Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsNSAIDsTopical TreatmentsPrescription Pain MedicationsInjectionsDMARDs
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
NSAIDs
Topical Treatments
Prescription Pain Medications
Injections
DMARDs
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Over-the-Counter Medications
Over-the-counter pain-relieving medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil), or anti-inflammatory medication like naproxen sodium (Aleve), can help reduce knee pain, swelling, and inflammation in the knee joint.
What’s the Difference Between Advil and Aleve?
Prescription Medications
If symptoms are severe enough, your healthcare provider may prescribe a higher dosage of anonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug(NSAID) to help decrease your knee pain so you can sit, stand, and walk with less discomfort.
Over-The-Counter Medicine
Prescription Creams
Topical treatment can help provide pain relief for people who cannot or do not want to take oral pain medications. Topical treatments are especially helpful for people who take other medications since oral pain relievers can interact with other drugs. Oral pain relievers can also cause stomach ulcers and bleeding, making topical pain-relieving medications more suitable for people with gastrointestinal issues.
Pain Patches
A lidocaine patch can be applied directly to the skin once a day for up to 12 hours. You can apply the patch over the area where you are having the most pain, but should avoid placing it directly on top of the knee joint. The patch should not be applied if there are any cuts or breaks in the skin.
Consider Pain-Relief Patches If Your Pain Is Out of Control
Corticosteroids
Corticosteroidssuch as cortisone and prednisone may be prescribed to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation in the body to lessen knee pain. Corticosteroids should be used with caution since prolonged corticosteroid usage can cause weakening of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments surrounding the knee, and increases the risk of developing certain conditions likeosteoporosisandCushing’s syndrome.
Prednisone for Pain
Opioid Pain Relievers
Corticosteroids, orcortisone injections, are anti-inflammatory medications that can be injected into the knee joint directly to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation. They are the most commonly used type of knee injections for treating knee pain fromosteoarthritis.
According to the American College of Rheumatology and Arthritis Foundation guidelines for managing knee osteoarthritis, corticosteroid injections are recommended over any other type of injection due to improved outcomes and effectiveness in alleviating symptoms.
Corticosteroid injections are performed under local anesthesia, where you will be awake for the procedure but your knee will be numbed. A small amount of anesthesia will be injected into your knee before the corticosteroid, which usually begins to work two to three days later.
Corticosteroid injections can help relieve pain and reduce symptoms between six weeks and six months after the procedure, although the injections are not effective for everyone. You will typically not be allowed to receive more than two or three injections per year.
Corticosteroid injections may not be recommended for patients who have diabetes or other problems with blood sugar since corticosteroids can raise blood sugar levels.
Hyaluronic Acid
Viscosupplementation, sometimes called gel injections, involves injecting hyaluronic acid into the knee to decrease pain and improve joint movement. Hyaluronic acid used for injections is derived from the combs of chickens.
Hyaluronic acid is a gel-like substance that occurs naturally in the synovial fluid within each joint capsule that surrounds all joints. Hyaluronic acid serves as a lubricant that allows bones to move smoothly within a joint and provides shock absorption to decrease pressure and friction within joints. Over time, hyaluronic acid levels in the joints decrease, especially as the joints wear down with osteoarthritis.
You may receive between one and five injections if you choose to undergo this treatment. If there is excess swelling and fluid buildup in the knee joint, your healthcare provider will use a needle to aspirate, or remove, the fluid before injecting the hyaluronic acid. You should avoid prolonged standing, walking, jogging, running, or heavy lifting for the first 48 hours after receiving a hyaluronic acid injection.
It may take up to four weeks to notice any significant improvement, and the lasting effects can vary from two to six months. Hyaluronic acid injections may be repeated about once every six months.
There is no evidence, however, that suggests that hyaluronic acid injections provide significant relief for knee pain, and they are not recommended for managingknee osteoarthritisunder the American College of Rheumatology and Arthritis Foundation guidelines.
Hyaluronic acid may be recommended for patients with diabetes who have knee osteoarthritis because hyaluronic acid injections do not raise blood sugar level the way corticosteroids can.
Local Anesthetics
A local anesthetic, most commonly lidocaine, can be injected into the knee. Lidocaine has numbing and anti-inflammatory effects that can reduce the intensity of pain signals. Recent research suggests that effects can last for three months or more.
Lidocaine is also often injected into the knee before a corticosteroid injection in order to numb the area and make the injection less uncomfortable. The lidocaine may produce immediate, short-term pain relief in the knee, but often wears off a few hours after the injection since less lidocaine is used to prepare for a corticosteroid injection than the amount used for a standalone lidocaine injection.
Injections to Relieve Knee Pain
Botox
Platelet-Rich Plasma
Platelet-rich plasma injectionsare made up of your own blood plasma that contains a high concentration of platelets, also calledthrombocytes, which are small blood cells that are involved in blood clotting. Platelets release substances called growth factors that stimulate healing after an injury. When injected into the knee, platelet-rich plasma has the potential to help damaged cartilage heal, but this has not yet been proven.
Your healthcare provider will use a syringe to draw a small amount of blood from a vein in your arm and use a centrifuge to separate the plasma and platelets. Blood centrifugation takes about 15 minutes to separate the blood components. Your healthcare provider will then inject the platelet-containing plasma directly into your knee joint. Ultrasound may be used to help guide accuracy of the injection.
Intra-Articular Injections to Treat Joint Disorders
Because DMARDs decrease your immune system response, you may be at an increased risk of infection while taking these medications. Make sure to talk with your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of taking DMARD medication.
Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Effectively
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10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Arthritis Foundation.NSAIDs.National Center for Biotechnology Information.PubChem compound summary for CID 1548943, capsaicin.Arthritis Foundation.Topical NSAIDs offer joint pain relief.MedlinePlus.Lidocaine transdermal patch.NYU Langone Health.Therapeutic injections for osteoarthritis of the knee.Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, Oatis C, Guyatt G, Block J, Callahan L, Copenhaver C, Dodge C, Felson D, Gellar K, Harvey WF, Hawker G, Herzig E, Kwoh CK, Nelson AE, Samuels J, Scanzello C, White D, Wise B, Altman RD, DiRenzo D, Fontanarosa J, Giradi G, Ishimori M, Misra D, Shah AA, Shmagel AK, Thoma LM, Turgunbaev M, Turner AS, Reston J.2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation guideline for the management of osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee.Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020;72(2):149-162. doi: 10.1002/acr.24131American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. OrthoInfo.Viscosupplementation treatment for knee arthritis.Eker HE, Cok OY, Aribogan A, Arslan G.The efficacy of intra-articular lidocaine administration in chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled study.Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med. 2017;36(2):109-114. doi: 10.1016/j.accpm.2016.05.003Hsieh LF, Wu CW, Chou CC, Yang SW, Wu SH, Lin YJ, Hsu WC.Effects of botulinum toxin landmark-guided intra-articular injection in subjects with knee osteoarthritis.PM R. 2016;8(12):1127-1135. doi: 10.1016/j.pmrj.2016.05.009Arthritis Foundation.DMARDs.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Arthritis Foundation.NSAIDs.National Center for Biotechnology Information.PubChem compound summary for CID 1548943, capsaicin.Arthritis Foundation.Topical NSAIDs offer joint pain relief.MedlinePlus.Lidocaine transdermal patch.NYU Langone Health.Therapeutic injections for osteoarthritis of the knee.Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, Oatis C, Guyatt G, Block J, Callahan L, Copenhaver C, Dodge C, Felson D, Gellar K, Harvey WF, Hawker G, Herzig E, Kwoh CK, Nelson AE, Samuels J, Scanzello C, White D, Wise B, Altman RD, DiRenzo D, Fontanarosa J, Giradi G, Ishimori M, Misra D, Shah AA, Shmagel AK, Thoma LM, Turgunbaev M, Turner AS, Reston J.2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation guideline for the management of osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee.Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020;72(2):149-162. doi: 10.1002/acr.24131American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. OrthoInfo.Viscosupplementation treatment for knee arthritis.Eker HE, Cok OY, Aribogan A, Arslan G.The efficacy of intra-articular lidocaine administration in chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled study.Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med. 2017;36(2):109-114. doi: 10.1016/j.accpm.2016.05.003Hsieh LF, Wu CW, Chou CC, Yang SW, Wu SH, Lin YJ, Hsu WC.Effects of botulinum toxin landmark-guided intra-articular injection in subjects with knee osteoarthritis.PM R. 2016;8(12):1127-1135. doi: 10.1016/j.pmrj.2016.05.009Arthritis Foundation.DMARDs.
Arthritis Foundation.NSAIDs.
National Center for Biotechnology Information.PubChem compound summary for CID 1548943, capsaicin.
Arthritis Foundation.Topical NSAIDs offer joint pain relief.
MedlinePlus.Lidocaine transdermal patch.
NYU Langone Health.Therapeutic injections for osteoarthritis of the knee.
Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, Oatis C, Guyatt G, Block J, Callahan L, Copenhaver C, Dodge C, Felson D, Gellar K, Harvey WF, Hawker G, Herzig E, Kwoh CK, Nelson AE, Samuels J, Scanzello C, White D, Wise B, Altman RD, DiRenzo D, Fontanarosa J, Giradi G, Ishimori M, Misra D, Shah AA, Shmagel AK, Thoma LM, Turgunbaev M, Turner AS, Reston J.2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation guideline for the management of osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee.Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020;72(2):149-162. doi: 10.1002/acr.24131
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. OrthoInfo.Viscosupplementation treatment for knee arthritis.
Eker HE, Cok OY, Aribogan A, Arslan G.The efficacy of intra-articular lidocaine administration in chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled study.Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med. 2017;36(2):109-114. doi: 10.1016/j.accpm.2016.05.003
Hsieh LF, Wu CW, Chou CC, Yang SW, Wu SH, Lin YJ, Hsu WC.Effects of botulinum toxin landmark-guided intra-articular injection in subjects with knee osteoarthritis.PM R. 2016;8(12):1127-1135. doi: 10.1016/j.pmrj.2016.05.009
Arthritis Foundation.DMARDs.
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