What Can I Do If My Knee Pain Is Restricting Mobility?
< Back to the news
Knee stiffness and pain can drastically affect your day-to-day life. Simple tasks become a challenge as you try to work around or through your pain. For temporary injuries or mild pain, the PRICE treatment can help. But for more serious injuries or musculoskeletal ailments like osteoarthritis, you can opt for biologics to greatly reduce pain and improve mobility.
“PRICE” Knee Pain Treatment
PRICE is a mnemonic for Protect, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. PRICE is the first go-to treatment after a knee injury, bursitis, or flare-up of pain. The components work together to reduce pain and swelling while promoting healing.
Protect
The PRICE treatment was formerly known as RICE. “Protect” has since been added to prevent further knee injury and speed up recovery. To keep your condition from worsening, you should avoid activities that cause pain and use medical aids to stabilise the knee. Medical aids may include a splint, knee brace, bandage, crutches, or cane.
Rest (appropriately)
Rest is imperative to the healing process, but too much rest can be detrimental. Complete rest can cause muscles to weaken by 3-5% every day! Initially, you may need complete rest, but it is important to get moving again after a few days. Rest appropriately and exercise your knee safely when possible.
Ice
Ice can help reduce knee swelling and pain. Ice can be especially helpful for bursitis and flare-ups from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other long term conditions. Wrap ice in a damp cloth, place a dry cloth over your knee, then apply the wrapped ice to your knee for 10-15 minutes
Compression
Compression will help reduce knee swelling as well as provide some support. You can wear a knee brace or firmly wrap the knee. Be careful not to wrap it too tightly - you don’t want to cut off blood flow.
Elevation
Elevating your knee can help reduce the excess fluid built up in your knee. Ideally, raise your knee higher than your heart. The easiest way to do this is to lie down flat and prop your leg up on pillows. You can do this at different times in the day and also overnight.
What Do I Do If My Knee Pain Doesn’t Get Better?
If your knee pain continues, you should seek medical attention again. If possible, you should turn to a medical clinic that specialises in knee and joint pain, like The Midland Knee Protect Clinic. A specialist can assess your condition and recommend simple medical treatments that can get you moving again.
Simple Medical Treatments to Ease Pain and Improve Mobility
The PRICE treatment is more of a short-term, first-aid treatment for soft tissue injuries and mild pain than a long-term solution. If your knee pain continues or you suffer from more permanent issues like osteoarthritis, there are slightly more aggressive actions you can take to find relief using biologic medication.
What are Biologics?
Biologics are powerful medications that utilise natural components like sugars, protein, and DNA. In many cases, the medicine is created using the patient’s own blood or tissue. Orthobiologics are popular alternatives to a knee replacement that can reduce pain and improve mobility for months on end.
What are the Most Common Orthobiologics?
Orthobiologic treatments and therapies are minimally invasive. Most are administered through an injection to the problematic area. The following treatments and therapies have improved the quality of daily life for patients suffering from knee injuries, arthritis, and more.
The most promising orthobiologics are:
All four treatments and therapies aim to:
- Reduce pain
- Improve function and mobility
- Delay more substantial treatments (such as knee surgery)
Are Biologics for Knee Pain Expensive?
Orthobiologics can range from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand. Since the treatments can provide weeks and even months of relief, it is important to consider the overall value, not just the costs. Compared to surgery, however, the costs are quite reasonable.
How Do I Know Which Biologics Treatment is Right for Me?
Online research of the different treatments can give you an idea of what might work for you. But the best practice is to consult a medical professional who is well-versed with biologics. They will discuss your condition in depth and go over your options.
The Midland Knee Protect Clinic provides treatment options for patients with joint pain due to wear and tear. To schedule an appointment, Book Online or call today.