortisone injections can provide you with pain relief and reduce inflammation. They can be very useful if there is significant swelling but are not very helpful if the arthritis affects the movement of your joint. How long the injection works before it wears off is variable, and there is a limit to how many your doctor can give you per year.

Viscosupplementation is a treatment in which hyaluronic acid (HA) is injected into the joint. It can help joints to work properly by acting like a lubricant. There are several different types that your doctor will give in various treatment regimes. Due to anatomy around the hip joint, injections into the hip are more complicated and therefore less frequently prescribed. Examples of such medications include Synvisc, Orthovisc, Supartz, Hyalgan, etc.

Stem cell injections are often used to treat arthritis. More information is available on this page of the AAHKS website: Can Stem Cell Therapy Help My Joint Pain?

Platelet-rich plasma therapy, involving platelet gel injections, is another popular treatment for arthritis. More information is available on this page of the AAHKS website: PRP for Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Knee

4. Weight Loss

Many people with osteoarthritis are overweight. Simple weight loss can reduce stress on your weight-bearing joints, such as the hip or knee. Based upon the physics of the hip and knee joints, you put three to five times your body weight across these joints throughout the day – especially during stair climbing and getting in and out of a chair.

Every ten pounds of extra weight that you carry can result in fifty pounds of weight-bearing pressure across your hips and knees. Losing weight can result in reduced pain and increased function, particularly in walking.

5. Medications

Pain relievers are usually the first choice of therapy for osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. Simple pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), are available without a prescription and can be effective in reducing pain. Non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medications include other over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil), or naproxen (Aleve) to help reduce pain and swelling in the joint. More potent types of pain relievers are prescription-strength, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that can be prescribed by your doctor.

6. Braces and Splints

Braces may be especially helpful in knee arthritis if the arthritis is centered on one side or the other. A brace can assist with stability and function. Braces are not for everyone and they can be difficult to fit for certain people.